-By Dr. Don Boys
Frank Schaeffer, in his column, “The Huckabee Win is America’s Loss” spews out venom, vitriol, and vacuity toward Mike Huckabee, Christians in general, and his deceased father in particular. While he has every right to take the positions he takes, I have every right to set the record straight and to defend Huckabee, Christians, and the legacy of Frank’s father, Dr. Francis Schaeffer who helped Christians realize that we can serve God, take care of our families, and get involved in politics at the same time. Frank’s dad helped awaken us, alarm us, and activate us. It was about time!
Frank goes on and on and on ridiculing Huckabee’s followers who held hands and prayed “beseeching Jesus to help their candidate save America from the rest of us.” Well, I am far more comfortable with that than having political parasites in a smoke filled room or academic professors in a university lounge, or CFR jerks in a plush Washington office plotting how to run America off the rails. And yes, we had better save America from them because they (the bad guys) are in the process of destroying this nation with their moronic policies—both parties.
Frank suggests that Christians getting involved in government is “actually more like [opening] the doors to an insane asylum.” Please note that leftists of his ilk often speak about how mean Fundamentalists are but Frankie is as mean as a junkyard dog.
Frank wrote, “There are no theological ideas worth hating anyone over.” Wow! How profound! I wonder if Frank came up with that on his own. He seems to be saying, that if Americans discuss issues and even strongly disagree, then we must be haters! Frank has problems. Not sure if they are mental, emotional, or spiritual—maybe all.
One reason Frank gives not to vote for Huckabee is his obvious “vengeful Southern Baptist theology.” Frank opines that we sure don’t want someone like that in the White House, do we? But Frank has a short memory. We have already had two Southern Baptists in the White House: Jimmy (“I will never lie to you”) Carter and Bill (“I did not have sex with that woman”) Clinton. Could their administrations have been any worse for America?
I am not a Southern Baptist. In fact, I have been critical of the SBC for their corrupt educational system, impersonal missions program, running from long-time doctrinal positions, embracing megachurch and Emergent Church ministries, etc.; however, there are thousands of good SBC pastors and hundreds of thousands of decent, dedicated laymen who love God, the Bible, and America.
Our cynic suggests that Huckabee’s message will be “impose[d] on people” against their will. That is such a hackneyed charge and exemplifies mental bankruptcy. On talk shows I have had opponents or the host (who could not answer my objections) charge me with “forcing my religion down the throats” of everyone. Frank needs to understand an elementary fact: Just because we are Bible-believing Christians does not mean we have lost or surrendered our First Amendment rights or shrunk from our New Testament requirements. When we go into the marketplace of ideas, we can compete with anyone—and possibly even win. Maybe that’s the problem with the Loony Left: they are losers.
Then Frank warns us that trying to convert each other is no way to “build any sort of a sense of all being Americans together.” Well, would Frank make it unlawful to seek conversions? That would make the radical left happy and meet one of their demands of Christians: Believe whatever you want but don’t take it outside the four walls of your church. I don’t choose to permit anyone to set the parameters of my ministry—not family, friends, or foes, nor fools, frauds, and fakers on the left.
Our Warrior on the Left then charged that the “basis of the whole Southern Baptist raison d’etre is aggressive evangelization.” So what is the problem with that? They have read the New Testament! Should there be laws forbidding religious groups to seek converts? Note that Christians don’t try to force anyone to accept anything because, unlike Muslims and other religions, we know that faith can never, never be forced. One can force baptisms, church membership, etc., but not genuine faith. It is amazing that Frank is so uninformed.
Frank closed with an incredible statement: “Huckabee represents the half of us who are waiting for Jesus to ‘rapture’ us and believe that the other half are second class citizens that God is just biding His time to gleefully destroy and torture for eternity.” Another correction: If Frank believes half of Americans are saved people, he is living in a cave and has not read the New Testament. Moreover, no Christian, to my knowledge, has said, implied, affirmed, declared, written, or suggested that unsaved people are “second class citizens.” Schaeffer simply put up a straw man that he could destroy. How sophomoric!
It is my opinion that Frank needs to resolve his emotional or mental problems with a competent counselor or maybe better yet hit an old-fashioned altar. It might help to read and heed his father’s books that he has been running away from for 20 years!
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Dr. Don Boys is a former member of the Indiana House of Representatives, author of 13 books, frequent guest on television and radio talk shows, and wrote columns for USA Today for 8 years His most recent book is ISLAM: America’s Trojan Horse! His websites are www.cstnews.com and www.Muslimfact.com.)