A Bishop speaks
From the Albany Times-Union an editorial by Bishop Paul Peter Jesep of the Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church Kyiv-Patriarchate:
Efforts by Christian conservatives to discredit the Democratic presidential nominee highlight how they secularize the country. They attempt to influence an election with fear.
It is the misuse of something sacred that drives the spiritually hungry from God while making them jaded, critical and suspicious of faith. Ironically, those seeking God will be called anti-faith for challenging the improper behavior of not-so-loving Christians.
This letter is not an endorsement of Barack Obama. But it is an endorsement for Christian love and intellectual honesty. There are ways to respectfully disagree with Sen. Obama’s policies without trying to unleash the darker angels within voters. America is home to Christian denominations that dramatically differ from one another. Getting into a debate about who is the “real” Christian is divisive and smacks of hubris.
There is one fundamental bond that should keep God’s Christian children together as a family, though a dysfunctional one. Love God and one another as Jesus unconditionally loves us. No Christian conservatives must like Sen. Obama but they must love him as a brother equally cherished by the same creator.
The politicking of some Christian conservatives proves why a strong metaphorical wall to separate church and state must exist. It keeps politics from compromising the holy. At a time when faith is misused and criticized, the Christian Right shows why the wall must be higher.
Thank you for posting an appropriate article two days befre elections – As I also dabble in religious history I have visited the headquarters of the Ukranian Orthodox Church in Bound Brook, NJ – They had a great seminary program associated with Rutgers and Drew University that went down the drain – I am always puzzled why they persecute the so-called non-canonical churches when the Protestant-Chrisitan Churches care less about Apostolic Succesion – I would be grateful if you could clarify this for me . . . . . Z Miloscia . . . .