Right Left Whatever

The National Council of Churches

The National Council of Churches enters the fray and denounces the comments of the Rev. Jerry Falwell. The Institute on Religion and Democracy fisks their response. Here's an excerpt from IRD's comments I particularly like:

But organs like the NCC, which prefer leftist politics to serious Christian ministry, would never defend Jesus Christ in the face of blasphemy with the same ardor, if at all, with which they defend the Prophet Muhammad. Nor, most terribly, will they have seriously advocate on behalf of persecuted Christians. Indeed, notice how the NCC avoided even acknowledging that indigenous churches in Islamic countries are threatened by Islamists. Instead the NCC focused on the safety of missionaries and spoke vaguely about "national security."

For the NCC and other religious leftists, conservative Christians like Falwell are the real enemy, not Islamic regimes that curtail, imprison and even murder Christians and other non-Muslims.

President Bush must "repudiate and condemn Falwell's remarks," the NCC insisted, tacitly agreeing with overseas Islamic voices that somehow the American president is responsible for the actions of a Baptist pastor in Lynchburg, Virginia.

Would the NCC ever direct such a resolution at the Iranian president or Saudi monarch, holding them accountable for hateful statements from Islamic clerics in their countries? We should pray for that but should not hold our breath.