JIM JORDAN: Event was about goodwill

I suspect Angela Chandler probably wasn’t at the gathering at Candlelight Church when Reps Fulcher and Jordan spoke. So, her comments do not have the full weight of context.

Is she is upset that Candlelight had the temerity to host a political and fundraising event within its four walls? Citing John 2:13-25 (Jesus clearing money changers from the Temple) is all well and good IF the context were the same. But it’s not. The money changers were taking advantage of an act of worship, and spoiling the Divine with the profane. The gathering at Candlelight had been clearly advertised as a political event, which is permissible under the 501(c)(3) law.

Why the outrage over Rep Jordan’s observation, “we’re going through another Civil War of sorts?” Is this not true? More openly, and more frequently, the Christian Church and the moral tenets it is called to represent are being demeaned and attacked by an increasingly secular and hostile culture. Certainly, Jesus stated “Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.” But that only followed the Prime Directive: “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.” The God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob has some pretty specific requirements on our conduct. Showing “love” is often saying the hard things to our loved ones (community) if we believe they’re going off the rails. Even avowed atheist Penn Jillette understands this.

I was at the Candlelight event. It was not fire and brimstone. It was not a virtual pounding of fists on the table. Both Fulcher and Jordan spoke with grace, goodwill and “malice toward none.”

THOMAS SHAFER

Hayden