Old Soldier Tom's Journal.                  

We are, like it or not, approaching an event which caused the genesis of this little backwater attempt at political and cultural commentary a few years ago—yes, presidential election season is ramping up. I suspect that most of us who are left (gotta clean up this place sometime, beginning with the sidebar) do not consider ourselves political groupies of any sort, and we view the shenanigans that go on in that realm with more than a little chagrin. That’s why we can’t help occasionally shaking our figurative heads and fingers at our beloved brethren who place too much of their hope on the process and outcome of the event Benjamin Franklin didn’t mention when he said, “In this world nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes.” He forgot presidential elections. We can forgive him (as well as envy him) as he wrote this in 1789, the same year the Constitution was penned, thus had not yet experienced the quadrennial ritual, and he was blessed to live before the electricity he helped make possible made possible radio and television (and blog) campaigning.

While we regret the fool me once, fool me a few hundred times, here’s my vote mentality of so many Christians, we do not believe Christians ought to give up and hand over the country to the bad guys. No, no, no. We just hope that if we keep speaking common sense and biblical truth, maybe there will be some clearer thinking about who are the bad guys, and we can fight the good fight of faith without compromise in this arena, as in any pursuit, to the glory of God, not to get some scoundrel who is the “lesser of two evils” elected.

Which brings me to the point of this post.

It has been said that idealism is what precedes experience, cynicism is what follows. I don’t consider myself a cynic, though I do think I have lived long enough and seen enough of the same old, same old in the Republican party that I am glad my hopes are pinned on nothing less than Jesus’s blood and righteousness. That is a hope that will never disappoint, unlike the craven promises of those who want the evangelical vote in their hip pocket. That’s why I’m highly skeptical of a brand new book from Crossway Books, the publisher of some excellent materials. Why they consider this puff piece on Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice to be in the same league with John Piper’s works, is a mystery, though it’s as clear as a glass ceiling why Ms. Rice would want it to be published now.

Here are some quotes from the publisher’s description:

Once you read her story, you will recognize that even more than her vast intellectual capacity, ambition, and strong work ethic, it has been God’s leading in her life—and her willingness to follow his call—that has allowed her to come so far. In Condoleezza Rice we have a true spiritual hero.

and

To fully grasp her heart and what has motivated her to far exceed the limited expectations that enslaved both her race and her gender for generations before her, you must examine her roots.

Enslaved her gender? Remember, this is a Christian publisher, not Yale University Press writing a textbook for training a new generation of feminists.

So why am I unhappy about heaping praise on this woman? Besides the issues regarding her involvement in civil affairs—a role the Bible says is leadership designated for men (Ex. 18:31; Prov. 31:23; Is. 3:12), she has shown by her own words and actions that she represents several positions antithetical to Christian standards and practices:

At the swearing-in ceremony of the openly homosexual Global Aids Coordinator (appointed by President Bush), Mark Dybul, Ms. Rice said, “I am truly honored and delighted to have the opportunity to swear in Mark Dybul as our next Global AIDS Coordinator. I am pleased to do that in the presence of Mark’s parents, Claire and Richard, his partner, Jason, and his mother-in-law [his partner’s mother], Marilyn. You have a wonderful family to support you, Mark, and I know that’s always important to us. Welcome.”

Not only is that not family friendly, in the traditional values sense, it’s not Christian-friendly and leaves some doubts about her supposed “faith.”

That’s not all, no, that’s not all….

She describes herself as “mildly pro-choice.” By that, she means that she can mouth the conservative rhetoric about some abortion issues: no on partial birth abortion, yes on parental notification…two issues easy to jump on the bandwagon and rope in evangelical votes with, but essentially meaningless to protecting the millions of babies killed each year by abortion.

But that’s not all, nope, there’s more….

Ms. Rice prefers the religion of democracy to the faith of her fathers when it comes to her job. She enthused over the repressive Islamic consitution of Afghanistan, which prescribes the death penalty for “apostasy” and says “no law can be contrary to the beliefs and provisions of the sacred religion of Islam.” Remember the quote above that talked about how she overcame obstacles which enslaved her race? How about this quote from Exodus 20:2-3 (that’s in the Bible, the written word of God Christians are supposed to believe and obey): “I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery; you shall have no other gods before me.”

Yes, there’s more, but you get the point. This woman may say she’s a Christian, but hold on to your wallets and your votes if she should change her mind (it’s a woman’s peroga