Ipecac said:
Very interesting! I've got to say I'm (finally) impressed by what King had to say. He actually asked some hard questions. Of course, most of the responses were the usual badly reasoned, bigoted excuses for arguments these guys make. That Lahaye guy is a complete wanker. But good job, Larry!
I agree. Larry King is known for tossing "softballs" to his guests. That's his style. He's not a Mike Wallace-style confrontational journalist, and his deferential style has irked some of us in the past.
But Larry King did ask these guys some surprisingly hard-edged questions.
And I think some of these questions, and the answers thereto, have given me a new insight into the "thinking" of some of these blowhards.
It was interesting that the LaHayes and Franklin Graham spoke of Bush as being a man of integrity. Considering some of the whopping lies that Bush has told to the American people and to the world, one has to wonder how they define "integrity." It appears that they define it according to profession of religious belief. Bush publicly mentions "God" and "Jesus" and "Christ," and he wants to implement evangelical principles into laws that everyone must follow; therefore, he is a man of integrity.
But why is it so important that evangelical principles be cast into laws that everyone must follow? Isn't it enough that evangelicals follow those principles in their own lives? Tim LaHaye said that it wasn't enough for Jimmy Carter to be a man of faith; LaHaye objected to Carter because he didn't let his faith "hang out," and his philosophy of government was--in LaHaye's opinion--at odds with Carter's faith. Beverly LaHaye:
I think it [faith] has a lot to do with governing, because your faith really helps you determine the direction you want to go. You have a higher being that you can call upon to give you clear thinking and direction. ... But the individuals going into government make decisions, and they make decisions for us. And we really want them to make decision that are going to be good for our children, our families.
Franklin Graham (on the subject of a constitutional amendment to prohibit gay marriage):
But he [the Almighty] gave sex to be used in a marriage relationship between a man and woman. And Larry, any time we get outside of the way God intended or what God's parameters are, we're at risk. And whether it's a man and a woman living together, outside of marriage, they're at risk because that's a sin. It's a sin against God. If it's two men living together or if it's two women living together having sex, it's a sin against God. And God's going to judge sin.
Tim LaHaye expressed the perverse view that those who disagreed with him were, by that fact, imposing their views upon him and others. An atheist who objected to the words "under God" in the Pledge was imposing his atheism on society. A gay person trying to raise a child was imposing his values on society. A teacher that teaches evolution is imposing his values on society, namely that man is independent of God.
And they see the Almighty as punishing sin. Asked why an omnipotent deity would permit tragedies such as 9/11 or the recent tsunami, Tim LaHaye said:
Well, Larry, I think you have to go back to the fall. We live in a fallen race. Adam and Eve made a terrible blunder when they sinned against God and then propagated that to the human race.
The tsunami, said the LaHayes, was a part of God's plan... but God didn't cause it, He simply didn't act to prevent it. The tsunami was a warning that the end is near and that you get your heart ready to meet the Lord.
The overall picture presented by the LaHayes and Graham is disturbing. There seems to be a feeling is that evangelical values
have to be imposed on everyone by law, because if they aren't, then that is
exactly the same as sinful values being imposed upon everyone. And, in their view, the Almighty will judge harshly those with sinful values. In addition, the Almighty does not always act surgically, as He has planned various catastrophic events that will cause suffering to both the guilty and the innocent, and He will withhold His protection to notify the world that harsh judgment is near.
