Tina Dupuy, a presumably intelligent lady as she is a “nationally syndicated columnist,” fell a little short in her column published in The Natchez Democrat on Feb. 8. She first blasts Republican Party candidates who she perceives as pondering to evangelical voters as though she knows the candidates’ hearts. How omniscient! And then she says if a candidate appeals to evangelical voters, “pretty much no one else would support them.” I’m not entirely sure what she means by “evangelical,” but if she means those of strong Christian faith, then wouldn’t it be great if all candidates sought the support specifically of strong Christian believers? That should make them more appealing to all people. As stated in a letter from Russell Dodds, published in the Wall Street Journal on Jan. 29, “For all of its mistakes and hypocrisies that people love to point out, Christianity has one thing that is lacking in all other philosophies and religions: an unchanging standard that applies to all — both great and small — a standard that calls us to self-examination, confession, humility and gracious service by a personal God who came to earth and showed us the way in word and deed.”

She then focuses on Mr. Rubio and Mr. Cruz crediting them for mistakenly stating our rights come from “god.” Note, that she apparently either can’t properly spell God, as she continually used a lowercase “g,” or perhaps she was more insightful than I give her credit for implying she only meant some earthly god thing, like money or governments. by assuming she really meant God, the God I celebrate and strive to honor, then perhaps she missed the class on the Declaration of Independence. Somewhere in there it refers to being “endowed by their Creator (capital C, by the way) with certain unalienable Rights.” Then it says that men institute governments to secure these rights. The government is only there to be sure the Creator’s endowed Rights for each person are protected. The Constitution of the United States, which came along about 11 years after the Declaration of Independence was put in place to limit government and define its structure and functions. This includes providing for the common defense, which may require a delicate balance of individual rights. The constitution was written by men to protect us from the tyranny of government that cannot control itself and that would prefer to the master of every aspect of our lives.

Then she rambles on about taxes building roads, seemingly skipping how the taxes are mostly derived from the hardearned wages of working Americans, who came from many diverse religious backgrounds, but are predominately people who worship God, including Christians.

Next she confuses government mentioned in the Bible with pursuing rights of self rule. Please refer to the above comments about unalienable rights from our Creator that caused our colonies to unite and rebel against a dysfunctional, man-made government that did not respect those rights, just as the many Kingdoms in the Bible fell apart due to the tyranny of men. God did not want kings, and only reluctantly Saul was annointed. But God gave man a hunger for freedom, including the free will to make mistakes, a freedom we seem to enjoy too much. The many thousands of Americans who have given the ultimate sacrifice to gain others freedom or to preserve their own, were at times forced to do so again by a tyrannical government of men, or did so voluntarily in answer to a calling far more powerful than a document composed by men. I doubt on the beaches of Normandy that many allied soldiers clung to copies of the Constitution on a chain around their necks. Ms. Dupy seems to have forgotten that most of the early abolitionists were staunch Christians standing up for the unalienable Rights from our Creator. I suspect the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. referred to God in his speeches more often than the Constitution, but that’s only a guess.

As I stated earlier, we Christians make mistakes. Some even fall away and choose not to follow Christ. Some, sadly, haven’t even read parts of the Bible. In some religions and under some governments, such disloyalty is a capital offense. But the beauty of Christianity as described in the Bible is that God has reached out to show us how he wants us to live. We miss the mark time and again, but He doesn’t give up. We can turn to the example of his son in the Bible, a living, life-changing document, and ultimately it will lead us to understand God’s desires for his world. God knows the hearts of the politicians and will be their ultimate judge. He also know my heart, which can be a little scary at times, and I know my unalienable rights can’t be taken unless I acquiesce. God gave them to me. Many have died and are dying today so I can enjoy them. Thank God for them. By the way, Tina, the God I love would always spell your name with a capital T.

 

Dr. Ken Stubbs is a Natchez doctor and Concordia Parish resident.