Braden’s Thoughts on Christianity

As a Christian that takes an avid interest in current events and the political scene, it probably wouldn’t be all that surprising for me to write a blog concerning the recent statements that Ann Coulter made on “The Big Idea” with Donnie Deutsch. So I did. I wrote a post on my more political blog concerning my take on that particular situation.

Now, the blogosphere, which isn’t short of any liberal or shall I say, left-leaning blogs, was quick to pounce on her statements, labelling her everything from racist to anti-Semitic. This came as no surprise to me considering that most people of a liberal mindset absolutely abhor Ann Coulter anyway. For them, this was only fuel to the flame.

And frankly, I can’t say I condone every statement she’s made in the past. I think she has crossed the line on more than one occasion. But from watching the video of the interview and reading the transcript, I couldn’t say I saw much that I considered to be remotely defamatory, racist, or even anti-Semitic.

Let’s note a few things about the interview.

First of all, Donnie Deutsch led the discussion to cover what Ann Coulter thought an idealistic society would be. She responded that it would look like the New York City during the Republican National Convention. That shouldn’t come as any shock at all because Ann Coulter is a Republican.

The conversation eventually turned to the concept of an “ideal society” full of Christians. And naturally, I would say that most religious people feel that the world would be better off if the world were full of people that subscribed to their particular religious beliefs.

Let’s make one more thing clear: Ann Coulter was not talking about race, she was talking about religion. Jewish nationality had absolutely nothing to do with this discussion. It was all about Christianity versus Judaism.

Donnie Deutsch clearly thought otherwise however, when he compared Ann Coulter to the head of Iran who wishes to wipe Israel off the face of the earth. To that, Coulter responded, and I quote: “No, we think — we just want Jews to be perfected, as they say.”

Now the headlines of mainstream media took that statement and ran with it. Some even misquoted her (actually if you read the transcript, Donnie Deutsch misquotes her too) as saying “Jews need to be perfected,” which is altogether different.

What Ann Coulter was  saying is that as Christians, we want Jews to be perfected. We would love for Jews to become Christians. Is that bad? Certainly nothing about that necessarily implies that Christians should force Jews to become Christians, but rather we simply want them to.

Now let me cut to the spiritual chase on this discussion. What does it mean for someone to be “perfected” in Christianity? That is the heart of the matter.

In Matthew 5:48, Christ says “you therefore must be perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect.” What a daunting task! How is it possible to be as perfect as God Himself?

Hebrews 12:2 speaks of Christ as the “perfecter of our faith.” Christ is the one who can make our faith perfect. But still, how does Christ do that?

Hebrews 10:14 says that by Christ’s offering, he has “perfected for all time those who are being sanctificed.” By Jesus Christ dying on the cross, He is able to “perfect” us.

And these verses only scratch the surface of the concept of perfection in the Bible. Humanity is anything but perfect. Christ is perfect. He was the perfect sacrifice for our sins. By being that perfect sacrifice, He in turn, makes us perfect.

Do I want to be perfect? Absolutely. Can I be perfect? No, I cannot be perfect on my own. But can I be perfected? Yes and I thank God I can!

And I think that’s what Ann Coulter was trying to get across. The Bible is full of Jews being “perfected.” It talks about it quite a bit actually. Not to mention the fact that Jesus Christ Himself, Peter the apostle, Paul the apostle, and most of the writers of the Bible were Jews themselves!

So do Ann Coulter’s statements in that interview make her racist or anti-Semitic? I hardly think so. If anything, she wants Jews to be saved. And if that’s anti-Semitic, then I’m just as guilty as she is.