People say the darndest things. The Republican nominee for Lieutenant governor of Virginia is no exception. Seems E.W. Jackson (that’s his name) wrote a book, Ten Commandments to an Extraordinary Life, back in ’08. He had this to say:
Keep in mind that the whole cosmos has been made imperfect — wounded — by sin. It is the principle of sin, rebellion against God and His truth which has brought about birth defects and other destructive natural occurrences. Leaving aside that for a moment, recent discoveries about the genetic code of each human being are a fulfillment of scripture. Your genetic code is the handwriting of God, written before you or the world existed. Our genetic blueprint is proof of the existence of the Living God and His infinite intelligence, purpose and design. Sadly, many will ignore the deeper spiritual truth which underlies the advance of this scientific knowledge.
Now… I’ve run into this line of thinking since my cancer diagnosis. “If you’d only love God enough, you’d be protected from this.” “This was God’s way of getting your attention.” “God never gives you more than you can handle.”
Dunno. I’m not sure how those sentences would turn me to their brand of religion, but that’s just me. In fact, I’d be rather embarrassed if I were to say something like that to someone grappling with cancer, doc visits, infections, bandages, all the gruesome stuff that seems to accompany this diagnosis. But E.W. isn’t apologetic for his writing.
Jackson told reporters last month, responding to past controversial comments on gays, “I say the things that I say because I’m a Christian, not because I hate anybody, but because I have religious values that matter to me.”
Yup. The guy lives a privileged life in a privileged part of the world. Luckily, all his children (if he has any) were born “perfect,” he hasn’t had any health situations (if he has, I’m sure it’s not because he “sinned”), and he has his deity to help grapple with inconveniences.
