We all say stupid things. I know I have said some pretty ridiculous things over the course of my journey. It seems that as a former Nicodemus Mormon filled with uber-literalism, legalism, and external focus, I made more than my fair share of stupid comments. One statement in particular that I made from a Telestial/fragmented perspective was when I was hometeaching a "less active" family that I was "working" with. The husband was a convert to the church who had dropped out over the course of many years but was still open to hometeaching visits.
In one encounter we were teaching a lesson on spiritual gifts. He shared an example of a friend of his who was good at reading minds and he had witnessed several examples of her doing this remarkable act. His point was that spiritual gifts were not unique to the church or the priesthood. As a strong Nicodemus Mormon, I wondered how it could be possible for a person to be able to do such a thing. I know Jesus Christ had this gift and I had heard of this ability in others, but I had never witnessed it first hand. I also wondered how it could be done without the priesthood or at the very least not being a member of the church. He asked me how I could account for such a gift if she was not a member and did not hold the priesthood. Initially, I said that I couldn't account for it. But then I played the dreaded "devil card".
According to church doctrine, a third part of the hosts of heaven rebelled and followed Satan, thus rejecting God's plan and the Atonement of Jesus Christ. Satan and his followers continue to tempt and deceive the world according to the doctrine of the church. I verbally speculated that perhaps this woman, who I did not know at all, was able to tap into some kind of a satanic power that enabled her to do this. The man I was hometeaching was disgusted that I would think such a thing. For that, and other Nicodemus-like mistakes, I pushed him further away from the church and to this day we don't have any contact even though we had developed a decent friendship up to that point.
Little did I realize at the time that in playing the "devil card", I was the one who was behaving like Satan. One of the definitions of Satan is ACCUSER. He is know as "the accuser of our brethren . . . which accused them before our God day and night" (Revelation 12:10). Accusations bring fragmentations. This is in contrast to Jesus Christ who is known as our ADVOCATE. Advocacy brings unity.
I had become an accuser of this woman who I did not know at all, nor did I have any concept that she could hold a legitimate spiritual gift. As a result, my friend became more disengaged and fragmented from me. I was much like the disciples of Jesus who, when they saw a man casting out devils and yet was not following them, they complained to Jesus. The reply of Jesus is interesting. He said: "Forbid him not: for he that is not against us is for us (Luke 9:50). Notice how this statement is very unifying while on the other hand the disciples are making an accusation that brings disunity. Nicodemus Mormons take a very narrow view of Luke 9:50 and say that the man must have had the priesthood in order to perform such miracles. However, there is very little evidence that this is the case. If the man had the priesthood and had been called by Jesus, I'm sure the disciples would not have complained and Jesus would not have made such a broad far reaching statement. This scripture is very millennial and I would encourage the reader to ponder it a great deal.
On January 13, 2010 Pat Robertson made an accusation against the people of Haiti. He is quoted as saying: "[S]omething happened a long time ago in Haiti, and people might not want to talk about it, they were under the heel of the French, uh, you know, Napoleon the third and whatever, and they got together and swore a pact to the devil, they said, we will serve you, if you get us free from the French, true story. And so the devil said, 'OK, it's a deal.' And they kicked the French out, the Haitians revolted and got themselves free, and ever since they have been cursed by one thing after the other, desperately poor." (France 24 International News).When I saw his statement, initially I was disgusted. I need to be honest with you. It is so easy to lapse into Nicodemus ways and return hatred for hatred. But then I remembered my own "devil card" play. I saw how I made silly and absurd accusations that created more division and fragmentation in the world.
When any follower of Christ plays the "devil card" it's the fundamentalist equivalent of "jumping the shark" or "diablo" ex machina. I saw myself in Pat Robertson and I had compassion on him. The fact of the matter is that we all have the capacity to say outrageous, hateful and divisive things. It is in all of us and that Accuser that is within our temple needs to be dismissed.
However, I do believe that all fair-minded people of whatever religious tradition or non-tradition should join with me in turning our back on this horrific comment. I can still have compassion for this man. I see my own history of fundamentalism, legalism and carnal mindedness in Pat Robertson and it provides contrast for me to continue to pursue embracing the Tree of Life and becoming perfected in Christ. I can stand up and condemn this comment as Anti-Christ without having any hatred toward the man who uttered it. I hope you will too.
We all say stupid things. Harry Reid, a faithful Mormon and Senate Majority Leader of the United States made a stupid comment about Barrack Obama. Although I don't agree with Harry on all of his political positions, I do know why he was forgiven so quickly and readily. It's because he has a track record of working to achieve racial harmony, equality, tolerance and understanding. Unfortunately, his words were not framed in an appropriate manner and I'm sure he wishes that he could take them back. I wonder if Pat Robertson wishes that he could take what he said about Haiti back.
I used to be a very staunch conservative Republican. I'm not anymore. The comments that Pat Robertson made are a big part of why I no longer label myself a conservative or a Republican. (I don't know that I could call myself a Progressive Democrat either--currently I have no political home. The political foxes have holes, and the political birds of the air have nests; but the political Son of man hath not where to lay his head [Matthew 8:20]). The reality is that much of conservative Christian fundamentalism is intolerant and divisive. The fact of the matter is that between 10% and 30% of registered Republicans would never vote for a Mormon no matter how qualified. You could easily see this played out between Romney and Huckabee in the run up to the 2008 election. You will likely see it between Romney and Palin in the future. And yet, there is a majority of Mormons who continue to align themselves with this hatred and intolerance. As I talk with more and more Mormons, Millennial or Nicodemus, they are moving away from the Republican party for this very reason. We know that the party is largely controlled by fundamentalists who seek to exclude and are intolerant of us and so many others. We need to all turn our backs on intolerance.
Ed Decker, a Christian fundamentalist evangelist who created the grotesque movies The Godmakers and The Godmakers II, (which both have been condemned by fair minded individuals everywhere) also plays the "devil card" when he attributes the miracles of the Restoration and Joseph Smith to be of the devil. I unfortunately see myself in Ed whenever I have a temptation to fall back into Nicodemus ways.
Let the Ed Deckers and Pat Robertsons of the world along with my past Nicodemus example encourage you on your path out of fundamentalism, legalism, uber literalism and continuous partaking of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. Haven't you had enough of that? It's time for you to embrace the Tree of Life and seek the dawning of an internal millennium. It's time to dismiss the accuser and stop playing the "devil card". No more jumping the shark! No more diablo ex machina. It's time for a millennial game change.
Peace and Blessings to you and all the people of Haiti.
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