Should Christians Listen to (and follow) Rush Limbaugh?
Posted: Thursday, October 23, 2008
by Eugene Redstone
I admit it. I was at one time a Rush Limbaugh ditto-head. I used to listen to his radio program for hours every weekday. For years I felt like finally, conservatives such as myself have been given a voice. He had the ability to verbalize exactly what I believed but was unable to put into words myself. To this day on my bookshelf sits a personally autographed copy of "See I Told You So", signed by the MahaRushi himself on the set of his now defunct television program (this goes way back to the early 90's). I casually refer to him as "Rush" because I've listened to him for so long, he seems like someone I've had a close friendship with.
I bring up this topic because I've been hearing some very venomous statements coming from Rush lately, not directly from Rush, but from his listeners. Recently I've heard some very dedicated Christians repeat some of the venom, and it has led me to wonder if Christians really have any business listening to this self-proclaimed, "talent on loan from God."
I don't know if Rush Limbaugh even says if he is a Christian, he may very well be. I remember specifically listening for this from his radio program and looking for this in his books. What I recall is that he always has said that he believes in God, but it seemed to be in more of a deist sense, where God is out there but he doesn't really have anything to do with our day-to-day lives. You know, the generic God-and-Country kind of stuff.
Why I consider this important is that I know Christians who typically listen to all 3 hours of Rush every day, which is more time than a college student usually listens to his or her college professors. Considering the Biblical imperatives to "to do what leads to peace and to mutual edification." (Romans 14:19) I question if this is right for a Christian to do. I suppose if listening to Rush helped our "conversation be always full of grace" (Colossians 4:6) this would not be such an issue. But what I've witnessed lately has been quite the opposite. It's been us against them, liberal (heathen) against conservative (Christian) and after a while I believe listeners have a tendency to forget there is even such a possibility that someone who is liberal can be a Christian.
A few days ago a prominent woman in my church posted a note on the internet for her friends to see. She stated that her 4 year old son liked to listen to Rush Limbaugh with her, and he had just told her "I hate liberals." This excited her and she boasted of how proud she was of her little 4 year old. Because of her position in my church, it made me wonder if she'd welcome someone who was liberal into our church. I don't consider myself a liberal, but it sure doesn't make me feel welcome to be around her. I have to wonder if there are any ways that she could possibly consider her sentiments Godly.
Which brings me to the character issue: Not knowing if Rush Limbaugh is a Christian or not, I will choose not judge him at all. The Bible does say numerous places that "By their fruit you will know them." (Matthew 7:16 & 20) and there are obvious fruit in Limbaugh's life (he has been married and divorced 3 times, addicted to pain killers, drinks, swears, & smokes cigars (not that there's anything wrong with that). Without judging him, I can easily state that he is not a good example for my kids and I would not want them growing up to emulate his behavior.
I have grown to appreciate people who are different than I. As a Christian I think I should work hard to earn respect from people who are not like me. Many of you know that Jean & I try to promote writers on SearchWarp who have different points of view, people who don't think like us or people who come from different backgrounds than what we are familiar with. This would be more difficult if everyone knew we enjoyed listening to the man who often plays the parody song, "Barack the Magic Negro". Even though it is a joke, I don't think most blacks would appreciate the humor in this song. This would definitely hurt "my witness". That is, unless I kept myself hidden away in little white social groups where I never rubbed shoulders with ethnic minorities. As a Christian, I have a huge issue with this.
My final thought has to do with grace and mercy. Since the day I first listened to Rush he has articulated very well the supposed injustice of the welfare state. This has apparently gotten more attention lately with Barack Obama saying that he wants to shift some of the current tax burdens from the poor and middle class to the rich. I have good Christian friends who are incensed at this and I've heard the sentiment "I have worked for what I have and they don't deserve to have any part of it" stated many times, many different ways.
This deeply saddens me. The foundation of the Christian life is that because of Jesus Christ, we have been given that which we do not deserve and have been spared from the punishment which we do deserve. I want to ask them (and I guess I have been too much of a coward to ask), "Is that the way God has treated you?"
Jesus said, "Freely you have received, freely give." (Matthew 10:8) and with the parable of the Creditor and Two Debtors (Luke 7:41-43) and other Scripture I think a strong Biblical case could be made for the belief that a person who is unwilling to give to those who do not deserve will not have their own debts forgiven. This makes me shudder sometimes. (Please wait here while I go give the guy on the corner some more cash. He doesn't deserve it but then again maybe I don't either.)
Does Rush Limbaugh inspire this kind of grace and mercy in you? If not, then I encourage you to fill your days with something else which does.
I welcome your comments. I am no authority on any of this, these are just my observations.
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More commentsVery thoughtful and thought provoking article. I am very concerned about how many of my Christian brothers and sisters consider Rush to be a suitable source of "truth" to help them make political decisions. I feel that he has been a major contributor to the great divide we now have in America. The Body of Christ should not be about dividing the world into us and them, but about being Christ to the world. Unfortunately the witness of the "Church" is greatly damaged by this divisive attitude that so many evangelicals seem to have. It breaks my heart!It breaks my heart too, Martha. I have now had good friendships go sour because of my refusal to remain a ditto-head. Christians have given up so much of the message of the Cross by picking up the sword of politics. Sometimes I just can't believe what I'm seeing and hearing.Thanks for commenting.
Thank you for this article. You made your point with gentleness and grace.I used to listen to Rush a lot when I was in college. Unfortunately, I have to admit I didn't stop listening because of the way it affected my attitude toward others -- although I now realize it did. Instead, I had to stop listening because Rush no longer satisfied my curiosity as a philosophy major. After listening to Rush, I found myself asking, "If that's what liberals believe, and that's why they believe it, how could anyone possibly be liberal?" Finally, I had to go elsewhere to find out why those who disagree with Rush believe what they do. Sure Rush claims to tell you why his opponents believe what they do, but he too often sets up straw men. (I was specifically confused by Rush's very simplistic presentation of the reasoning behind minimum wage laws. I figured there had to be more there. Turned out, there was. Rush had been setting up a straw man every time.)I have since realized that avoiding straw-man arguments is not simply good intellectual practice, but it is required of disciples of Jesus Christ. I find myself coming back, again and again, to Philippians 2 -- "... in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others. Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus..."We must do this -- consider others better than ourselves -- whenever we have political conversations. This means setting out not to win an argument, but to understand and listen. Listening to Rush does not encourage this, but as Christians, we must consider others better than ourselves. We must do this because this is how God designed us to live with each other. We must do this to preserve and build the unity of the church.You're right, we must treat others the way Christ treated us.Very well put, Warren. Thanks for your comments.
The bigger issue centers around the question of whether or not conservatism itself has become almost a false religion or a form of idolatry among evangelicals. While I am definitely conservative on some issues like gay marriage and abortion, I am alarmed at the degree to which the conservative patriotic point of view has become, in the minds of some believers, almost synonymous with the Christian point of view. On some issues, God's position is not so clear. I think that the war in Iraq is a good example. I don't begrudge the right of Christians to come to an honest conclusion that Bush was right to send our troops in, but I do resent the idea that a believer has to automatically support the war simply because to do so is in line with the conservative "pro-American" position. Contrary to what we may believe, or want to believe, God is not up in Heaven waving around an American flag. If the war in Iraq is a just war, then fine, but you are going to have to give me a better reason than the American flag to persuade me to take this position.I have my own doubts about the war in Iraq, and they center largely though not entirely on the fact that about 300,000 Christians have flad the country since 2003. This is indisputable, and it can be found out easily by doing a web search on the issue. The main place where it cannot be found to my knowledge is in the Christian broadcast media, which has remained silent on this. To bring this issue to light would call into question whether or not Bush was right to send our troops in. It is not a coincidence afterall, that the mass migration of Christians out of Iraq virtually coincided with the Bush decision to send troops in to establish a so-called "democracy" there. Has the Christian media thrown fellow believers under the bus because to do otherwise would call into question American policy in Iraq? We shouldn't worry about bias in the mainstream media until we have cleaned it up in the Christian media.Thanks Robert. It's been over a year since I wrote this, and I have to say that if I had to write it again I would have to take a much harsher stance. I do think Conservatism has become a false religion to many in the U.S. Gregory Boyd describes it as "putting down the cross to pick up the sword."I found myself at a Bible study this morning defending the most basic of Christian principals from fellow Christians who believe that greed is a good thing. How on Earth did we get to this position?
I believe it was Francis Schaeffer who once said that "conservative humanism is no better than liberal humanism." Captialism practiced by a Christian who invests and uses his wealth to the glory of God is a good thing. Purely secular free market capitalism that is motivated strictly by the bottom line can be as devastating in its impact as state enforced socialism or even communism. The liquor stores and cigarette ads that I see here in St. Louis ghetto neighborhoods are following the principles of the free market, but they are still an abomination. The free market by itself makes no moral judgements, it merely makes economic judgements. It makes no moral judgement as to whether or not advertising to three year olds is morally acceptable, nor does it have any conscience concerning the distribution of pornography, tobacco, or liquor, and yet all of these products have a devastating impact on people. I am not suggesting that Christians not participate in the free enterprise system, but I am suggesting that we all be aware of its traps, just as we should be aware of the traps of any worldly philosophy. I'll close here, but I would like to continue to dialogue with you on this. I believe that conservatism has become so engrained in the thinking of many Christians that any challenge to it is often dismissed out of hand. This is a major problem for the church, and I say this not as a liberal, but as one who is ofte conservative myself. Feel free to respond. I am interested in what you have to say.Again, you make some good points Robert. A bit of sanity in an insane world. I miss being able to talk with my friends about living a simple life of servant-hood without being accused of being a Liberal. You might want to check out my article here, though it was written a while ago too. I'm afraid I'm not much of a writer, though I'll occasionally hammer something out that is presentable.I'd also like to invite you to post some of your thoughts as a writer on SearchWarp. You might even get some front page time ;)
Thanks for your article. You have hit the nail on the head. Christians whether on the left or right should not listen to the spirit-poisoning opinions being spewed out by talk show hosts on the radio and TV. We are called to guard the wellsprings of our hearts because out of the abundance of our hearts the mouth speaks, the feet go. . .the hands do. If you listen to your pastor for two hours a week and fill up this foolishness say 20 hours a week, who do you think will have the most influence? For months I have felt like the cheese standing alone, looking at all the hate, error and self-righteousness coming out of the mouths of Christians all around me. I feel that many Evangelicals have exchanged a Kingdom Agenda for a political conservative agenda. We are called to love God and each other -- Jesus declared that the Law and the Prophets hinged on these two things. If we have not love, no matter what we do, it is all for nothing. So many Conservative Christians have become clanging bells, soooooooooooo far off course that if they should wake up, they will realize they may have to rededicate their lives to Christ. Heaven is made up of people of all colors and walks of life. Those who cannot figure out how to get along here on earth, may miss the boat. Oh that the people of God would only humble themselves and pray. . . . . God bless you and thanks again.Very well said, thanks.
What a blessing your article is. There are hypocrites of all faiths (and of no faith.) I had a Christian friend today tell me that Obama was wrong to send aid to Haiti while "Americans are suffering from unemployment..." For one thing, equating the suffering of unemployment to the suffering of losing life, limb and loved ones is just unfathomable to me. More importantly, though, I just didn't see how he could reconcile this attitude with his Christianity. Tonight I found out that Limbaugh had espoused similar views. That led me to an internet search to divine Limbaugh's religious views and eventually to your piece here. Be bold, Bruce. If you have a pulpit, put parish politics aside and espouse the view that it should be the business of Christians to live by the teachings of Christ. Truly Christians are humans and have a broad range of viewpoints. Truly we all must have secular as well as religious influences in our lives. That said, when given the choice between following a tenet of Christianity or one of un-Christian self-interest, a Christian must surely chose the former or admit that he has fallen short of the mark. Anyway, I loved the article and think you were absolutely right on the money. I see how one can be a liberal Christian and how one can be a conservative Christian. I do NOT, however, see how one can be a Limbaugh Christian. The two seem to me to be absolutely at odds.I completely agree, Corrin. Thanks for your comments.This is great article, as you are right. We are supposed to look at 'the fruit others bear", although judgment must be reserved. People who are Christian now weren't always
I've only listened to Rush a few times in my life, briefly, but can't take the constant repetition, and I never liked condemnation in the Church, while growing up..To me there is a balance in life, and that means 'we all have a piece of the pie of truth", and sharing it makes us all better people. We need to research what we believe, and make sure that's what we agree with, or are we just tagging along to belong.
God does not want us to hate, it's not productive. That is why Jesus came, to teach us about forgiveness. Our politics should remain outside of the church, because people have grown up believing certain things, and only God can change hearts and minds. Church is for Biblical learning, and worshipping God.
I believe we need to remind people of truth and facts, so they can reevaluate certain things, in the light of the truth. Today, people lie to our face and make promises they have no intention of keeping, and these want to be our leaders, so what does that say about us when we continue to vote for them? Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice shame on me.
There are honorable people in all of our political parties, and there are Charletons in all of our political parties. We have Charletons in the Church, so what we must do is learn to observe, question, and keep track of what they say vs what they deliver. Then use that information wisely.
Thank you,
I have been feeling the same way for very long. If the kingdom of heaven is righteousness peace and joy, and the fruit of the spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness and self control, then why are there so many angry Christians who hate others with different views. It seems that the American Church is powerful and arogant in it's opposition to evil. What ever happened to humility? I think the persecuted church would "love their enemies".You would think, wouldn't you? Welcome to the age where Christians get to pick and choose which commands of Jesus to follow.Thanks for your comments.
I agree with most of this, except for your last point. Just as you said, "freely you have received, FREELY give." It's not so much that conservatives don't believe in mercy (in fact, conservatives, statistically, do more charitable giving than liberals). It's simply that conservatives champion freedom, not tyranny. I think Jesus wants us to give. Paying taxes is not giving. It's avoiding jail. In fact, the welfare state seems to decrease individual generosity, as everyone feels they have "done their part" on April 15. It's an excuse not to have to deal with the poor in society, on a personal, "messy" level. Our society's welfare ideals look nothing like the first Christians who willingly gave to each other and shared their possessions in common.Thanks for your comments, though I have to admit I am leery of believing your statement that conservatives give to charities more than liberals. The last time I heard that stated, the guy's reasoning was that conservatives pay more taxes than liberals, somehow equating that with charitable giving.Now, with the Bill & Malinda Gates Foundation giving away $50 billion, Warren Buffett giving away about the same, and Craig Newmark giving away $100 million each year, I wonder if the statement is still supposed to hold true. I guess I'd have to see the actual numbers because my personal experience is that Liberals are more liberal in giving.
As for Matthew 10:8, "Freely you have received, freely give" my point is that conservatives are saying "I worked for what I have, and they don't deserve any of it" and I believe that attitude is not Christ-like, no matter what the setting.I own a CPA business and therefore have a vantage point to see what a large cross section of people give each year. Based on the thousands of tax returns I have prepared and reviewed over the years I would have to say that generally speaking, conservative clients tend to give a higher percentage of their income than my liberal leaning clients. I conclude that many liberals place a greater faith in governments ability to do good, thus by paying taxes they are in essence tithing to the government whereas many conservatives believe more in the power of private groups to meet their benevolent duties.
Thanks Bruce for your integrity and Love of Christ above self. I used to get angry with Rush Limbaugh because of divisive comments and wondered how can someone who calls themself a Christian follow such a divisive person. But the Holy the Spirit said pray for Rush Limbaugh salvation as you would anyone else, pray that he will yield to my words. The Holy Spirit said there was once a man named Paul who spoke divisive words and persecuted Saints/Others and GOD turned his life around and he became a warrior for the Lord. I pray like Paul that Rush Limbaugh will accept the Lord as his Savior and that a conversion will occur and that he will allow himself to be used by the Lord, that his fruits will show it; that he would LOVE the Lord more than himself, that he will speak the truth in LOVE not Hate, that he would love others (Liberal/Conservative/Black/White....) as Christ loves; that he would speak words of Healing.for our Nation, not division, that he would utimately lead other's to Christ. Christ is soon to return for Jew and Gentile, Let's put a end to Christ's Church on Sunday being the most segregated day of the week, by showing LOVE to his creation, for GOD created and Loves diversity. Please join me Brothers & Sister in praying for Rush Limbaugh salvation and others like him. Pray for country; Pray for the Leadership of our country....PRAYER & LOVE are powerful; GOD Bless America!
I'm a Christian although I don't live by the teachings of the bible. However I do believe strongly in God. I consider myself a liberal for the reason I believe in change. I am not pro choice on the abortion issue I don't believe in abortion my liberal stance is mainly to make things better in this life and not hold onto our past but learn from our mistakes.I couldn't say it better for myself, Dave.
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