Boebert Lives in a Glass House and Shouldn't Throw Stones

Boebert Calls for North Face Boycott Because of Drag Queen Endorsement 

Lauren Boebert's ignorance of the Christian faith shows up on multiple occasions.  Defending her son's out of wedlock pregnancy by saying she wasn't going to "nitpick the Bible" was followed by her announcement that she was seeking a divorce.  Neither one of those things fit very well in the overall worldview of her brand of Evangelical Christianity, but then, neither did her husband's indecent exposure prior to their marriage, nor does throwing a child around, as one of their sons alleged recently before recanting when his mother took control of the 911 call he was placing.  

So it should not be too surprising that the Colorado congresswoman stepped outside of the boundaries of her claimed faith, which is, by description of her action, not really Christian, to label other human beings as "degenerates" because of their sexuality.  That's a judgment that she's neither qualified nor permitted to render if she's claiming to be a Christian.  It's one thing to determine, for one's self, what standards, principles, values and virtues by which to live, based on a personal interpretation of the Bible and the gospel of Jesus Christ.  But it goes against the teaching of that same gospel to judge others unless the same standard is applied.  And the fact of the matter is that, in the Christian gospel, Lauren Boebert is also a degenerate.  So are we all.  

That is the whole crux of the Christian gospel, that Jesus Christ came to redeem degenerate humanity.  It is, in fact, not a message of condemnation at all, as John, the Apostle, says in his gospel, "Indeed, God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him."  John 3:17, NRSV  Original sin is a core doctrine of the Christian faith, the belief that humans are born in a state of sin that is separation from God, and are reunited and restored to him by a process of redemption that is the purpose fulfilled by Christ.  

Boebert's public reaction to her son's indiscretion was quite casual, though in the Christian faith, there's no difference between that and any other kind of sexual activity outside of marriage.  She's only interested in "nitpicking the Bible" when it scores political points for her.  But in this case, her hypocrisy has the potential to create a larger number of detractors than supporters.  Oh, and divorce, well, in the book of Matthew, 19:8, Jesus says that divorce for any cause other than marital unfaithfulness, is adultery which meets the definition of degenerate, I think. 

As a Christian myself, I believe that Jesus' definition of "marital unfaithfulness" is much broader than just a sexual relationship.  I think men who physically or mentally abuse their wives are just as unfaithful as the guy who has multiple affairs.  And I think a husband who abuses his children is also being unfaithful to his marriage and his family.  I don't know any of the details about Boebert's divorce, and the story that is linked to this one, about the 9-1-1 call her son placed, saying he was being thrown around by his father, may or may not be the reason for her filing for divorce.  But she has no room to call anyone else a degenerate.  

One of my favorite books, and it's still around and worth reading, is called If the Church Were Christian, by Phillip Gulley who is a Quaker minister.  The subtitle, "Rediscovering the values of Jesus," and it is, as a reviewer says, "profound wisdom on how to live in a world created by a loving, compassionate God."  One of the chapters carries the title, "If the church were Christian, gracious behavior would be more important than right belief."  To that I would add that gracious behavior is evidence of right belief.  If Christianity has conversion as one of its goals, classifying people as degenerate is not a good place to start achieving it. 

And yes, to those who want to bring it up, there is a difference between Hillary Clinton labelling Trump supporters as "deplorable" and Boebert calling the LGBTQ community "degenerate."  Clinton was referencing, and criticizing, the politics of Trump supporters, compared to traditional American political values, describing the white supremacy and conspiracy theories that drive most of them.  Boebert's accusation is a judgment of character.  Frankly, when it comes to acceptance and community, most LGBTQ persons are much more open than many Christians.  Some of them are Christians, too, and their spiritual condition is between them and God and not subject to any other human judgment. 

Boebert is providing a very good illustration of why the founding fathers thought that it was wise to separate faith, which is a matter of personal, individual conscience, from the civil authority of the state.