Tim Sweetman is an 18-year-old journalist, blogger, and student who lives near our nation's capital,
Washington D.C. He is much more widely known by his "code-name," Agent Tim. This name also serves as
the name of his popular blog, which has received over 750,000 visits since its debut three years ago. Contact Tim 
May 2005: It is reported by the Las Vegas Review-Journal that Senator Harry Reid calls the President “a loser” in front of 60 juniors at a high school in response to a question asked about Bush’s policies.
May 2005: Senator Ken Salazar (D-Col) calls Focus on the Family the “anti-Christ.”
Both men apologized after their obvious inappropriate statements. And unfortunately this is becoming to be expected from the Democrats in Congress. As reported in Fox News:
“RNC spokesman Brian Jones called Reid’s statement ‘a sad development but not surprising from the leader of a party devoid of optimism, ideas or solutions to the issues people care about most.’”
Hugh Hewitt notes this is “a week after Senator Ken Salazar (D-Colo) labels Focus on the Family as the anti-Christ and then apologizes, and a month after Senator Robert Byrd (D-WVA) brands the Senate GOP as Hitler’s heirs, Senator Charles Schumer (D-NY) appeals to President Bush to bring moderation to the Republican side of the debate on the filibusters.”
And these guys are calling people losers and the “anti-Christ”?
To top it off, Senator Reid said the 5 most-disputed judicial nominees were opposed to the 1973 Roe v. Wade case legalizing murder (er…abortion, excuse me). And all of them were “bad people.”
“[Court Justice Sanice Rogers Brown] is a woman who wants to take us back to the Civil War days,” said Reid.
Right. An African-American wants to go back to the days of slavery? I’d like an explanation of that statement.
And all of this took place while the President is away in Europe.
“You know the President is in Europe, probably sleeping,” said Reid (via Review Journal), “But I called (Karl) Rove and apologized for what I said.”
Yeah. Well, it’s a little too late.
“Freedom is a funny thing. It means not always getting what you want.
“When the liberal radio network Air America airs a “comedy skit” that threatens the president with assassination, its all in good fun.
“But when Focus on the Family’s James Dobson, a man with millions of peaceful followers, flexes his political muscle, he’s the anti-Christ, hijacking Christianity, a religious nut, a crusader for the new theocratic state.” (Denver Post)
What’s up with that?
I checked DailyKos for their thoughts:
“…a guy like Dobson wants power, and those inclined to listen to him probably won’t give up the fight of their own accord if he tells them not to.”
A (Denver) Post writer opines: “The very values and principles on which our democracy and liberty are founded are threatened.”
Left-wingers and “liberal” Christians [ha!] are making Dobson out to be a power-seeking mad-man using his influence and organization to get what he wants.
I mean, it’s Focus on the Family right? Not Focus on Politics.
Let me point back to the statement Sen. Reid made about the judicial nominees being held up by the filibuster.
“Senator Reid said the five most-disputed judicial nominees were opposed to the 1973 Roe v. Wade case legalizing murder (er…abortion, excuse me). And all of them were “bad people.”
They are for protecting the family…so why shouldn’t Dobson and others be promoting them?
I think that some people need to actually read and hear James Dobson. He’s not “huffing and puffing” or promoting theocracy. He is promoting the family, and the only way to do that is in the political side.
May 9th, 2005 at 3:00 pm
I agree.
The Blogging Boy Scout,
Travis
May 9th, 2005 at 5:11 pm
“The very values and principles on which our democracy and liberty are founded are threatened.”
*Bangs head on keyboard* REPUBLIC, not democracy! A REPUBLIC! The Founding Fathers did not care much for democracy…which is what we are obviously turning into.
May 9th, 2005 at 7:18 pm
Nice post Tim. People should really start to think b4 they speak, especially on such controversial issues. (Nice site too)
May 9th, 2005 at 7:52 pm
You had me up until you wrote, “Left-wingers and “liberal” Christians [ha!]” … then it was over. I was really enjoying your site until you showed me that you question my ability to be Christian and someone who leans to the left. Thankfully, though … Jesus doesn’t question that.
May 9th, 2005 at 9:14 pm
OK, I must go down on the record by saying this…I don’t believe that as a Christian you can support abortion and gay marriage, etc. But I must go down on the record and say you can be a democrat and be a Christian (my Grandpa is a democrat). But if you support anti-Christianity, then how can you be a Christian?
I’d like to point you to this article my Kevin Mcoullough which explains my position more clearly. I was referring to obvious non-Christians taking on the name of “Christians.”
I apologize for any misinterpretations.
Thanks for your visit and hope to see you again.
Tim
May 9th, 2005 at 9:38 pm
I am an evangelical Christian and a Democrat. I lean to the left. I am not against my faith. I believe abortion is wrong and that gay people should not marry. I have no problem with them having civil unions. There are a lot of Democrats that are Christians and do not support abortion or gay marriage. We do support helping the poor, protecting the environment, and loving our neighbor as we love ourselves.
This is the kind of thing that bothers me the most about the climate politics has taken. It used to be that Republicans and Democrats went to church side by side. We listened to the same sermons and our kids played together in the same yards. Then politics hit the church and the WORD was bastardized in the political arena. The definition of Democrat and Liberal was changed and not by the people that claimed to be those things.
There are extremists on both sides. Judging a whole group of people based on the beliefs and actions of a few is wrong. Judging their salvation is even worse. And, both sides are guilty of it.
May 9th, 2005 at 11:03 pm
If I may… an article I wrote…
Changing the “We” back into “HE”
Kerry S. Doyal - pastor
http://www.GetGraced.org
‘Fess up: there are some followers of Jesus that serve Him in ways that bother you. Beyond bothering, they irk, irritate and infuriate us… err, you. For some, we doubt their salvation. For others, we question their sanity.
Maybe it’s “those crazy Charismatics,” or those not as anointed and “Spirit-filled” as you? Liberals or Legalists? How about churches that sing “off the wall,” using a projector with fluffy choruses? Perhaps it’s those dinosaurs singing archaic hymns with lyrics few understand using instruments only old folks like.
Is it Democrats or Republicans that both claim to love Jesus, extreme Calvinists or Arminians, or people who baptize wrong, mess up Communion, pray weird or show up in God’s house improperly dressed? Fanatical home-schoolers, you say, guys with earrings…? How many of these “Christians” do you pity, disdain or despise?
We each have our groups. They don’t follow Jesus with us, our kind. They pursue different means of closeness to and service for our Lord. They are suspect and deficient, and – dare I say it - inferior to us, our ways.
Were we to have an audience with Jesus, we might even humbly boast of trying to keep them from “ministering” their way. “Lord, we told them not to do that. They weren’t getting it right, they were not one of us. We tried to stop them.”
Preposterous, you say? Read this episode from Mark 9 and see if it doesn’t describe our tragically highly divided Christianized region.
“John said to Him, “Teacher, we saw someone casting out demons in Your name, and we tried to prevent him because he was not following us.” But Jesus said, “Do not hinder him, for there is no one who will perform a miracle in My name, and be able soon afterward to speak evil of Me. “For he who is not against us is for us.”
“For whoever gives you a cup of water to drink because of your name as followers of Christ, truly I say to you, he will not lose his reward. Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe to stumble, it would be better for him if, with a heavy millstone hung around his neck, he had been cast into the sea.” Mark 9:38-42 - NASV
Arguably, a key word is in this encounter is “us.” John, the Apostle of Love, says “we tried to prevent him because he was not following ‘us’.” John’s “He” (Jesus) had become a “we,” our authorized band of believers.
Was John, bragging about a good deed they tried to do? Was he confessing and seeking Jesus’, the Teacher’s, input? Or were they jealous about these outsiders’ success (9:14-18)?
What criteria do we use to curtail or condemn others? Is it that they are not one of us? Or is our standard: are they one of HIS, do they follow Jesus?
Is that enough for us? Or, must they use our methods, stress our emphases, adopt our models and our gurus? How did we get comfortable labeling and limiting others because they are not “one of our group?”
Charismatics may be reaching Africa and South America like no other group, but if it doesn’t show up on our denominational stats, it’s less significant. Liberals may be feeding, clothing and housing hosts in Jesus’ name, fulfilling Matthew 25, acting like sheep, but since they are not one of “us,” it doesn’t count. Legalists may live holy lives, but since it is Law, not love-driven, we are not impressed.
When we hinder people from doing Jesus’ work, or refuse a cup of cold water of support, we are not “making every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace” (Eph. 4:3).
Hear what Jesus says when we cause His vulnerable disciples to be entrapped in sin: “Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe to stumble, it would be better for him if, with a heavy millstone hung around his neck, he had been cast into the sea.” He takes this pretty serious. Shouldn’t we?
Note well Jesus’ response to John’s ignorant zeal: “But Jesus said, “Do not hinder him… for he who is not against us is for us.” Such a simple test. In holy mountain hollow lingo “Air ye fir us or air ye agin’ us?”
Yes, in the Judgment “some will say Lord, Lord,” having done great miracles in His name and He will say, “depart from Me, I never knew you” (Matt 7:21-23). Doctrine matters & it rightfully divides – just not as often as we claim.
Our minute differences become points of schism. Lesser issues become our identity, instead of mere footnotes. We let minor matters throw some off Jesus’ trail, causing them to stumble over “nothings.” Woe unto us.
Here is a text that God has – if I may – smacked me with many times through the years. The context is matters of conscience, nonessentials. “Who are you [Kerry] to judge someone else’s servant? To his own master he stands or falls. And he will stand, for the Lord is able to make him stand. One man considers one day more sacred than another; another man considers every day alike. Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind” (Romans 14:4-5 - NIV).
Chrysostom, an early church Father wrote: “In essentials, unity. In non-essentials, charity. In all things, Jesus Christ.” While we will not agree which are the non-essentials, can we not see we share many essentials that make for a oneness that is supernatural, even if it makes us uncomfortable?
How hard did this hit Jesus’ disciples? If people are turned towards Jesus by our love for each other, certainly they are turned away by our lack of love, even enmity towards those Jesus calls family? Do you have any “we’s” that need to include a few more family members?
May 10th, 2005 at 1:16 am
Question for Kerry Doyal. What about the liberal efforts to remove prayer from school, Creation from school, and the Ten Commentments from the Court House steps in Alabama? Also the Deomacrats are out to protect abortion. (murder of unborn children) Add to that the liberals support of gays and that about throws me head over heels into the conservitive party. The men I see who stand up against these evils are conservitives. So why be a liberal?
My 2 cents.
May 10th, 2005 at 1:31 pm
By that same token, why be a conservative? They are warmongers who don’t want to help the poor and needy. They want their religion to be public policy and forced on the public, regardless of the fact that no everyone is a Christian or believes as Christians do. They support a president who has continually lied. He also compared America to Christ when he declared America was the light and that the darkness has never overcame the light … and we all know that the Light is Jesus. Conservatives do not love their neighbors as they love themselves, they are not peacemakers, they are not good stewards of the earth.
Both sides can proclaim the sins of the other and pass judgment. Neither side would be right and both would be wallowing in their own sin and arrogrance by doing so.
May 10th, 2005 at 1:35 pm
Also, lets be real for a minute. There are tons of Christian Liberals that support prayer in school, the Ten Commandments on the walls of Court rooms, and the teaching of intelligent design.
May 10th, 2005 at 5:02 pm
As D. Martyn Lloyd Jones put it:
“It is…clear that the question of unity must never be put first. We must never start with it, but always remember the order so clearly stated in Acts 2:42 where fellowship follows doctrine…The present tendency to discount and to depreciate doctrine in the intrests of unity is simply a denial and a violation of plain New Testament teaching.”
He’s speaking of denominational unity, but I think it can go for party’s too. If our doctrine as believers is right, then I will allow you to decide in areas that God has left up for us to decide.
I’m not going to do any bashing. That’s not going to help anything.
God Bless,
May 12th, 2005 at 9:46 am
Here are some scriptures about “religion being forced on the public”
1 Tim 1:8 ? But we know that the Law is good, if one uses it lawfully,
1 Tim 1:9 realizing the fact that law is not made for a righteous person, but for those who are lawless and rebellious, for the ungodly and sinners, for the unholy and profane, for those who kill their fathers or mothers, for murderers
1 Tim 1:10 and immoral men and homosexuals and kidnappers and liars and perjurers, and whatever else is contrary to sound teaching,
1 Tim 1:11 according to the glorious gospel of the blessed God, with which I have been entrusted.
also
Eccl 12:13 ? The conclusion, when all has been heard, {is:} fear God and keep His commandments, because this {applies to} every person.
Eccl 12:14 For God will bring every act to judgment, everything which is hidden, whether it is good or evil.
In any court case or law the judge or legislator is forcing their “moral values” on someone else. If a police officer tells me not to speed he is forcing his moral standard on me. Laws are made for the good of the people of the United States, to protect them from evil and harm. Laws against sodomy are designed to protect people from AIDS and let people know that sodomy will hurt them.
“There are tons of Christian Liberals that support prayer in school, the Ten Commandments on the walls of Court rooms, and the teaching of intelligent design.”
Then why do they support a party who fights against those things?
“They are warmongers who don’t want to help the poor and needy.”
The war on terror is self defense. They attacked us first. As to Iraq and Mr. Bush lying, John Kerry voted to go to war on the same intelligence Mr. Bush want to war on. Now that we are over there we must finish the job.
Neh 4:14 When I saw {their fear,} I rose and spoke to the nobles, the officials and the rest of the people: “Do not be afraid of them; remember the Lord who is great and awesome, and fight for your brothers, your sons, your daughters, your wives and your houses.”
“..don’t want to help the poor and needy”
How so?
“He(Bush) also compared America to Christ when he declared America was the light and that the darkness has never overcame the light … and we all know that the Light is Jesus.
The light could be good and darkness bad.
“Conservatives do not love their neighbors as they love themselves, they are not peacemakers, they are not good stewards of the earth.”
Love their neighbors and peace makers I have already talked about, as to stewards of the earth, what are you talking about? Yes we believe trees can be chopped down and replanted for later use. (as opposed to being left in dry forests to fuel huge forest fires) We also believe and man is above animal, not the other way round. We(as people on earth) are stewards of God’s Creation so we are to handle the resources he has given us wisely.
Now what about abortion?