News: Senator John Edwards

“Jesus seems to take a different approach, and his centers on the unwillingness or inability of human beings to handle either wealth or power responsibly. ”

Senator John Edwards presents an interesting case for Christian analysis.
He was engaged in an extramarital affair, by his own admission, while running for the office of presidency of the United States. He claims to have told his wife of this affair and that she forgave him. Meanwhile, he continued in his efforts to run for the presidency and his wife supported him in this effort.

In today’s world, the fact of his affair could hardly be kept a secret.  But, this fact did not deter him, or her. If he had been successful in his candidacy, his party, the Democratic Party, would most likely have been destroyed, if and when this knowledge became known, as it most likely would have been. These facts did not deter either him or her in his efforts to become the next president.

On the one hand, a Christian is slow to assess moral blame. On the other hand, this is a unique and public case affecting the welfare of millions of citizens.

Some people place a great deal of blame on the times in which we live. They assert people either don’t have or have lost all sense of moral responsibility for their actions. I hesitate to believe this. Jesus seems to take a different approach, and his centers on the unwillingness or inability of human beings to handle either wealth or power responsibly.

John and Elizabeth Edwards do not know how to deal with either. It is not that they are such bad persons as typically weak human beings in these areas. That is not surprising. What is surprising is that despite this fact they pursued the highest office in the land.

John Edwards grew up in rather modest circumstances. He then became very wealthy. The same was true for Elizabeth. Their wealth gave them a number of options but it did not contribute to their wise handling of the wealth and the potential power that went with it.

This weakness coupled with a desire furthered by their earlier successes led to their unreasonable actions The fact that their behavior was beyond any demonstrated ability and unreasonable in the extent of possible suffering on the part of many others did not deter them in their reckless ambition. To this day, the excuses each puts forward demonstrates that their ambitions were far beyond their abilities.

It would seem that the guilt each person bears in this instance is due more to their lack of appreciation for the necessities attached to the proper handling of wealth and power than anything else. That is understandable and forgivable but it should not be tolerated in this or any sane society.

It takes a great deal of gall for anyone to run for high political office. To ask other people to trust you so completely is to ask the impossible. For people to place such trust in another human being is foolish to the extreme. Yet, it happens all the time. It is reckless on both parts, but both foolish and reckless on the part of the asking party, especially when they know better.

There are many considerations each citizen should take into account in choosing a new national leader. It is a heavy and difficult task. The type of person is not the least of these qualifications. No one had more to say about this matter or should be listened to more attentively than Jesus of Nazareth.