Monday, October 27, 2008

James Dobson - Prophet?

The Matthew 25 website sent out a request to respond to the letter put out by the Focus on the Family Action website. Honestly, I don't know whether to laugh or cry.

This letter, from an imaginary Christian in 2012, is so insanely biased and fear based, that anyone who takes it seriously would certainly not be voting for Obama to begin with.

On the other hand, I can see how many Christians could have their eyes opened to the spirit of fear spread by James Dobson. Perhaps this would give them a reason to look more closely at what Obama has actually said? Or perhaps that is just wishful thinking.

I listened to Focus on the Family's radio program when I was a young mother, but completely quit when I heard him laughing about the surprised look in a boy's eye when his shoulder was pinched in Dobson's recommended surprise discipline method. I know how much it hurts...I've had it used on me a couple of times. I understand that discipline is important, but laughing at a child's pain passes the line of acceptability in my book.

The following quote is not exactly the one I heard on the radio in 1996, but it describes the same act:

Dobson obviously enjoys the power that goes with authority, and, as we have seen, a bit of sadism is evident in his depictions of experiments on animals. We catch of whiff of it too, in relation to punishing kids, especially when they are teen-agers. His anatomically detailed instructions on how to squeeze a particular muscle in a toddler’s shoulder to administer a bolt of pain is inexplicably decked out with a gratuitous anecdote about how he himself (with his “rather large hands”) used the technique on some rowdy adolescents—this story reads like a soft core Death Wish script.

Perhaps because I am familiar with his "love of dicipline" I am particularly drawn to the passage in his 2012 letter that describes the horrors of liberals delving out punishment of their own: "The Justice Department soon began to file civil and criminal charges against nearly every Bush administration official who had any involvement in the Iraq war."

My favorite part of the Dobson letter!

This is a bad thing? If evil was done in the dark, and hidden in secret papers, Dobson who proclaimes to work for a just and loving God, would surely rejoice when justice brought the wrongdoers to light! And why else would the Bush administration sign an "executive order that [has] prevented presidential papers from being released," unless they had something to hide?

I for one, hope that in this one instance, James Dobson's word is prophetic.

Woe to those who go to great depths
to hide their plans from the LORD,
who do their work in darkness and think,
"Who sees us? Who will know?"
Isaiah 29:15

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

I'm so disappointed in Dr. Dobson. I haven't exactly been a fan, but he's stooping to a new low!

kc bob said...

He initially would not support McCain for the very reasons many of us can't support him. The word that describes Dobson best may not be prophetic but pathetic :(

Dade Cariaga said...

Excellent post, Heather Ann.

Dobson is a very twisted cat.

Heather Ann said...

Perhaps the scariest thing is that some people (hopefully a very limited few) actually do see this as a real possibility. No matter what the outcome of the election, the day after will surely be an historic moment. I do hope and pray that it will be a time of rejoicing and celebration and that people's fears and concerns (on both sides will be unfounded.