Joe Scarborough is the current co-host of the MSNBC show “Morning Joe,” where wife Mika Brzezinski sits alongside him.
He used to be a Republican.
No, really, I’m serious. But let’s start with some background.
Joe’s early days garnered him a Catholic high school degree, a B.A. in
History and a Juris Doctor. This was seemingly preparation for what was to come.
From 1995 to 2001, he served under the GOP label as a U.S. congressman from the great state of Florida.
While in the House of Representatives, he was awarded a 95 percent lifetime rating from the American Conservative Union. He also signed on to then-Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich’s famed “Contract with America.”
Apparently, something major happened to Joe in the years that would follow, politically, personally and otherwise. And it has a lot of folks who once admired him trying to figure out what the heck went wrong.
I’m one of them. Joe and I go back to the days of “Conservative Chic.” Truly historic times.
Among other professional and personal interactions, I was a guest on his former prime time MSNBC show “Scarborough Country.”
Ideologically, a very different media figure is sitting in the host chair today, and now it looks like spiritually as well.
He seems to be able to act, speak and breathe very comfortably in a realm of irrationality.
There are many puzzling things about Joe 2.0. But rivaling for most disturbing is a recent one in which he appears to move from presenting questionable news to preaching questionable theology.
His current claim is that long ago Jesus Christ placed a sort of stamp of approval on abortion.
Using his platform on the “Morning Joe” show, he veered into what can aptly be described as a spiritual danger zone, twisting the Word of God to bolster a pro-abortion position.
Joe told his audience that since there is no biblical passage to point to in which Jesus explicitly mentions abortion, then ending a life in the womb must therefore be acceptable to the Lord.
He didn’t stop there, though. He went on to directly attack Christians, stating that those who believe their faith instructs their consciences to view abortion as a moral wrong are heretics.
As a former Southern Baptist, Joe evidently feels comfortable enough with his biblical expertise to take to the MSNBC pulpit regarding the content and meaning of the Gospels.
“Jesus never once talked about abortion,” he said. “Never once, and it was happening back in ancient times. It was happening during His time.”
Joe went on to charge Christian pro-lifers with “perverting the gospel of Jesus Christ down to one issue” as well as accusing them of being guilty of “heresy.”
He wasn’t done yet. He asserted that pro-life individuals have “conveniently overlooked the parts of the New Testament where Jesus talks about taking care of the needy, taking care of those who are helpless, who live a hopeless life.”
Well here are a few Sunday school lessons that many of us, including Joe, might want to use to refresh our memories and maybe even update our consciences.
The Good Book is filled with passages that tell us just how precious each one of us is in God’s eyes.
— He tells us that He created each of us “in his own image.” (Genesis)
— He tells us that each “fruit of the womb” is a “gift” from above. And that He “knit me together in my mother’s womb.” (Psalms)
— He says that “before I formed you in the womb I knew you.” (Jeremiah)
— He speaks the words of love to us, “I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.”
(Jesus quoted in the Gospel of John)
— He describes the feelings of joy present in pre-born life, “…the infant in my womb leapt for joy.” (from the Gospel of Luke: What Elizabeth, who is pregnant with John the Baptist, says upon hearing the greeting of Mary, who is pregnant with Jesus.)
— He tells us that each one of us is His “temple” and that His “spirit dwells” in us. (1 Corinthians)
Guess it’s appropriate we end with a round of Jesus Loves Me.
Because He really does. From the moment of conception.
James Hirsen 