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March 31, 2007

A Non-Apology from Dobson and Focus on the Family - UPDATED

This is really disappointing. When is an apology not really an apology?

Well, when it says stuff like this:

In conclusion, we would caution friends of our ministry not to believe what they read about Dr. Dobson in the secular media today. Never in the 30-year history of this ministry has there been more misreporting and outright distortion of his beliefs and teachings. It is apparent that those who represent a liberal worldview seek to marginalize him and confuse our friends. Anyone who ever has a question concerning what they read about Dr. Dobson or Focus on the Family is encouraged to contact us for clarification. The chances are they have been misinformed.

Unbelievable. Rather than take responsibility for what he said and reiterated through a spokesman, Dobson has taken the "blame the media" route. His attempt to hide behind conservative distrust of the media is shameful, especially when you consider that his 'apology' is missing two words that every statement of contrition should contain. Those two words?

Apology and sorry.

Neither of them appear. Nor does the word "apologize."

Dobson and his spokesman said something they should not have said, and do not have the character to admit they were wrong in saying it. Dobson is doing his best to alienate a man who could quite possibly be the Republican nominee for president of the United States, but he is doing much more than that - he is shaming an organization that claims to speak for people of faith. This man is the leader of one of the largest evangelical organizations in the country, and he can't bring himself to offer even the most simple of apologies?

To paraphrase something I wrote a few months ago, Christians should be involved in politics, but should never make a particular political opinion a litmus test for what makes a ‘good Christian.’ In his letter to the Corinthians, Paul called Christ a ‘stumbling stone,’ since the message that Jesus preached was hard enough for society to accept. In their zeal to achieve political influence, Dobson and Focus on the Family have now erected a few more barriers to faith for those who do not support Republican or conservative policy proposals by making Christians look judgmental and stubborn.

I like Dr. James Dobson's ministry to families. I've enjoyed reading his books, am grateful for the movie reviews he provides through one of his organization's sites and think he is overall a good man.

But I really wish he would apologize and take responsibility for what he said. Not just because I like Fred Thompson, but because it's the right thing to do.

(H/t: The provider of traffic)

UPDATE - To be fair, I should point out that Dobson has further clarified his remarks. Of course, there's no explanation of why a spokesman from his organization agreed with and extended Dobson's original remarks, leaving me a bit curious as to whether Dobson is backpedaling a bit and using conservative distrust of the media as a convenient 'out.'

Posted by slublog at March 31, 2007 09:04 PM

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Comments

Posted by: Nice Deb at March 30, 2007 12:12 AM

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Posted by: Dave in Texas at March 30, 2007 12:27 AM

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