The Sons of Eli
by Pieter J. Friedrich
10/15/04

In the third presidential debate, moderator Bob Schieffer commented to Bush and Kerry that "Each of us have two daughters that make us very proud."

While I can't speak for Kerry's daughters, who haven't been in the limelight enough for me to know anything about them, and I don't care about Schieffer's daughters since he's not running for president, I'd seriously question the notion that Bush has any reason to be proud of his daughters. All parents ought to love their children, but they should only be proud of them if and when they've earned that pride, and the Bush twins are a disgrace to their family.

Most people know about the Bush twins and their brushes with the law over alcohol-related crimes. In 2001 Barbara was charged with being a "minor in possession of alcohol," and in a more serious breach of the law Jenna attempted to purchase alcohol using a fake ID. These incidents are telling, but in and of themselves are not enough to condemn the twins. After all, many otherwise good kids have gotten in trouble with the law over alcohol, and the legitimacy of the laws themselves is suspect.

What's more indicative of the Bush's failed parenting is that their daughters were invited to their sodomite beautician's "wedding," responded eagerly to the invitation, and presumably attended. According to a New York Daily News article, "Bush's daughters have expressed an enthusiastic desire to go to [the beautician] and [his partner's] Sept. 11 wedding celebration at their home in Laytonsville, Md."¹ Of course, despicable as the twins' participation in such a perverted ceremony might be, it's hardly surprising considering their father believes that not only do the states have the right to legalize civil unions but that if they do "that's great! That's fine!"²

But the worst is yet to come. A recent article in the Sydney Morning Times read: "In spring 2002, Ms. [Barbara] Bush, then aged 20, arrived for the fun, according to at least two people who saw her there. Like everyone else at the party, she left her inhibitions at the door and her clothes in a changing room, then mingled with the other guests over wine, cheese and pool. Naked parties are not orgies, not even close, despite their name, say those who attend."³

And what do the Bush parents think of such sexual shenanigans? "A call to the White House seeking comment from Ms Bush was referred to the office of her mother, Laura Bush, who declined to comment." Rather than upbraiding their daughter for her immorality or repudiating her actions before the media, they chose to ignore the issue. Traditional values involve the rooting out of sin, not the brushing of it under the carpet.

So much for the Bush family. Things become truly horrific when one moves on to examine what is publicly know about the Cheneys.

Mary Cheney, the lesbian daughter of Dick Cheney, has received the most media attention. Not only is she a lesbian, however, but she "has joined the board of a homosexual activist Republican group that seeks to make homosexuality a "non-issue" in the GOP and compares opposition to homosexuality to racism."⁴ As a reward for her perversion, Mary Cheney was appointed "head of her father's campaign team."⁵

Vice-President Cheney's daughter is not the only person in his household who is out of control. His wife, Lynne, "published a soft-porn feminist novel that featured explicit lesbian sex" - this while Mary was an impressionable twelve years old.⁶

All the above is rather shocking, but why all the fuss?

When choosing civil magistrates, God commands us to "take you wise men, and understanding, and known among your tribes, and I will make them rulers over you."⁷ William Einwechter says, "These are men who have proven themselves to be wise and understanding. Their character, ability, and wisdom have been demonstrated by their service in other spheres. A man who would be a ruler must first prove himself in family life...etc."⁸ That is, those who desire to rule must first have proven their ability to do so by keeping their household in order, since "he that is faithful in that which is least is faithful also in much."⁹

Additionally, while the requirements laid forth in I Timothy 3 are for bishops, not civil magistrates, it would be worthwhile to briefly examine them. A bishop may only hold that office if he "ruleth well his own house, having his children in subjection with all gravity."¹⁰

History bears out that civil magistrates who fail to restrain their children will not blessed, and are not worthy to hold office. The priest and civil magistrate Eli, who judged Israel for forty years, had two sons who rejected God and yet he did not properly restrain them. Because Eli neglected his parental duties, God told him: "I said indeed that thy house, and the house of thy father, should walk before me for ever: but now the LORD saith, Be it far from me; for them that honour me I will honour, and they that despise me shall be lightly esteemed. Behold, the days come, that I will cut off thine arm, and the arm of thy father's house, that there shall not be an old man in thine house."¹¹

If God condemned and eventually punished¹² Eli, a generally righteous man, because of the sins of his children, I believe we ought likewise to condemn Bush and Cheney for their own parental (and husbandly) failings. They have not ruled their houses well, nor have they proven themselves faithful in the least of things, and so they cannot be trusted to be faithful in the ruling of the nation.

References

1. Grove, Lloyd. 2004. "Bush Gals To See Gay Vows." The New York Daily News, August 18.
2. Chastain, Jane. 2004. "Bush Abandons Base On Homosexuality." WorldNetDaily, September 2.
3. No Author. 2004. "Bush Goes For Skin, Not Bones." The Sydney Morning Times, October 9.
4. CFI Staff. 2002. "Mary Cheney Joins Homosexual Activist Group." Concerned Women For America, April 25.
5. No Author. 2004. "Who Is Mary Cheney?." The Gay & Lesbian Times, April 15.
6. Fleming, Thomas. 2004. "'It's About Our Values.'" Chronicles Magazine, September 10.
7. Deuteronomy 1:13, KJV.
8. Einwechter, William. 1998. "'Biblical Standards For Choosing Civil Magistrates.'" The Christian Statesman, October.
9. Luke 16:10a, KJV.
10. I Timothy 3:4, KJV.
11. I Samuel 2:30-31, KJV.
12. I Samuel 4, KJV.