I’m still holding out hope that this is a parody. iLiveValues.com published a blog entry called, “Being an Obedient Follower.” The web page claims to be published by ERLC, which links to The Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission of the Southern Baptist Convention, the vision of which is “An American society that affirms and practices Judeo-Christian values rooted in biblical authority.”
The point of the blog entry is to teach readers about sheep. We need to know about sheep because, the blog reminds us, Jesus told Peter to feed his sheep. So the idea is that we are supposed to be Jesus’s sheep, and God’s hand-picked followers are supposed to “feed” us.
Here are some of the descriptions of sheep offered by the blog: “natural inclination to follow a leader… a strong lead-follow tendency… no such thing as a ‘natural born leader’ among sheep. The day’s leader among the flock is normally just the first sheep to move… when one sheep attempted to leap over a 15 meter wide ravine and instead fell to its death, nearly fifteen hundred other sheep followed… sheep are not as dumb as we have been told… just below pigs and on par with cattle in IQ… no sense of direction… Lost sheep usually will walk around in endless circles, in a state of confusion, and even panic… Sheep spend most of their lives eating and drinking, but they are not careful about what they eat and drink… Sheep are almost entirely defenseless.”
So this is the model for Christian behavior, apparently. How are God’s appointed shepherds supposed to treat these sheep?
“A shepherd would sacrifice for his flock. His flock implicitly trusts him. Sheep need a leader, even if they don’t know they do.”
I imagine that the “sheep” especially need a “leader” if they protest that they don’t.
Thankfully, I know many Christians who would just as soon shop for guns or “feed” sheep to their children.