There’s nothing Republicans hate more than being reminded of the things Jesus said that make them look like assholes :

John Kerry cited a Bible verse Sunday to criticize leaders who have “faith but has no deeds,” prompting President Bush’s spokesman to accuse Kerry of exploiting Scripture for a political attack.

Kerry never mentioned Bush by name during his speech at New North Side Baptist Church, but aimed his criticism at “our present national leadership.” Kerry cited Scripture in his appeal for the worshippers, including James 2:14, “What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds?”

“The Scriptures say, what does it profit, my brother, if someone says he has faith but does not have works?” Kerry said. “When we look at what is happening in America today, where are the works of compassion?”

Bush campaign spokesman Steve Schmidt said Kerry’s comment “was beyond the bounds of acceptable discourse and a sad exploitation of Scripture for a political attack.”

Kerry told worshippers in the largely black congregation that the country’s leadership has served the privileged while ignoring people across America who live in neighborhoods like theirs.

“Today we are told that, after 3 million lost jobs and so many lost hopes, America is now turning a corner,” the pending senate presidential nominee said. “But those who say that, they’re not standing on the corner of Highland Street, where two 15-year-old teenagers were hit in a drive-by shooting last week.”

Here’s my question for the GOP : If this is “a sad exploitation”, that what do you call it when Bush appears on the cover of a magazine praying while telling people that God wants him to attack Iraq?

It makes sense that Kerry’s quoting this verse would piss them off though. It seems that the more right-wing and extreme a religion gets, the more openly hostile they are to the view that you can be “saved” through “good works”. For a good example of this, check out Jack Chick’s Flight 144, in which he explains why a crashed flight full of missionaries is going straight to hell :

So it makes sense then that the President and his staff would be upset about being reminded of Jesus’s teachings that “You see that a person is justified by what he does and not by faith alone.” Of course, this lesson is probably lost on them. Perhaps if it said something even clearer like “You can’t give handouts to the rich while the poor are dying of preventable diseases,” then it might sink into their heads. But I doubt it.