'The Body' needs to control the mouth

By Tim Wood

Minnesota Gov. Jesse "The Body" Ventura has said that he wants to be known as the "The Mind." By his recent actions, it would appear that "The Mouth" might be a better moniker for the wrestler-turned politician.

The gospel according to Ventura says that people who believe in religion are "weak-minded" and that organized religion is a sham.

Although some have praised Ventura for speaking his mind, there is something to be said for keeping one's mouth shut when the mind has nothing worthwhile to say.

The "weak-minded" believers can take comfort in being lumped into the same category as C.S. Lewis, Martin Luther King and Jimmy Carter. If the students at Columbine High School who professed their faith in God at gunpoint were weak minded, then let me be weak minded.

Perhaps you have to be "weak minded" to realize that you are not the center of the universe and that there indeed is a higher power. To be a Christian, you have to admit you are weak. You have to admit that you have messed up and you need to be bailed out. You don't do this just once - you do it on a regular basis. The terms you might hear in church are repentance and forgiveness.

Ventura said organized religion is a "sham." Before we give the governor too much grief on this one, let's consider a few things:

There are organizations purporting to be churches that do give religion a bad name. When one hears about churches splitting up because they can't agree on the color of the carpet in the sanctuary, it raises doubts about the sincerity of their faith.

Also giving religion a bad name are denominations that do not discipline clergy and other leaders who are guilty of harming others.

If a church doesn't fulfill its mission to help a world in need, then it is not helping the cause.

Perhaps Ventura drew his conclusion about organized religion from the institutions that give religion a bad name.

The bad apples notwithstanding, wouldn't be interesting if Ventura could see all of the good done in the name of religion? Perhaps much of this good is taken for granted. Has Ventura ever seen a minister spend days and nights with the families of a terminally ill person? Has he seen a church pour out love to a family devastated by the loss of a loved one? Has he seen the relief efforts to disaster victims provided by churches, and by church members through organizations such as the Red Cross? Has he seen the homes constructed for the needy through organizations such as Habitat?

Perhaps he has not seen these things. There are many, many people who know nothing about the real work of God that is being done.

No doubt there are Christians out there who are giving the faith a bad name. But if the agnostics and atheists of the world want Jesse Ventura as their spokesman, they can have him. If they want to legalize prostitution - another Ventura idea - they can go ahead and speed up the spread of deadly sexually-transmitted diseases. They can contribute to the moral decay of the country.

It's too bad Jesse Ventura had to say something like this, because he's got some decent ideas and he's a refreshing change from the typical politician. But "The Body" needs to control "The Mouth" more closely.

Published in The Columbia Daily Herald Oct. 10, 1999

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