The eighth commandment simply says, “you shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.” Martin Luther explained it this way. He said, “We are to fear and love God, so that we do not tell lies about our neighbors, betray or slander them, or destroy their reputation. Instead we are to come to their defense, speak well of them, and interpret everything they do in the best possible light.”

We are a country that rewards politicians who do not follow the eighth commandment. We seem to reward candidates who do exactly what Martin Luther says we should not do. In the last presidential election there were two groups that sought to destroy a candidate’s reputation. One was called Swift Boat Veterans for Truth, and the other was called Texans for Truth.

Both of these groups tried to destroy the reputation of one of the presidential candidates. Swift Boat Veterans for Truth opposed John Kerry. Texans for Truth opposed George Bush.

Both of these groups purchased television ads. You can still purchase books written by the people in both of these organizations. You can still read their web sites. I have been to their web sites, and I read information about these groups on another web site. There is a web site called sourcewatch, which is a project of the “Center for Media and Democracy”, where you can read about both groups.

If you go to the sourcewatch web site, you can actually download the IRS form 8872 that Swift Boat Veterans for Truth used to report their contributions to the IRS. You can see that eleven people provided the initial contributions to start the organization. The contributions totaled $158,750.

Bob Perry, who was the largest donor to the Republican Party in the state of Texas, donated $100,000 to the organization. John O’Neill and Harlan Crow each contributed $25,000. So three people contributed $150,000 of the initial $158,750.

John O’Neill is the leader of the organization. He claims to have served on John Kerry’s boat. His claim may be true, but he arrived in John Kerry’s unit two months after John Kerry had left Viet Nam. In other words, he did not serve with John Kerry in Viet Nam. Another leader in the organization is retired Rear Admiral Roy Hoffman. “A Los Angeles Times examination of Navy archives found that Hoffman praised Kerry's performance in cabled messages after several river skirmishes. Los Angeles Times. 5 July 2004 (p. A1).” He acknowledges that he didn’t really have direct dealings with John Kerry or get to know him.

The Texans for Truth organization accuses George Bush of being absent without leave from the Air National Guard. “The Texans for Truth ad features Robert Mintz, who served in Alabama's 187th Air National Guard, who says "neither he nor his friends saw George W. Bush when the future president was supposed to be with their unit in 1972.”

Glenn Smith, a Texas Democratic political consultant, established Texans for Truth in late August 2004. According to the Chicago Tribune, "Smith, an Austin resident who ran Democrat Tony Sanchez's unsuccessful 2002 campaign for Texas governor, said he created Texans for Truth in reply to Swift Boat Veterans for Truth. Smith offered a $50,000 prize to anyone who could prove that Bush had fulfilled his National Guard service requirements.

I have read background material on both of these organizations. I have my opinion about which people in which organization lied, and which commercials were misleading and contained factual errors. That is part of what the eighth commandment covers. Luther’s interpretation of this commandment goes further than condemning outright lies. The second half of the meaning to this commandment has more to say about how we are to treat our neighbors. It says, “Instead we are to come to their defense, speak well of them, and interpret everything they do in the best possible light.”

Martin Luther would consider participating in an attack ad a violation of the eighth commandment. I have to agree, and it distresses me when I see this in politics. It distresses me more when I see that the ads are successful. I would like to be able not vote for anyone who uses attack ads, but in this last presidential election, both candidates used them.

I feel worse when I see similar tactics used in debates within the church. I receive a publication in the mail on a regular basis. The name of the publication is “Lutheran Commentator”. Each issue is a political attack against the leadership of the ELCA. The main target is Bishop Hanson. It is distressing to see a publication that uses the word “Lutheran” break Martin Luther’s understanding of the eighth commandment each time it publishes an issue.

I have read Bishop Hanson’s articles. I have read his book. I have sat next to him at a breakfast table during one of our synod assemblies. I don’t agree with him on every issue, but I believe he is a good man trying to do a good job in leading the ELCA. He deserves our prayers and our support.

I believe that it hurts our country when political organizations break the eighth commandment. I believe that it hurts our denomination when factions within our denomination do the same. Actually it hurts our world whenever any of us breaks any of the commandments. Following the commandments makes our world a better place.

It is always good for any of us to take out Luther’s Small Catechism, dust it off, and go through each commandment, each petition of the Lord’s Prayer, and each article of the Apostle’s Creed. Read again the meaning of each part, and think about how it applies to your life.

I believe that attack ads are blatantly wrong. If I have a choice between a candidate that uses them and one that does not, I will chose one who does not use attack ads. I may end up voting for someone who opposes many of my views, but I feel strongly that attack ads should not be used.

Following the commandments makes the world a better place. Attack ads are a blatant violation of the eighth commandment.

Thanks for listening.

Sincerely,

Pastor Birk