By now just about everyone has heard about Mary Peltola’s foul language and abusive conduct towards staff members during her tenure in Congress, reported by the New York Times on September 23. Reactions have largely been what you would expect: disgust from Republicans, deflection by Democrats.
Liberal Presbyterian pastor and former 2026 candidate for Congress Matt Shultz wrote an op-ed published by the Anchorage Press admitting Peltola’s actions and words were a moral failing. Then he wrote: “The only question that remains is, since these hateful words were used: What should happen next? The way we answer defines who we are and what we choose to allow politics to be. My answer is this: It’s not enough to win an election; we have to be people who deserve to win.”
He concludes his op-ed with asserting Democrat moral superiority over Republicans: “This is a teachable moment. We can show Alaska and the nation that apologies are a sign of wisdom and strength, that choosing words of compassion matters, and that people of good character can win elections. But if we follow the MAGA playbook of cruelty without apology, then we have forsaken our foundational ethical mandate to love our neighbor. And if we do that, we no longer deserve to win.”
While an apology would be appropriate, an apology will not make Democrat policies good for Alaska nor make liberal lifestyles biblical. Shulz points to the “foundational ethical mandate to love our neighbor.” The Bible says that loving your neighbor is the second greatest commandment. But it seems pastor Shulz has forgotten the first: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment.” (Matthew 22:37-38)
What does it mean to love God? If we are taking a biblical approach— as a Christian should do— we would go first to the Bible even if what the Bible says makes us uncomfortable. Jesus says in John 14:15, “If you love me, you will keep my commandments.” The connection is clear: those who love God obey God.
Liberal ideology is not biblically ethical. Abortion destroys innocent lives which God knits together in the womb. Little lives that Alaska’s own law acknowledges are children— though they are denied equal protection. Homosexual lifestyles flagrantly disobey Romans 1, and the Bible’s frequently explained framework for marriage: one man and one woman joined through a holy commitment for the purpose of walking together toward Heaven and rearing children. Transgender ideology celebrates bodily mutilation in place of mental healing. Liberal environmentalist policies often place animal concerns over human concerns— like we are seeing with the King Cove Road— which rejects the Biblical assertions that only humans are made in the image of God, have dominion over the earth, and are valued above all other creatures.
Pastor Shulz says Democrats need to act ethically so that they “deserve to win.” He ties his idea of ethics to love of neighbor but unmoors it from love of God. Love of neighbor without a love of God is secular humanism dressed up in Christianese.
Shulz’s idea that Republicans follow a rulebook of cruelty and Democrats follow a rulebook of love is rich irony. Where was this supposed Democrat “love of neighbor” when Chloe Cole was told to kill herself after de-transitioning? When Charlie Kirk was murdered in cold blood? When King Cove residents just want access to emergency medical care? When abortionists explicitly admit that abortion is the killing of a baby?
The Democrat Party is not the party of kindness. The Republican Party does not own kindness either. Kindness is a personal quality, not a partisan quality. A biblical pastor— whether on the right or left— calls people to repentance wherever there is sin like John the Baptist crying, “Repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand.” (Matthew 3:2) There are essential pastoral words missing from Shulz’s op-ed: no mention of sin, no mention of Christ, no mention of the Bible, no mention of eternity.
I do not believe the incumbent Dan Sullivan deserves to win because he is a “good person” and Peltola is a “bad person”— that’s ultimately for God to judge. And if we Christians are being honest, we know not a single person is “good”— only Christ Jesus is righteous and in Him do we have any righteousness at all. But Jesus is not going to be our Senator. He is our Savior. Our Senator will be a flawed human being, and so will our Governor and Representatives and every elected leader. The reality of an inherently sinful nature is a bedrock of Christian belief and power always exacerbates that sinful nature, so we should not be surprised when we encounter corruption, cruelty, and deception in politicians.
That does not let Peltola off the hook; it redirects the voter’s decision process to where should be focused: policy.
Unlike Shulz who believes politicians’ “kindness” should guide your vote; I believe policy should guide your vote. Your vote says who you think has the better policies on the things that will affect our lives like energy, economics, schools, healthcare, etc. Sullivan has my vote because his policies are better for Alaska and America than Peltola’s policies. He has earned that vote by strengthening the U.S. Coast Guard with historic investments, cutting taxes, supporting Trump’s military action to stop Iran from possessing nuclear weapons, writing legislation to protect domestic abuse survivors, writing legislation to protect kids from predatory technology, opposing transgender ideology, and supporting resource development.
Even if Peltola apologizes— even if Peltola had never said or done anything reprehensible in the first place— it still would not make her policies worth voting for. Peltola’s liberal policies will shut down resource development, increase taxes, prioritize the environment over real human lives, suppress or reject the science about the harms of transgender interventions and abortion, and grow the poor’s dependency on the government. For Shultz, an apology signals “wisdom and strength,” but the substantive meaning of repentance is actually between Peltola and God, not between Peltola and the voter. For voters, wisdom and strength is reflected in policies that put Alaskans first, strengthen the nation, and protect freedom.
As for pastor Shulz, he had a chance to point his flock toward Christ and the truth found in the Bible he claims to believe, but he did not do that. He talked about “ethical” actions, not biblical actions. He talked about “hateful words” and “cruelty,” but not sin. He talked about “grace and forgiveness,” but not Jesus Christ who gives eternal grace and forgiveness. Whatever your reaction is to the NYT piece on Peltola, whether you are on the right or left, I will tell you what pastor Shulz seems reluctant to say: God alone is righteous and in His Son Jesus Christ alone— not by our politics— are we made righteous.
