Do No Evil – The candidates assert that their religion is deeply important in their lives. But, they wouldn't dream of allowing their all-important relationship with the Creator affect the way they govern. "I'm really holy and therefore qualified to be a politician, but I'm not going to talk about it because I'm not going to mix religion and politics."
And then there is the issue of causation. How it is that their particular beliefs make the candidates especially decent people? At least explain how it can be that someone sanctified by God Himself won't denounce state sanctioned torture.
**Please, tell us how your unsubstantiated and oxymoronic religious beliefs automatically qualify you as better people, kinder people, than non-believers.**
If you can't demonstrate that a kind and decent religous candidate will be a better than a kind and decent candidate who is not religious, then simply shut up about religion, OK?
Now, back to Mitt. How can it be that you are certified-holy just because you believe that a book, "written upon gold plates" explains the origins of the ancient civilizations of the North American continent? And why can't you admit to the non-Mormon voters that "The Great Prophet" refused to show those magic gold plates to anyone. Ever.
Mitt, do you believe (as do most Mormons) that those gold plates somehow ascended into heaven? That's a very suspicious claim, Mitt. It sounds like to sort of thing a con man would claim. Do I really want a president who accepts such claims on such flimsy evidence?
I suspect that there are some mainstream Christians rooting for me as long as I poke away at poor Mitt. But you know, you guys have some explaining to do too. My questions for the rest of you can be summed up by a sassy definition of Christianity that I recently stumbled upon...
CHRISTIANITY: The belief that some cosmic Jewish Zombie can make you live forever if you symbolically eat his flesh and telepathically tell him that you accept him as your master, so he can remove an evil force from your soul that is present in humanity because a rib-woman was convinced by a talking snake to eat from a magical tree.
All of these candidates keep blathering about how their religion is deeply and incredibly important in their lives. Allegedly, nothing is more important, they all claim. But, of course, they wouldn't dream of allowing their all-important friendships with the Creator of the Universe affect the way they govern. Of course not! Try to follow their logic: their religion makes them wise and holy, but they wouldn't dream of directly drawing on that religious knowledge to lead the country. Here's another way of putting it: "I'm special, but I'm not going to draw on my special-ness to lead the country even though I'm urging you to vote for me because I'm special. I would assume that they must all knee down every night to beg forgiveness for all of their campaign trail lies relating to their religious beliefs. But that assumes that these politicians are devout believers, but that's one hell of an assumption.
..cont
Speaking of the lack of truth, it's hard to beat Mike Huckabee's bald-faced whopper that he has a "theology degree" My gracious! Where did you get that degree, Mike? Mike!!!??? [silence]. Then up steps Joe Carter, Huckabee's Research Director... to announce that Mike actually... dropped out of the seminary. *Ouch* But anybody could have made that mistake. Right, Mike? Well, let's move on. Mike, your extensive training allowed you to work as a preacher for twelve years. What did you preach about? Whoa!! What do you mean we can't go there! The Huckabee campaign has ruled that those sermons are off-limits. Maybe Mike is just protecting us. Maybe there is too much religious wisdom in those sermons, so much that it might make our heads explode. Do you see the pattern? It goes something like this: I'm really holy and wise and therefore qualified to be a politician, but I'm not going to talk about it because I'm not going to mix religion and politics. Gad.
Huckabee recently claimed that his most important task was to "bridge the great divides in the country," even though he's the same man who also said that we have to "take this nation back for Christ." And don't forget that Huckabee is well-positioned to be our next "Holy Science President" based on his description of evolution: a theory that "you and your family came from apes." Great job, Mike. But maybe you could go read a high school biology book and try again. After all, you would want to be attempting to criticize something you clearly don't understand, right?
Don't forget John McCain. Straight-shooting McCain, "who has long identified himself as an Episcopalian, said this weekend that he is a Baptist and has been for years." Well ... this kind of thing happens when those southern primaries are imminent. Or maybe it depends on who you're talking to.
And we mustn't leave out all the divorced republicans (e.g., Fred Thompson) and the thrice-married Republicans (Rudy Guiliani) who yammer about "family values," while arguing that we should cut basic necessities for desperate Americans. Why? Because they are holy, inspired, wise men who would rather spend our money trying to ignite WWIII conjuring up an adversary who lives out near those dwindling pools of Middle Eastern oil. And if we can pull Israel into the conflagration, all the better, since the Bible requires it. This is really true . . . somewhere in that Bible (you might have to root around a bit). It talks about 21st Century American foreign policy. It even mentions Fred Thompson, I believe, and Jennifer Flowers.
Perhaps the credit for the current frenzy in religio-political campaigning goes to George W. ("Jesus is the Greatest Philosopher") Bush.
Curiously, Bush, who claims to be devoutly religious, almost never goes to church. Thus, Bush is one of those non-religious religious people. As long as the media is afraid to question the basis for a candidate's claim that he (or she) has a special relationship with God Almighty, a candidate might as well skip church. Score one for W for understanding that a simplistic religious claim can still be a free ticket to sleep in on Sundays, week after week.
With all of this religiosity among the GOP candidates, we can rest assured that, come 2008, we will be well-positioned to deal with the greatest threat ever faced by the United States: pairs of gay people making government-recognized lifetime commitments to each other.
Everyone of the candidates who evoke God and religion should be ignored. Most if not all are hypocrites and don't even come close to practicing what they say they believe in. Give me a candidate who says religion belongs in the church and not politics and certainly not in government.
I have a level of respect for Democratic candidate John Edwards:
QUESTION: "Do you believe that, through the power of prayer, disasters like Hurricane Katrina or the Minnesota bridge collapse could have been prevented or lessened?"
EDWARDS: "I have prayed most of my life; pray daily now. He's enormously important to me. But the answer to the question is: No, I don't... I prayed before my 16-year-old son died; I prayed before Elizabeth was diagnosed with cancer. I think there are some things that are beyond our control.
And I think it is enormously important to look to God - and, in my case, Christ - for guidance and for wisdom. But I don't think you can prevent bad things from happening through prayer."
hey Ricky great post, glad to know someone out there is getting the word out.
the idea that these ding-dongs are even talking about their religion and the nation is listening is so disgusting it makes me wretch.
i have nothing against people maintaining their personal set of beliefs re the origins of the universe and forces within it, but that these determine even an iota of voters consciousness is beyond my understanding.
I guess some people feel a need to pray, I just don't think it is an inherently amiable trait to believe that prayer can do things like stop hurricanes or wars. Nor is it good for society as a whole.
In a strictly physical sense, when somebody prays, nothing actually happens except in their mind. I was trying to say that I respect John Edwards for not only realizing, but vocalizing the fact that prayer doesn't do those things (like cure illness).
You have no idea...
We are in this thing together, rocky. Now that I think back to early childhood, I do remember praying, or at least trying to pray and having to ask for help on how to do it more effectively. Fortunately, my upbringing was quite liberal and all my life I have had access to college-level reading material to explore any questions which might arise. Needless to say, I stopped praying a long time ago.
If I was an American I would feel comfortable with a person who said that his belief was that , murder is wrong, lying is wrong, stealing is wrong. I have a real problem with people who say that God told them these things were wrong. People should quit kidding themselves, they are voting for a man or woman not God.
Good article Ricky. The book of Huckabee is a farce. if Romney talks about his religion the evangelicals whose votes are critical to Republican nomination, will likely be lost.
The pandering to get people to vote for a candidate based on their religious views is pathetic in this age when we are confronted with possibly the greatest issues to debate in a century. (Issues to be avoided?)
each of us has our unique brand of faith or concepts with or without a deity involved and we find meaning and solace in moments of life again w god as an optional element i think.
the point is not so much that these yahoos pray etc but rather that it is an issue of any relevance whatsoever...i care as little about their personal faith as i do about what brand of toilet paper they prefer.
here is an analogy of how i see it: if i am a doctor who is a jehovas witness and my job is to be medical director of an icu, would i apply my beliefs to the policies of my unit such blood transfusions are not allowed?
it is unethical for any person in a position of power to apply their personal beliefs as the sole basis for policymaking; so why don't we ask these candidates to describe how they will make use of available facts/numbers to influence policy? challenge those things first and make them accountable to for mixing church and state i say!!!
If only the religious would look within before espousing nonsense.
For instance, all atheist and agnostics are without morality while they are righteous and inhabit the true faith, what ever that is.
Another instance, that film put out by Islamic radicals humanizing a dead women suicide bomber for the benefit of Islam's children to mimic her act while Mohammad gloats in acceptance. What? Do religious people think a/their god condones, accepts and glorifies horrendous human acts? Is their GOD a Satan type to worship. Now they will tell me it is so and I should worship Hitler types in society. Structured religion is a sick entity and No religious hypocrite will ever rule over myself.
Still can't understand how anyone can worship and condone a GOD who glorifies evil but thats religion today.
Who is it that is injecting religion into politics? How did most people learn that Romney was a Mormon or that Huckabee is a Southern Baptist? I'd venture a guess that the overwhelming majority learned that from reporters and not from the candidates themselvs. The religious responses of these men have been as replys to questions from reporters. As I recall, Mitt tried to avoid talking religion until the media harped on his Mormon background so much he had to respond.
Candidate A announces his bid for office. At a news conference a question comes up about his religion or religious beliefs. Candidate A has a hard decision to make. That's ok, the job he/she is seeking will require a lot of hard decisions. Does he state it's a private matter and make people think he's hiding something, or does he answer fully only to be accused of injecting religion into politics?
Not a member? Sign-up today!
Itachirumon
ToddA.Golden
FlorenceJ.Ulrey
JacobK.Whitlow
MelissaF.Hess
GaryA.Stevenson
ChristinaB.Dowden
JuanT.Johnson
JudithB.Mannion
bushiesRbonkers
bizexpert
marlenebomer
Helixbuilder
Nathaniel.K.Gans
Gabe_Damage
Macondo
resources
thinkingserious
cosmogenium
2sidestoeverything
BJTJ
NelsonR
popeller
phillyLA
MishaA
scriblerus1
Tarapor
fizzleboink2
mikesmithie98
postaphis
CtrlAltTabby
Tessylo
saltyveruca
Harbeas
dadesider
splitrch
AtriumGuy
tcnt
HUSSAIN786
pagey
hurr1
Oleh
tonks21
Hmac
doppich
Oxyon
Toriup
comeon
Prismoon
ratnadip
47)
Vote
Who is the holiest candidate, the one most likely to sit at God's right hand? We need to know this now, of course, because the religious integrity of the White House is at stake!
I beg you. Let me be the one who cross-examines the GOP candidates on the topic of religion. Why? Because I insist on asking simple questions and I demand simple answers. The disturbing information we already know is just the tip of the iceberg. I promise that I will be relentless and aggressive. I'm ready to roll up my sleeves and get started.
Let's start with Mitt Romney. Mitt is working nonstop to convince us how incredibly important his religion is to him, but refusing to acknowledge any of his basic beliefs. Why not, Mitt? Are you afraid that the late night talk shows would tack on a laugh track when you explain the Mormon claim that Jesus walked about and taught American natives almost 2,000 years ago?
http://dangerousintersection.org/?p=1946
..cont
Or does it embarrass you that the great prophet Joseph Smith, who had 48 wives and stuck his face into a hat in order to interpret sacred writings?
Mitt, if you really believe the things most Mormons claim to believe, why not just tell us? Are you hesitant, perhaps, because reputable archaeologists and anthropologists view the entire Book of Mormon as a work of fiction?
Alas, it's all a big shell game. These politicians want us to believe that they are holy because they attend a church, because they claim to read an ancient apocryphal book or because they simply say that they're holy. I would like to give them each a pop quiz. I suspect that, like most "religious" Americans, the candidates don't know much of anything at all about their religious (much less about other religions). There isn't much time for religious training when you spend most of your career taking money from lobbyists and corporations.
http://dangerousintersection.org/?p=1946
You're right about Joseph Smith. He and his family were run out of Bainbridge for using the same looking in the hat trick to supposedly find lost treasure.
I humbly suggest that all of the candidates feel deep down, truthfully, they're all sinners, each and every one, too willing to lie and cut corners and make deals against the interests of their constituents, to win at all costs.
RD, if it were up to me, I'd give you that chance to interrogate -- uh, I mean, question -- all of the candidates, Dem and Rep. But with 3 conditions:
1) Televised live and on every channel in this country. All advertising proceeds to go to Cancer and Aids Research.
2) Each candidate will have their right arm hooked up to the most sensitive and accurate lie detector on the market.
3) Their left arm will be connected to a series of Tazers. I'd say a dozen or so should do the trick. Each lie earns a ten-second burst.
Now, let's play "To Tell The Truth: Campaign 2008."
...an alternate show will hook the Stun-Guns somewhere else...
in series,not parallel...Game Format:Truth or Dare...The Fried Nads Project...
"Go Nads!!!"
Do you happen to permit waterboards?
Only as an entrance exam to the Electoral College. (:^D)