Storming up a preach...

Mixing religion and politics must only be done with great care. It is much too easy to fall into the self-serving justification of "God is on our side." Religious language also has the power to become code to indicate who is in and who is out. But throwing faith out of the public square would silence the prophetic voice that speaks truth to power. As a person of faith, I am compelled not just to care about, but to work for the common good. As a religious leader, I call on all people of faith to join their voices in public debate and not just "talk the talk" but also "walk the walk."

WRONGO! Mixing religion and politics should NEVER be done...by anyone for any reason whatsoever! For you to even suggest it makes me wonder what makes you think you know anything about democracy!

One of the problems with the present political landscape in this country is that Americans are far too willing to acquiesce on this issue! They hear the word "christian" and don't stop to consider that the brand of christianity being sold as the predominant one in America might not be the same brand to which they adhere. They forget that one of the biggest reasons that the "pilgrims" came to America was to avoid being killed or tortured as heretics against the state's religion.

I am glad you consider yourself a person of faith. I consider myself one as well. However, it's a surety that my faith and yours are nowhere near the same...so which one of us is right? You? Me? Neither of us? Am I supposed to live in a country built by a religion that calls me an abomination, and consider myself lucky that I am not being burned at the stake for being a faggot? Are you supposed to live in a country in which the honor and worship of the sun, the moon, and the change of seasons are the holiest things that exist? Well? HUH?

I am a pagan! I have no want or need of your god. I have my own pantheon. Am I to be forced to declare myself christian in order to not be sent to the gallows? Remember Salem, Massachusetts? I for one don't think we need another bit of paranoid witch hunting. Keeping god and government together can only insure that Salem will happen again!

DUBYA is proof of the gullibility of the voter who considers only their faith, not what is really best for them. His second theft of the White House was as much a result of the mixing of politics and religion as it was anything else.

And after all that, to see that someone still thinks that politics and religion should mix is just completely befuddling to me! Can you not see that shaving even one micron off the wall that separates church and state is a very bad idea, and the biggest detriment to true democracy?

Frankly, I am disgusted by the thought that Democratic politicians are now sucking the feces-smeared anuses of the Religious Reich! Talk about forgetting your roots, the constitution, and everything else that made this country good. I may well wind up not voting for anyone for president this next time around. From now on, I refuse to vote for anyone who dares invoke their faith. I don't care about that! Fix potholes, repair damaged bridges, fix the levees in New Orleans. Don't tell me about your faith or your worthless god! I don't want to hear it!

Blessed be!
Pappy

by Pappy (61 articles, 0 quicklinks, 11 diaries, 863 comments) on Friday, September 7, 2007 at 4:13:38 AM
 

Ouch!

Pappy, sorry I hit that nerve. Let me offer a couple of reactions:

* Not only do I remember Salem, MA, I lived there for many years and ministered among a number of other religious leaders including pagans. Currently there is a Muslim member of Congress, Keith Ellison. I support his right to serve our nation and to be motivated by his faith, even speaking of it publically in his office as an elected official. Should a pagan serve in office (and I'm sure there many serving at many levels of goverment) I would not think any differently.

* The best place for the voice of people of faith may be outside the halls of government, but I can't support people needing to check their faith at the door when they are elected to office. If anything, it seems smarter for democracy to encourage politicians to disclose as much as possible about the philosophies that motivate them (religious or otherwise) to help predict their positions.

This is my first article published here. I hope you give me the benefit of the doubt and keep reading should I have more published.

Thanks for reading and commenting.

by Ian Lynch (13 articles, 0 quicklinks, 2 diaries, 9 comments) on Friday, September 7, 2007 at 7:34:08 AM
 

Before I begin...

...let me say that as articles go, it was a good one for a first effort. I wouldn't want you to stop writing just because of one negative reaction.

Pappy, sorry I hit that nerve. Let me offer a couple of reactions:

* Not only do I remember Salem, MA, I lived there for many years and ministered among a number of other religious leaders including pagans. Currently there is a Muslim member of Congress, Keith Ellison. I support his right to serve our nation and to be motivated by his faith, even speaking of it publically in his office as an elected official. Should a pagan serve in office (and I'm sure there many serving at many levels of goverment) I would not think any differently.

Someone's religious background and spiritual beliefs (if any) are their own business. I am sick to death of rogues, scoundrels, and other unworthy malcontents using their tenuous or non-existent connection to a deity whose existence cannot be proved to shoehorn their way into the political arena, and unleash their "god's will" on the populace at large. A quick look at the 2004 election shows clearly this is how that putz DUBYA got into office for a second, disastrous term! In this article, you advocate something I find personally and morally reprehensible. I would be remiss if I didn't speak to it.

* The best place for the voice of people of faith may be outside the halls of government, but I can't support people needing to check their faith at the door when they are elected to office. If anything, it seems smarter for democracy to encourage politicians to disclose as much as possible about the philosophies that motivate them (religious or otherwise) to help predict their positions.

This is my first article published here. I hope you give me the benefit of the doubt and keep reading should I have more published.

Thanks for reading and commenting.

You should support just that (checking faith at the door). The Religious Reich has done everything in their power to turn this country into a theocracy. As I said in my original comment, "I am glad you consider yourself a person of faith. I consider myself one as well. However, it's a surety that my faith and yours are nowhere near the same...so which one of us is right? You? Me? Neither of us? Am I supposed to live in a country built by a religion that calls me an abomination, and consider myself lucky that I am not being burned at the stake for being a faggot? Are you supposed to live in a country in which the honor and worship of the sun, the moon, and the change of seasons are the holiest things that exist? Well? HUH?"

Thomas Jefferson, famed slave owner and founding father of our country was dead set against mixing politics and religion. Throughout history, others have come to the front to keep this unholy union from happening. Unfortunately, since the moron DUBYA took the reins, the wall that separates politics and the pulpit has been purposely eroded. Now, there remains nothing but a lace curtain to separate politics and religion. Is our country any better because of this? IS IT?

No, of course not!

People not checking their "faith" at the door is what causes people like Mark Foley, Ted Haggard, and Larry Craig to become the virulent homophobes they are. People not checking their faith at the door is the kind of crap that keeps gays second class citizens. People not checking their faith at the door keeps Sunni and Shiite at each others' throats.

Faith is a very personal thing. To mix it with politics is to cook up a recipe for disaster.

As always, you are welcome to your opinion. However, others are welcome to think you are wrong...and in this case, I think you are wrong.

But don't let one opinion stop you from writing. Goddess forbid we should not welcome new article writers to the fold. We need people who not only can say, "I agree," in comments, but who can also write the articles with which others agree...or disagree.

Blessed be!
Pappy

by Pappy (61 articles, 0 quicklinks, 11 diaries, 863 comments) on Friday, September 7, 2007 at 2:45:31 PM