politics - What He Said: The Words of Jesus Christ

Dreaming of a Religion-Free Election

JEL — Wed, 13 Jul 2011 20:01:31 +0000

I think it would be delightful to have a presidential election where no one questioned or cared about the candidates’ religious beliefs. Alas, that election is not going to happen in 2012. I think the next 16 months will be filled with, among other things, each presidential hopeful trying to prove that he/she is more Christian and loves God more than all the others.

Many of the candidates say they ask God for guidance. I wonder what the response is?

Tim Pawlenty put the following video together. No need to talk about the debt or climate change or inflation or two unending wars or unemployment, let’s run a 6-minute video on your faith.

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Religion and Politics

JEL — Mon, 09 May 2011 15:29:46 +0000

How’s that for a combustible post title? Feeling a little feisty this morning, I thought I’d stir up the pot. I’m a little late to this piece from David Barash over at The Chronicle of Higher Education’s website. He did indeed publish it on April Fool’s Day, but he assures everyone there is at least some seriousness to his argument. Which is, devout people should be excluded from politics. There, the lightning is striking all over the place!

In response to a radio talk show caller who said “I don’t really care what religion [a presidential candidate] might be, I just want a president who prays,” Barash writes:

“But how about, instead, a president who reads: briefing papers, and maybe some detailed, complex, and even occasionally contradictory and nuanced analyses of alternative courses of action and their likely consequences? Someone whose views are reason and reality-based, founded on good, hard thought instead of theological doctrine? Instead of someone who prays, what about someone who thinks?”

Perhaps the two sides are not mutually exclusive?

The post Religion and Politics first appeared on What He Said: The Words of Jesus Christ.

Back to the Drawing Board

PJM — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 20:27:25 +0000

What He Said has barely gone to press and now it looks like it is already dated. Christianity Today reports that the folks behind Conservapedia have decided to rewrite the Bible so that Jesus doesn’t seem too liberal.

Among the changes . . . Jesus no longer says “He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her.” This was removed because it makes Jesus seem soft on sin. Also, in the Conservapedia version, Jesus has apparently changed his mind about material wealth. That will certainly help the camel slip through the needle’s eye easier.

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