Posted by
Shogrensus on Thursday, June 07, 2007 1:16:48 PM
June 6th continued
They continued on with their discussion about religion:
***
BW: ½ the country rejects evolution.
Joy: We don’t believe in evolution
(They all talk over each other)
BW: 62% say they would not vote for an atheist. He or she could be the greatest President in the world but if he or she does not believe in God
EH: Don’t put aside the fact that all of the candidates are marketing geniuses as well. If 91% of the country believed in Witchcraft, they’d all be sitting there with a broomstick, okay
Joy: Cynical, but true.
EH: They know what it takes to get elected. Whether you want to realize it or not, faith does matter, obviously, to the voters. Mitt Romney, who has really been forward about- and probably under a huge microscope right now about his faith, his Mormonism, he has actually said that he loves the fact that there is a separation of Church and State and that it works really well for this country. So many people are condemning him or really putting him under the microscope
Joy: So then why do we have to be so God oriented in order to be President?
EH: Don’t you think it tells about the person?
SS: I absolutely think it tells a lot about the person
BW: No, No. I don’t think that it tells whether you’re a good President or a bad President, whether you can make judgments, whether you can go to war, whether you can raise taxes
Joy: It has nothing to do with it really
BW: whether or not you believe in God, or which God
EH: But it tells you about the person- we want to know about what they eat, what’s on their iTunes list
Joy: I want a President who believes in the Constitution rather than God
***
First to Elisabeth's point about the 91% of people who believe in God: If 91% of people in the U.S. believed in witchcraft, it would be pretty likely that the people running for office would actually believe in witchcraft. I think most of the people running for office are legitimately Christian. That does not mean that any one of them in particular is devout. People are human and the degree to which people practices their faith varies greatly.
I do not condone people's use of religion to downplay their immoral behavior. (Carrying a Bible to church at times when appearing more Christian may deflect criticism, for example.) The use of religion as a tool to gain public support is wrong. We are human and we falter. Each of us should recognize our failings and strive to change our behavior to reflect our religious beliefs.
Religions and their respective churches have provided a moral compass for centuries but increasingly churches seem to turn to their congregations, or to society in general, to determine what church teaching should be at any given point in time. This has undermined religion. Secularization of the country's churches has resulted in a tolerance of behavior that has been considered immoral for centuries. Many churches have allowed secularism to influence their positions on issues facing society.
Romney's practice of his faith seems to be unquestionable. While I may not agree with his choice of religion, I respect his embrace of his religion and see his efforts to live a life that reflects his belief as important. (And as an aside about his supposed "flip flop" on abortion he has flipped but not flopped. Romney seems to very clearly articulate the catalyst for his conversion on this issue. When faced with the issue of cloning he came to see how wrong his position was and changed it, publicly. Had he changed from being pro-life to pro-choice all the liberals would welcome him with open arms and claim that he had finally accepted the truth.)
Joy's statement that she wants a President who believes in the Constitution was a ray of hope!
That pretty much eliminates the democratic panel for her. People who believe in the Constitution do not interpret it broadly. People who believe in the Constitution look to the text and to the original meaning of the words so carefully chosen by our Founding fathers.
People who believe in the Constitution understand that if times have changed, the PEOPLE of the United States should work to alter the Constitution through the process so carefully explained in the document. If the people can not gather enough support to alter the Constitution, the Constitution remains unchanged.
I hope Joy maintains her quest to find the most devout believer in the Constitution. I am confident that when she finds that candidate, he will also be a believer in God.