In this last political year, I became at odds with many "right-wing conservatives." I have many friends who describe themselves as "conservative" whom I deeply respect. We all disagree on the "important issues." There are some of my friends who place more weight on abortion and gay rights and others who lobby for the Second Amendment. While I disagree with many of their views, I do respect them. According to my political philosophy, we are an open society which is accepting of all opinions. While some opinions may be regarded as damaging or dangerous, they must be given the same courtesy as any other. This raises my concern with a modern religious movement that has become politically militant.
These people have equated their politics and their religion to the point that one cannot be separated from the other. Their goal is to supress all those who will not yield to their idea of moral conduct and force everyone to adhere to their philosophy of America. To me, this does not describe democracy, but fascism. The problem is, they believe that the government should return to the philosophy of the original framers of the Constitution. According to them, their religious values was foundational to the Charters of Freedom. There are two things wrong with this: First, religion had nothing to do with American Independence. Second, the United States is not the same as it was in 1776 or 1789! The United States government was to be separate from the religious spectrum. While it is the political preference of many politicians to invoke deity, that is their personal right and not that of the government. Essentially, the United States is a secular entity without any regard to any religion.
For more than a decade, fascist have tried to implement their form of morality based on their religious philosophy. The problem is simple: You cannot force someone to be moral. Another thing, since when did these religious militants hold the exclusive rights to morality? Given their history with scandals and abuses, they might want to take a look in their own closets before they try to clean other people's closets.
In my opinion, religion and politics have never been very good bed fellows. More often politics have corrupted religion or made religion a deadly oppressor of the weak. That is why the separation of church and state is vital to the continuing democracy in America. Religious leaders who have become involved in politics in order to acheive their "noble cause" of turning America back to their idea of morality have cheapened the very foundation of their religion and destroyed the very faith they attempt to force on others.
I am against religious fascism for two fundamental reasons: as an American, I believe it is a threat to our democracy and as a religious person, I see this fascist movement as a threat to the faith I espouse. In the near future I will be writing more specifically concerning this issue, but for now I wanted to introduce my growing concern in the nature of the modern religious movements and their attitude toward American politics. While I do not agree that they should be silenced (for no one should be silenced as long as they deliver their message in peace) they should be confronted and challenged before they corrupt another generation.
3 comments:
Jew:
I lost my password, so I will need to comment "anonymously." But I will always sign my name. Of course, you would probably figure out who this was anyway.
America is a Republic! not a democracy.
"Hence it is that democracies have ever been spectacles of turbulence and contention; have ever been found incompatible with personal security or the rights of property; and in general have been as short in their lives as they have been violent in their deaths... A republic, by which I mean a government in which a scheme of representation takes place, opens a different prospect and promises the cure for which we are seeking." (James Madison, Federalist Papers, the McClean Edition, Federalist Paper #10, page 81, 1788)
“A democracy is nothing more than mob rule, where fifty-one percent of the people may take away the rights of the other forty-nine.” - Thomas Jefferson
“Remember, democracy never lasts long. It soon wastes, exhausts, and murders itself. There never was a democracy yet that did not commit suicide.” - John Adams
"Democracy is two wolves and a lamb voting on what to have for lunch. Liberty is a well-armed lamb contesting the vote!" Franklin, Benjamin
With that, a word about the second amendment, a thing so dear to the preservation of liberty granted us by God Almighty in His providential care through His Son, our Lord, Savior, and One True Sovereign Jesus Christ.
"It is impossible to rightly govern the world without God and the Bible" President George Washington, September 17th, 1796
Religion had everyhing to do with American Independence.
"Religion is the basis and Foundation of Government." June 20,1785 James Madison
"We have all been encouraged to feel in the guardianship and guidance of that Almighty Being, whose power regulates the destiny of nations." March 4, 1809 Inaugural Address James Madison
“We have staked the whole future of American civilization, not upon the power of government, far from it. We’ve staked the future of all our political institutions upon our capacity…to sustain ourselves according to the Ten Commandments of God.” [1778 to the General Assembly of the State of Virginia]
James Madison
The general principles on which the fathers achieved independence were the general principles of Christianity. I will avow that I then believed, and now believe, that those general principles of Christianity are as eternal and immutable as the existence and attributes of God." John Adams
"It cannot be emphasized too strongly or too often that this great nation was founded, not by religionists, but by Christians; not on religions, but on the Gospel of Jesus Christ. For this very reason peoples of other faiths have been afforded asylum, prosperity, and freedom of worship here." Patrick Henry
I fail to see how in the face of such overwhelming contemporary evidence, and there is so much more, that anyone could utter "religion had nothing to do with American Independence." What kind of Marxist are you that you could reduce so great an act of Providence and the striving of men in the Holy Spirit to economics and political expediency! I agree with the disestablishmentarian view. That is what the founders taught: that no man's conscience should be subjected to governmental restrictions/dictates. By a man's conscience, they meant his relation/belief in God. That is what Luther and all other reformers, both classical and radical, meant by that. Even pacifists such as Menno Simons and later Dietrich Bonhoffer knew that the government must regulate morality. I wonder where they got that from?! Why the Bible!!! Romans 13 clearly states the purpose of the civil government. Among other things, it is to punish evil. And who defines evil, man or God? Well, for awhile now we have given man a shot, and he has proved a dismal moral arbitrator. That is why we have problems with homos and abortion. No, my friend, God decides morality. Thus, the government's job is to enforce such things. You, as I, reject covenantal theology; Israel is not the Church. Even saying that the Old Testament is off limits for morality in the governmentally enforcably sense (which it is not), one can still find condemnations of abortion and homosexualty, wonder of wonders, again in Romans!
You are right to say that this is not the America of 1789. How true, and what a wretched place this is! Nevertheless, morality has not changed. God's law is still true.
"We have no government armed in power capable of contending in human passions ubridled by morality and religion. Our constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate for the government of any other." John Adams, address to the militia of Massachusetts, 1798.
Reflections on this quote make it evident why we are in such a predicament. Because internal morality is almost non-existent, we turn to the government to legislate sin. Yes, sin. What are homosexuality and abortion but sin. Nowhere in our founding laws are such things permitted. In fact, it was all officially illegal until recently, as you well know. However, some crazy man found it somewhere in the Constitution. Aw! The right to be a homo and the right to kill in the Constitution? I think not. Many "rights" people claim they have in this country they never did and never should have. This is a free country, but man is never free to sin.
I am tired of crushing your pathetic and unhistorical position, but I will be back!
Oh yeah, this last one was from Joe, as is this one telling you so.
Ah, My dear friend. I agree with you that this country is technically a republic (I concede that was a poor choice of words). And I agree that the founding fathers had some sense of "religious piety" as was with the times. However, their reasoning for invoking the divine, not to mention Christian precident to justify their cause for rebellion, was nothing more than a political scheme. Politicians still do that today. Go to the South, say "Jesus" and "God" a few times and you have their vote.
I must again remind you, my dear friend, that this is not the same America as it once was. We are a pluralistic society. All religions have the same weight as any other in the eyes of our government. Because of this fact, and because of the ever growing power of the government over the lives of the people, by allowing the government to enforce the rules of one religion over the other only makes it possible for the government to destroy the religion it enforces. You of all people should know your religious history well enough to know that when the Church and Crown were united, the Church was corrupt. I suppose you favor a modern Crusade against homosexuals and abortion clinics. Why stop there? Silence everyone who you disagree with. Imprison everyone who refuses to bow to your idea of God. This type of mentality within the fascist community is no different than the terrorist movement within Islam.
Finally, I must argue that it is one thing to influence society with one's personal religious values, it is another to have the government force you to do it. What then separates your form of religion from the state? Are you obeying the precepts of your faith or the government? I understand you quoting Romans 13, a passage I have toiled over in the past. But let me remind you that when the good Apostle wrote this, the Roman government was not the perfect paradigm of morality.
This brings me to the opinion that the Church should strive to influence society through their life not through legislation.
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