Evangelicals to W: "It's Payback Time!"

[Nbadan]

Among some conservative Christians, there is a belief that President Bush received a "moral mandate" to win the recent presidential election — and they are calling on him act on their agenda now.

"I believe Our Lord elected our president and I believe he put him in office and it is my prayer that he will sustain him in office," said one woman at the Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.

Another was asked if she believed that God intervened in the election. "Absolutely," she said.

"Values" voters delivered for the president, and the president must now deliver for them — especially in the courts, said Gary Cass, head of a grassroots political organization affiliated with Coral Ridge, called the Center for Reclaiming America.

<snip>

They believe that if their agenda is not implemented quickly — if their concerns are not addressed in a timely fashion — God will be angry.

snip


Asked about the millions of Americans who are not Christian, or have a different interpretation of Christianity, Kennedy said with another laugh: "I couldn't care less. It's true."

ABC News (http://abcnews.go.com/WNT/story?id=280881&page=1)

Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church is the Home of D. James Kennedy. One of the biggest pieces of shit ever to wear a Roman collar.

[JohnnyMarzetti]

I saw a report this morning that shows 6 out 10 Americans want a Supreme Court judge who will uphold abortion rights.

[sbsquared]

Shows how much you know Dan - Dr. Kennedy is a fine man who leads a Presbyterian church - hence, he doesn't wear a "Roman" collar!

BTW - the Bible says "it is appointed unto man once to die, and after this the judgement." You sure are going to have a lot of things to answer for!

[Hook Dem]

http://tinypic.com/p58io

[exstatic]

BTW - the Bible says "it is appointed unto man once to die, and after this the judgement." You sure are going to have a lot of things to answer for!

The thing is, people like Dr. Kennedy think that it's them we have to answer to, not God. That's why people turn away from organized religion.

[sbsquared]

I strongly disagree with your statement. Dr. Kennedy preaches the truth according to the Bible and I've never heard him say people have to answer to him. I think people get confused when they hear preachers speak the word of God because they want to believe their own intepretations instead of the truth of God. They don't want to hear that God is not only loving and merciful, but also unchanging and just. If people reject Him and his laws, they will pay the price - and that has nothing to do with Dr. Kennedy or Jerry Falwell or Billy Graham!

[Useruser666]

My rule of thumb is, when someone says they know what god wants, I stop listening to them.

[FromWayDowntown]

It's just a curious paradox to me. While the religious right sees an inherent problem in the paradigm of a theocratic Islamic state, it sees no such problems with a theocratic Christian state.

At the same time, the same people who are screaming for the Constitution to be strictly interpreted are leading the charge to wholly disregard the first clause of the First Amendment. Just another adventure in right-wing "strict constructionism."

[exstatic]

While the religious right sees an inherent problem in the paradigm of a theocratic Islamic state, it sees no such problems with a theocratic Christian state.

Bing, bing, bing. We have a winner. The Religious Right wants freedom of religion, as long as it's theirs.

[sbsquared]

That's not true either! Even Jesus said to "render unto Caesar that which is Caesar's" and the Bible also says it is the duty of all Christians to pray for their leaders.

What we don't want is for the immoral, ungodly agenda of the left-wing liberals to be forced upon us. We don't want our religious freedoms taken away (under God in the pledge, praying in schools or in public, religious displays forbidden, etc.) under the guise of separation of church and state.

If a person wants to practice another religion, I don't care, just don't force me to go along with it and let me practice my religion. But, this country was founded on Judeo-Christian principles, not Muslim or Buddhist. The values of our founding fathers are being eroded slowly but surely by the left-wingers - that is what we are protesting.

[Spurminator]

That's not true either! Even Jesus said to "render unto Caesar that which is Caesar's" and the Bible also says it is the duty of all Christians to pray for their leaders.

That can also be intepreted as Christ saying that religion and government should be kept separate.

[FromWayDowntown]

What we don't want is for the immoral, ungodly agenda of the left-wing liberals to be forced upon us. We don't want our religious freedoms taken away (under God in the pledge, praying in schools or in public, religious displays forbidden, etc.) under the guise of separation of church and state.

But you want to do that passing laws that favor your particular religious viewpoint and choosing to ignore the law that prohibits you from doing exactly that. Even a mandate in a presidential election is not a basis for ignoring the Constitution.


If a person wants to practice another religion, I don't care, just don't force me to go along with it and let me practice my religion. But, this country was founded on Judeo-Christian principles, not Muslim or Buddhist. The values of our founding fathers are being eroded slowly but surely by the left-wingers - that is what we are protesting.

Don't you see the paradox? You say you don't care if they practice their religion, but you're totally willing to get into their faces and command that they accord some reverence to your religion. You don't want your religious freedoms taken away, but you sure are willing to trample all over the freedom of others to live a life unimpeded by your particular religious viewpoint.

You may not mind compulsory prayer time in public schools, but I and many others object to it. Why should my right to be free from your religious choice be trumped by your decision to deem a public school a partial sanctuary for endorsing your religious viewpoint? Aren't you requiring that my freedoms give way to your beliefs at that point? It's just a single issue, but it's one of many that point to the wisdom exercised by the Framers in carefully balancing the rights of Free Exercise and Freedom from Establishment.

[WHILE I'M VIRTUALLY CERTAIN THAT THE NEXT FEW SENTENCES WILL BE DISREGARDED, I'LL TYPE THEM ANYWAY.] Yes, our nation was founded by religious people. But they were religious people who came from a place where a reluctance to follow a particular viewpoint diminished one's rights. Understanding that they did not like that, they founded the colonies largely based on their own religious beliefs. But when those colonies joined together to form a Union, the colonies willingly put aside their religious viewpoints and understood that a government that favors one religion over another was no better than the tyrannical government they left in England. So, they drafted a document that set up a government (the Constitution) and then amended that document to set forth certain things that the government could not do (the Bill of Rights). The first issue in the Bill of Rights is the Framers' balancing act regarding religion -- they understood that people must be free to practice religion as they see fit and at the same time without a requirement that they adhere to any particular religious belief or practice(which must necessarily prohibit governmental endorsement or favoritism).

So they gave people the freedom from Establishment of a religous orthodoxy, which is an assurance that the government would not endorse or compel people to publicly adhere to particular religious viewpoints as a requirement to protect one's civil rights. At the same time, they ensured that the people would have the freedom to Exercise whatever religious viewpoint they chos, which is an assurance that private exercise of one's religious faith would not result in the dimunition of one's rights in society.

The religious right seems to believe that the protection of Free Exercise should override everything else -- that since the majority is Christian, the Free Exercise of religion should include the imposition of Christian values through government. You might remember that the Constitution is not a majoritarian document; this is a fact that the religious right is perfectly willing to overlook in the headlong rush towards theocracy (or at least orthodoxy).

[Duff McCartney]

I think people get confused when they hear preachers speak the word of God because they want to believe their own intepretations instead of the truth of God.

I'm not religious but even if I was, I don't think the true word of god is being preached by some old guy in Florida.

[exstatic]

The fastest growing religion in the US is Islam. Think about your grandkids being forced to study the Koran before you whine about separation of church and state. It's for everyone's protection.

[Hook Dem]

I'm not religious but even if I was, I don't think the true word of god is being preached by some old guy in Florida.
Would it help if he were a "young guy"? Since you are not religous, just what is the "true" word of God? You don't know? Didn't think so!!!! Moses was an "old guy".

[Duff McCartney]

Would it help if he were a "young guy"? Since you are not religous, just what is the "true" word of God? You don't know? Didn't think so!!!! Moses was an "old guy".

Do you know the true word?

[Hook Dem]

Do you know the true word?
It wasn't me who made that statement. It was you .

[Duff McCartney]

It wasn't me who made that statement. It was you .

Oh no shit dumbass...that's why I'm asking you if you know.

[Hook Dem]

Oh no shit dumbass...that's why I'm asking you if you know.
So, now I'm a dumbass for pointing out your ignorance? I don't profess to know the "true" word of God. I am a believer and try to keep in line. How's that? http://tinypic.com/p7tdf

[Duff McCartney]

So, now I'm a dumbass for pointing out your ignorance? I don't profess to know the "true" word of God. I am a believer and try to keep in line. How's that? http://tinypic.com/p7tdf

Exactly....all I'm saying is that sbsquared is a fool for thinking some guy in Florida knows the true word of god.

[Hook Dem]

Exactly....all I'm saying is that sbsquared is a fool for thinking some guy in Florida knows the true word of god.
I'm not saying "that guy in florida" doesn't know the "true" word of God. I'm saying you don't.

[Duff McCartney]

I'm not saying "that guy in florida" doesn't know the "true" word of God. I'm saying you don't.

"I don't profess to know the "true" word of God."

"I'm not religious but even if I was, I don't think the true word of god is being preached by some old guy in Florida."

I never said I did.

[Guru of Nothing]

The values of our founding fathers are being eroded slowly but surely by the left-wingers - that is what we are protesting.

Incorrect.

"Our values" are being eroded by our lust for cheap crap, cheap thrills, and cheap thoughts.