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Top Faith & Values Stories of 2008 (Vol. 1)
As promised, here are some of the most important Faith and Values stories of the 2008 election (compare them, if you wish, to those of 2007). My rankings in reverse order:
10: The Rise of the Faith-Based Operative: Last week, while giving a lecture at the American Academy of Religion and noticing scores of unshaven, scraggly, hung-over and rather forlorn-looking male and female graduate students strewn about the audience, I had an inspiration: "There will be more jobs in politics for those with advanced degrees in religion in the next ten years," I declaimed, "than there will be tenure- track positions in religious studies over the next century."
In 2008 we learned that having advisers and staffers who have competence in religion is essential to a successful presidential run. They can teach you how to neutralize vulnerabilities with Catholic voters. They can help convince fence-sitting Jews that you are a true-blue friend of Israel. They can warn you against seeking the endorsement of Reverends Hagee and Parsley.
In short, the Faith and Values guru, the religious imaging specialist, the pollster from the seminary, and the fellow with the Rolodex that contains the email address of every imam in the Metropolitan Area are now indispensable components of an American political campaign. In the coming years, all presidential candidates, not to mention hundreds of would-be senators and congresspersons, will call upon their services.
Beats the heck out of playing a (most likely rigged) lottery for the first tenure-track position advertised in your area of specialization since the days of Eisenhower, no? So in honor of Ike, let us affirm that the Faith and Values Industrial Complex, with its demographers, historians, theologians, and outreach specialists, proved its mettle in 2008 and is here to stay.
9. Pastoral Associations: Can't Live with them . . . . If you are a candidate for High Office and either know a member of the clergy or seek his or her endorsement, I would suggest you find out if your cleric has: 1) compared the United States to Nazi Germany, 2) made disparaging remarks about Jews, Catholics or Muslims, and, 3) solicited sex from a male or female prostitute. If the answer to these and other similar questions is "yes," I would urge you to find new spiritual counsel.
In this election we learned that the clerical company you keep can potentially sink your political fortunes. Little has been said about it, but perhaps the single most important decision Barack Obama made in 2008 was to leave Trinity United Church of Christ. It wasn't a coincidence that Hillary Clinton surged in March and April; precisely the moment that the media was familiarizing itself with Reverend Wright's worldview. The day in which politicians vet their pastors like their vice-presidents (John McCain notwithstanding) is close at hand.
8. Getting to Know the African-American Church (and Intelligentsia too): An unexpected and, I think, positive dividend of Obama's pastor disaster was the opportunity it afforded other Americans to learn about the depth and diversity of the African-American Church. It dawned fairly quickly on journos that Black Liberation Theology wasn't the only game in town. And next thing you know, all sorts of other Black Churches (be they Catholic, Protestant, or Jewish, or whatever) were being discussed.
In terms of the national public square, African-American modes of religion are about to have a coming out party--purple robes, Hammond B-2s, and all. Elvis-like homages/rip-offs in non-black worship communities can't be far behind (one of the grad students who fails to heed my warning above will probably be writing a dissertation about "the African-Americanization of American religion" in twenty years). And while I am making predictions, get ready to learn a lot more about a dynamic, cantankerous and heterogeneous class of Black intellectuals. Don't expect them all to be card-carrying members of the Barack Obama Fan Club, either.
7. Faith and Values Politicking: A Niche Market: All the major presidential aspirants in this election had sophisticated religious outreach teams on staff. All the major media outlets had competent reporters working the religion beat. This being said, there were many times when the F and V analysts were left praying for a story to break hours before their deadlines (I speak from personal experience and I speak as an atheist).
In the 40-plus debates that were staged in this campaign very few even mentioned religion. After the Saddleback Civil Forum on the Presidency on August 16th the candidates rarely made a point of talking about faith, or focusing explicitly on particular religious constituencies. In fact, for the last two and a half months McCain and Obama ran largely secular campaigns and talked a lot about the stoopid economy. We wanted Mike Huckabee, but all we got was Joe the Plumber.
So the point I wish to stress is that presidential contenders do faith-based politicking at certain times and certain places and direct it to certain constituencies--especially those, like Conservative Evangelicals who vote in massive blocks. But we have yet to become a country where God Talk infests every nook and cranny of our political discourse. At least not yet.
6. The Ground Game: The real, hot F and V action in 2008 happened out of sight. Ground operations are distinct in that: 1) they take place under the radar, 2) are played out over long periods of time, and, 3) are about building substantive relations in religious communities as opposed to dispensing sound bites and applause-getters. As I noted yesterday, this type of work is slow, expensive and more labor intensive than rice cultivation. But if I am not mistaken, it played a major role in Obama's victory.
In 2008 the Democrats took a page from Karl Rove in 2004 and learned how to ingratiate themselves to religious constituencies by building face-to-face networks. In turn, they used those constituencies to mobilize voters and to counter threats. The Catholic ground operation, for example, repulsed dozens of potentially lethal "communion denial" stories and claims that the Democrats were at odds with Church teachings.
Ironic, is it not, that Obama's F and V operatives helped answer the question the GOP asked at its convention about what a community organizer does?
To be continued on Tuesday. . . .
By Jacques Berlinerblau |
November 10, 2008; 12:38 AM ET
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Posted by: DR.R.P. | November 11, 2008 8:59 AM
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Just in case anyone has forgotten Bush was reelected in 2004, AFTER the invasion of Iraq.
Public opinion turned against Bush only because the war continued with no prospects of winning. If Iraqis had behaved well and the war had been a success, Bush would have been hailed a hero.
Posted by: Confused | November 11, 2008 1:04 AM
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Did every single Democrat vote against the invasion of Iraq? Did the Republicans pull the whole thing off without any support from Democrats?
Is the US military a Republican construct in which no Democrat has had any say, no Democrat voting citizen enlists?
Posted by: Confused | November 11, 2008 12:46 AM
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to Enemy of the State:
You say the pro-lifers don't care about the children after they are born.
Not entirely true--they need them to fight their wars!
Posted by: paul taylor | November 10, 2008 11:28 PM
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Farnaz,
I remember Schorr. Thanks for the link.
Posted by: Arminius | November 10, 2008 8:25 PM
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Arminius,
The Daniel Schorr post was mine.
Farnaz
Posted by: Farnaz | November 10, 2008 7:34 PM
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Hi Arminius,
Thanks for the link. Do you remember the courageous, ethical, brilliant Daniel Schorr? He was fired as a columnist for the New York Times a few years ago for having a position in opposition to the Times Party Line. Currently (he must be about 92!) he works for NPR, from which these lines.
"Veteran reporter Daniel Schorr, the last of Edward R. Murrow's legendary CBS team still fully active in journalism, currently interprets national and international events as senior news analyst for NPR."
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=2101143
Posted by: Anonymous | November 10, 2008 7:33 PM
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Judging from the number of pro-life posts, there are a fair amount of people greatly concerned about abortion.
I always find myself wondering why these concerned and compassionate citizens invariably align themselves with a party that couldn't care less about the children that are already here.
Apparently, their concern for children ends at birth.
Posted by: Enemy Of The State | November 10, 2008 7:30 PM
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Is pro-Democrat non-partisan reporting and pro-Republican reporting political propaganda?
Best read equal numbers of pro-Democrat and pro-Republican reporting, divide it by two and try to figure out the truth as best as possible.
Posted by: Confused | November 10, 2008 7:28 PM
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Shortselling is selling the merchandise first before buying it. It may not be a proper procedure but it is still considered a sell.
Abortion is killing the person first before it develops into a complete person. It is still considered killing by any definition, scientific or religious.
If shortselling is selling, so is "SHORTKILLING" killing.
By any definition, abortionists are killers. You can't redefine that.
People who supports abortion is an accomplice to any abortion act. Using the concept of conspiracy , they too are murderers.
Posted by: spiderman2 | November 10, 2008 7:01 PM
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Farnaz,
Very well done. Thank you. Journalism is indeed dead, morphed in an evil manner from reporting actual events to, at best, entertainment (most), or, at worst, propaganda (Fox).
Here is a good report of McCarthy, courtesy of our own Senate:
http://www.senate.gov/artandhistory/history/minute/Have_you_no_sense_of_decency.htm
Posted by: Arminius | November 10, 2008 6:54 PM
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Once upon a time in America there lived a few folks known to the people as Journalists. Among the most prominent was one Edward R. Murrow, who almost single-handedly defeated the Joseph McCarthy Monster, an evil wizard whose deviltry had turned the land into a fascist swamp.
Then, one gloomy day, the Americans looked up and saw that the already small number of Journalists was shrinking. And not too long after, they were gone. The media, which had long, long ago been owned by the public was now owned by transnational, multi-corps, in some cases, with only one man at the helm.
The flaming, firey, smoke breathing Medius Draconici bared their teeth at those who wished to replace the disappeared Journalists, whilst waving delectable greenbacks and whispering the promise of fame in front of and in the ears of the Journalist-replacement wannabes, thereafter known as Sell-out Pseudo Reporters (SPRs).
And thus it came to pass, that Americans found themselves without a fourth estate, alone and palely loitering, with only blogs on which to sing.
Posted by: Farnaz | November 10, 2008 6:38 PM
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Posted on previous thread for Jihadist:
If the posts by Muslims like Victoria are anything to go by, Islam has no problem with abortion. Indonesia and Malaysia are Muslim countries. That explains your attitude.
There are many non-Muslim countries in Asia. I suggest you check out attitudes in all of them before generalizing your personal experience.
Science defines human life very unambiguously. It is based entirely on empirical evidence. Islam, or any other religion or religious denomination may or may not accept it. Unfortunately science does not lend itself to different interpretations by different religious scholars. (Aside: I watched a fetal development video made by a Muslim person, which would point to an anti-abortion position. So science does seem to influence some religious views, even if earlier understanding was different.)
You must talk about abortion rates and attitude towards abortion in Asian cultures where sex outside marriage - pre-marital and extra-marital - is the norm, divorce is commonplace, single motherhood carries no social stigma...
Most important of all, you might like to list Asian countries where all of the above is true AND abortion is treated as a constitutional right.
Posted by: Anonymous | November 10, 2008 6:24 PM
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Having profit motivated businessmen run election campaign has a great positive effect. Since they stand to take in 10% of the income, they will do anything in their power to increase the donations and voter numbers.
They use marketing strategies used by successful businesses to sell a product.
Amway/Avon style door to door canvassing and house parties gets the word around at no cost.
Donations even in the smallest amounts by millions, at different stages of the campaign, several times in the course of an election cycle and beyond keeps the koffers full and overflowing.
Posted by: Anonymous | November 10, 2008 5:53 PM
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Typical of the Reality Challenged and Obfuscating Jihadist as she continues to avoid addressing the Worst Book Ever Written And Of Absolutely No Value aka the koran. Its many faults are pointed out in the books of Ayaan Hirsi Ali and Sir Salman Rushdie. The Jihadist cannot read said books for fear of Islamic terror squads which says it all for the current and past state of Islam i.e. a warmongering, women-abusing, terror religion based on the hallucinations of one illiterate and long dead Arab by the name of Mahound aka Mohammed.
Posted by: Concerned The Christian Now Liberated | November 10, 2008 3:07 PM
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Mr. Paul Taylor,
Thanks for your thoughts on Mr. Jacques Berlinerblau's points re the Top Faith and Values stories of 2008.
Cheers and ciao.
J
Posted by: Jihadist | November 10, 2008 2:07 PM
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...and Concy Pussycat,
This is a repost of what I said and stand on abortion from Jacques Berlinerblau's previous thread. I am now Pro-Choice. Flog me. Stone me. Whip me. Behead me.
-------------------------------------------------
Hello Anonymous,
You : "All the pro-abortionist arguments are right here on this very forum. They have been responded to from an anti-abortion perspective. You contribute no new information or perspective."
Hi. While abortion is a choice I hope I never have to make personally, and the act of ending a human embryo saddens me, I am obviously won over by the arguments of the "Pro-Choicers" in these On Faith threads.
It is more complicated that you and I let on sociologically and ethnically apart from a religious and science perspective on when a human life begins. For one, stats in the US, shows the Caucasians have the lowest birth rates. And it is Caucasians who are most passionate on abortion, or in being "Pro-Lifers". Why is that?
In the third world, Buddhists, Hindus, Muslims, Christians, even Catholics, are generally less judgemental on those who has to resort to abortion. They may be personally dismayed, but they don't vilify those who resort to abortion as murderers, or to bomb clinics offering safe abortion.
Just don't criminalise abortion by law. Human decisions on it are more complicated than "Pro-Lifers" are willing to listen to and accept.
Regards
J
Posted by: Jihadist | November 10, 2008 1:32 PM
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Concerned the Christian Now Liberated,
Yo! Concy Pussycat!
You : "Each abortion involved three people, one was killed and two lived,..."
Nah, it involved the people who perform the abortion too. As for the "two" who lived, they have to contend with Pro-Lifers against abortion, Pro-Choicers for personal choice on abortion for any reason, the Judiaciary, the Legislative, the admen coming out with pithy phrases for and against for the Pro-Lifers and Pro-Choicers, the lawyers fighting for and against abortion etc and it all add up to more than three people....
So, why make it a legal issue with Roe vs Wade and now becomes a very divisive issue? Overturning Roe vs Wade is the first creep of specific religious beliefs in the public square imposed on all by the legal system and masquerading as science (human life begins at conception) as well as human rights (of the foetus or embryo).
Should I go on to your Pro-Choice projections in 2012 based on 2008? Nahh.....
J a Hallucinating and Illiterate member of the People of the Other Book
Posted by: Jihadist | November 10, 2008 1:24 PM
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The Reality Challenged and Obfuscating Jihadist continues to avoid addressing the Worst Book Ever Written And Of Absolutely No Value aka the koran. Its many faults are pointed out in the books of Ayaan Hirsi Ali and Sir Salman Rushdie. The Jihadist cannot read said books for fear of Islamic terror squads which says it all for the current and past state of Islam i.e. a warmongering, women-abusing, terror religion based on the hallucinations of one illiterate and long dead Arab by the name of Mahound aka Mohammed.
Posted by: Concerned The Christian Now Liberated | November 10, 2008 12:54 PM
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Mr. Jacques Berlinerblau,
Ah well, can't want to comment until Vol. 2 comes out....
10: The Rise of the Faith-Based Operative
The candidates not only need religious imaging specialist, but fashion imaging specialist, economic imaging specialist, social imaging specialist, verbal skill imaging specialist, social skills imaging specialist...
Love that phrase, "Faith and Values Industrial Complex", Mr. Berlinerblau, but better yet, "Faith and Values Business Complex". It is a business, and a lucrative one too.
9. Pastoral Associations
Better yet, not to have any "spiritual advisers" or "spiritual mentors". Does make it sound like a candidate needs religous guidance even on his own faith. It does not give much confidence to those of other faiths or no faith. Would send out a message that one is spiritually clueless as per, "What is God's Plan" on the tax issue, on the finance issue, on the environment, on abortion....And what has God got to do with these, anyway?
8. Getting to Know the African-American Church
First, get to know and love Mahalia Jackson...
7. Faith and Values Politicking : A Niche Market
True, and market sectorisation too. The boutiqueting of faiths and values is now good business for religious entities with tax exempt status, and religious imaging specialists to come out with designer statements on beliefs of candidates.
6. The Ground Game
From what was said and done in this 2008 elections, it was not a Ground Game but vicious Streetfighting. Smart targetting is everything - as in catering or pandering, if you will, to niched faith and values markets as per their sectorised concerns and priorities.
Carpet bombing is everything too - as in speaking in generalities on the need for "change" in the national media, in blanketing national TV with ads and informercial, you know, all those tools of trade in politics, the implements for the ground game of winning elections, the weapons of choice in the streetfighting to win elections....
Yes, it is ironic, that Obama's Faith and Values operatives helped answer the question the GOP asked at its convention about what a community organizer does. And not forgetting that the Obama campaign folks know how to use the Internet effectively in securing funding and getting their message across. Very ICT savvy of them.
Politics and politicians are too important to be taken seriously.
Thanks and regards
J
Posted by: Jihadist | November 10, 2008 12:36 PM
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Strange, this talk about: "The prophecy states that true conservative Christians will inherit this earth. Any liberal values will burn out."
Wasn't Jesus of Nazareth actually a radical liberal in his days, and still a liberal in these days?
And this talk about abortion? Is abortion worse than wars, where tens if not hundreds of thousands, even millions of humans are killed, wounded, raped and left destitute?
By the way, where is the pity, not to mention outrage among the religious anti-abortionists for these years of needless human suffering that the Christian fundamentalist President Bush has brought to Iraq? Is the unborn foetus, which without modern human affluence and medicine has always been highly vulnerable, both in child birth and in making it through babyhood, more important than those of us who made it through those trials?
Posted by: paul taylor | November 10, 2008 12:33 PM
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Female babies are born with enough eggs to populate a large city...now if each time the average female has sex an egg developed into a living born child we would have a much bigger problem with water and air...and space. But we do not have to worry about each woman having dozens of children...because an egg can be fertilized and still not develope...nature sometimes aborts before the woman knows she is pregnant.
I do not understand the obcession of some bible believers on abortion. Now I am not a Christian, but it was not for the lack of trying. I have read the bible if for nothing else for the last 40+ years as research.
Now in the bible it says that God created Adam out of clay, (infact that is what Adam means-red clay)that he was not living until God blew breath into him.This says that the vessel was not spirit filled until he had breath. In another place in the bible it says that if men start fighting around a pregnant woman and she loses her child,but there is no real hurt comes to the woman, then a fine is to be paid to the father, for he is deprived of his property. If the Mother is harmed and her life is ended...then the men are to be tried for murder.
In fact from what the bible says a fetus is not life until it breathes. Breath and Life meant the same thing.
So tell me unless you folks are more obcessed in forceing others to do your will...why worry about what others do with their lives...I don't care if it is abortion, same sex marriage or anything else that is based on your religion?
terra
Posted by: terra gazelle | November 10, 2008 12:31 PM
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Concerned the Christian,
Well, your main assertion--that both 'parents' who have been involved in an abortion are subsequently automatically *pro* abortion--is unprovable.
We could assume, however, that any woman who has had subsequent abortions is automatically pro-choice and this would yield better numbers. Using a power law of 20:80, that 20% of women are responsible for 80% of the abortions (which holds up here anyway), we could say that the 'swing' factor of abortion advocates are 7 million women. Whilst I agree that men are probably the main beneficiaries of abortion and the male segment of abortion advocates is probably much larger than 7 million, it is impossible to estimate.
As well, there is the abortion industry. Abortion clinics, abortionist, abortion 'nurses',plus abortion enablers like Planned Parenthood, etc. I would say those who directly profit from abortion or whose livelihood depends upon it number at least--what? 1 million.
So your numbers should be less than 70 million, but the abortion lobby is a significant interest group, nonetheless.
Pity the aborted children can't vote.
Posted by: Mary C. | November 10, 2008 11:44 AM
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RE: "The prophecy states that true conservative Christians will inherit this earth. Any liberal values will burn out."
-----------
I haven't read the bible in a while, so I'll stipulate that my knowledge of it could be better. However, having read the bible extensively in another life, I can say with a fair amount of certainty that there is no reference to either "liberal" or "conservative" in the bible, at least not in the King James version.
I don't know about Karl Rove's bible...
Posted by: Enemy Of The State | November 10, 2008 11:40 AM
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A lot of evangelicals are disappointed about the election.
How many are thinking about Romans 13:1? If God is omnipotent He must have allowed Obama to win for a reason.
Millions of the descendants of African slaves have been praying for a moment like this for generations. Millions of others have desired a nation where superficial outward appearances are overlooked in favor of the inner heart. Now, millions of children will grow up in a nation where this is a given.
The evengelicals need to face the fact that the Lord has given us our hearts' desires; He has fulfilled the yearnings, prayers and thoughts of many.
This is in fact something as important as seeing His will fulfilled on abortion and marriage. If not more so.
We have seen that nothing is impossible with God. The ramifications will ripple throughout eternity.
Posted by: faithfulservant3 | November 10, 2008 11:11 AM
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Wow, Spidey and Bun-Bun(CCNL) on the same blog. I hope they start arguing.
Spidey, as usual, is wrong. The Gospel of the Flying Spaghetti Monster prophesied that we will all be brought to the heaven of His Noodliness, which is full of beer vocanoes and stripper factories, if we obey His eight "I'd rather you didn't...' requests.
As for Bun-Bun, well, yawn....zzzzzzzzz
Posted by: Arminius | November 10, 2008 10:57 AM
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It's sad to see the politicization of people's faiths. The parable of the pharisee speaking in the front of the temple, the story of the moneychangers and the widow's penny, not to mention the First Amendment, none of that seems to matter in modern American politics or "Christianity". It's not enough for people to have whatever faith they choose (or don't choose), people (or at least journalists and activists) seem to demand the right to judge others on their private beliefs, instead of just their public actions. America was founded to be a nation that didn't impose a set of beliefs, Christian or otherwise, on its citizens or leaders, but that fundamental principle seems to have been lost.
It's too bad that President Obama isn't a Muslim. It may take growth of non-Christian minorities in the United States to restore the values of tolerance, diversity, and freedom that the Founding Fathers tried to enshrine in the Constitution.
Posted by: Anonymous | November 10, 2008 10:51 AM
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What Obama and his campaign managers at the not-so-ethical ASK advertising agency recognized:
There were 35+million abortions in the last 35 years i.e Roe vs Wade was decided in 1973.
Each abortion involved three people, one was killed and two lived, the 70+million pro-choice voting adults (mothers and fathers of aborted children) in 2008 and 78+ million pro-choice voting adults projected for 2012.
Posted by: Concerned The Christian Now Liberated | November 10, 2008 10:40 AM
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The prophecy states that true conservative Christians will inherit this earth. Any liberal values will burn out. The game is not over yet folks.
Posted by: spiderman2 | November 10, 2008 10:25 AM
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I would say the thing Dems learned about Karl Rove was not to be a thug. That is about it. And as for Jews- we were strongly for Obama in this election. The Republican Jewish Committee or whatever they call themselves- did learn from Rove- they ran disgusting attack ads in the washington area Jewish Week. I guess the employees of that organization don't know what people like Palin mean when they say "real American"- but they should.
Posted by: Andrea | November 10, 2008 10:23 AM
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10: Actually, religion trained staffers were not needed to sell Sen. Obama to Catholics or Jews. Bush and the Republican Party did a good job of that.
09: Sen. Obama kept clerical company with Rev. Wright for 10 years and still won the nomination and election. And, thinking about it all, how common is it to have the problem of a personal cleric like Rev. Wright, who damned the United States?
08: Are Americans really so interested in the nuances of African-American religious diversity? Part of that diversity is Islam, which has growing influence in their community. Do Christian African-Americans, who are now enjoying the beginnings of unprecedented integration into the American power system, want that part of their culture to be dissected?
07: Actually, what is the point?
06: Isn't it true that even among the religious faithful there was widespread disenchantment of this administration, such that Obama had really little to do to attract them over, other than, of course, not alienate them?
05, 04, 03, 02, 01, 00: ummmm
...Isn't it interesting that the traditional fundamentalist religious issues did not hover over this campaign? In fact, where local initiatives brought up questions touching religious flash points, such as the gay marriage campaigns, the initiatives brought the reaction, and defeat, to themselves. Maybe that tells us there aren't many lessons to be learned from this election cycle.
Posted by: paul taylor | November 10, 2008 10:04 AM
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Mr. Jacques Berlinerblau,
Thanks for the very short Vol. 1 of the Top Faith & Values Stories of 2008.
Can't wait for Vol. 2 (Part 2?) on Tuesday.
"The African-Americanization of American religion?"
Can't wait for Caucasian Americans and other non African-Americans to sing gospel with verve and exuberance in their churches too.
Cheers
J
Posted by: Jihadist | November 10, 2008 10:04 AM
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Who will be his new pastor? Rev. Wright? Jesse Jackson? Louis Farrakan?
Posted by: Cheryl | November 10, 2008 9:58 AM
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Democrats have not necessarily found God, which requires "Faith Plus Nothing", but they have found the Sermon on the Mount as a guiding principle for their "people first - not property first" message, while the Evangelicals are stuck in the religious morass of Old Covenent orthodoxy that applies only to Jews (unbeknownst to the average pew-sitter).
The consservative right clung the the notion of, "every man for himself - and God for us all". However, that notion is antithetical to Christ's message, and if Democrats continue to espouse Christ's manifesto, they will continue to prevail.
Posted by: BennyFactor | November 10, 2008 9:50 AM
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Blessings Jacques,
It appears that the Republican party (I am assuming the majority shares your ideology) still does not get it! Honestly, 78% of Jewish voters went towards Obama. They are tired of the separation, division, and the likes. Remember, most Jewish voters were democrats years ago---they were liberated. I believe they are going back (in all honesty, many Christian supporters who are working with the Jewish have their own motivate---to convert as many Jews to Christianity).
I believe the GOP need to understand that there are many people of many faith and non-faith who do vote. It is their divine right to believe the way they do or do not (atheist, agnostic and the likes). Your way is not the only way- it is your way for it works for you! That is your right- yet to impose your right onto others---is really despicable and judgmental. The youth is all about peace, the environment (which please finds a candidate who believes in Global Warming at least). I will tell you now that I am a Theistic Evolutionist---I believe in Evolution but Evolution is guided by a Divine Force/hand.
We are tired of the dirty politics- learn from Obama’s examples---he never once pulled the race card or dirty politics as much as the GOP did. Attacking ones faith or lack of faith is not the way…it is hurtful! Even now we are seeing the GOP and individuals within it still attacking (Advisors blaming Sarah- when they should blame themselves for picking Sarah. Sarah calling them “jerks” and “cowards” and then blame the Bush Administration when she should focus on herself- especially when they, McCain-Palin, held the same policy). I was really disgusted by how many treated Mitt Romney (who as a Democrat- I believe Mitt Romney is the future for the GOP) for he was a Mormon. For some reason majority of the GOP tend to look outside of themselves vs. inside of them….
If what you seek you cannot find within- you will never find it without.
That is all I have to say about that one.
Posted by: PallasAthena | November 10, 2008 9:28 AM
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I agree with the author's point about the Afro-Americanization (forgive the word)of the church. This last year my 3 white rural churches held joint Lenten services with other local African-American United Methodist Churches. Every service, whether it was in a white or A-A church ended up as an A-A service. The A-A music worship style in its enthusiasm just dominates everything else. (not a bad thing)
One group in one of the churches wants more joy filled worship.
I also see part of the success of the pentecostal denominations is that their worship services are a melding of the white and A-A styles of worship.
Posted by: Rev. Jim Cubie | November 10, 2008 8:46 AM
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CONFUSED:
One of the truths of war is that your opponent rarely does what you want them to. If you assume they are going to, the chances for victory become more remote.