The Holy Presidency

Rev. Rodriguez:

Heard your interview with Bill Moyers on last Friday. I am especially concerned with the Christian Conservatives driving wedges between blacks and browns. In my own family, the younger generation is of multicultural ethnicity and yes, we believe in religious pluralism.

Could you meet with Barak Obama and discuss ways of healing the divisions and divisiveness which have been introduced into the presidental primary race?

It is a new day and si se puede.
Deloris Jungert Davisson

Rev. Rodriguez:

Heard your interview with Bill Moyers on last Friday. I am especially concerned with the Christian Conservatives driving wedges between blacks and browns. In my own family, the younger generation is of multicultural ethnicity and yes, we believe in religious pluralism.

Could you meet with Barak Obama and discuss ways of healing the divisions and divisiveness which have been introduced into the presidental primary race?

It is a new day and si se puede.
Deloris Jungert Davisson

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H R Coursen:

There's more than one way to look at things. Christians are the biggest pack of crooks ever and Muslims are catching up if they haven't already passed Christians.

Now what do you want on your side? We're faced with a world full of crooks. Patton read his Bible, "every g-dd-mned day" on the grounds of "know thy enemy." So it's Jesus freaks versus jihads or would a good old fashioned blood and guts guy really be the best choice, even one that read his Bible, for the right reasons?

McCain is desperate. He is also wrong. This country was NOT founded as a "Christian nation." And thank God it wasn't!

Christianity, in all its diversity, is based upon the enduring social reality of poverty. Jesus of Nazareth made that clear; and he left the world a legacy of ministering to the indigent, the ill, the unfortunate.

So today we have Christian cultures that range from the holy-rolling, evangelical, passionate types, to the more sedate and traditional Catholic breed. What they have in common is their concern for the poor.

Today, Mayor Daley, who represents the Catholic Christians, called on Chicagoans to pitch in with new taxes to help Chicago fund his pet projects. Never mind that the city has just gone through an unbelievable run of housing speculation, driving housing costs through the ceiling. Never mind that increased property tax levies are even now helping drive a run of mortgage foreclosures. The good mayor, in the spirit of the Catholic religion, believes that the poor people, which really are the majority of us, should sacrifice and bleed periodically, for the sake of our souls.

On another Christian front, the "fundamentalist" Christians that President Bush represents and champions, the poor are increasingly enjoined, for the sake of their souls, to sacrifice in wages, benefits, time worked, and civil liberties, in order that the rich will benefit. The rich serve as the critical go-between for the poor and their god.

Therefore, common to the diverse minds of the Christian standard-bearers, it is important that the poor have a Christian ruling class to teach them the lessons of frugality, loyalty, respect and piety.

I do not see any irregularity if the majority religion in the U.S.A consists of various forms of Christian denominations and decides to examine the religious credentials of a presidential aspirant?
In India, in the name of secularism, we have a government which kneels before the minority and is prepared to crawl too for getting their votes and forgetting the promises made soon after. Kudos to the pastor who has written boldly about his beliefs at the risk of being called a religious relic.

Maybe your gang should support an atheist for president, other good paying jobs too. Only an atheist would insist Christians return the gold looted from Latin America by Eurpoeans. With all that gold maybe Latinos could make a go of it at home, no need to immigrate. It's the atheists that both seek fairness and are the ones welcoming new residents, not the religious who found interpretations of the Bible that made Jesus a slaver.

Just in case you haven't heard, the Bible is a proved hoax. Aztec gods are just as legitimate as Jehovah and even more so. Have you reviewed, http://www.hoax-buster.org/sellyoursoul yet? I'll wager Montezuma would agree that Moses and in turn all members of the three great faiths, (in Devil) are all soul sellers headed at light speed to hell.

If a legitimate presidential candidate were to confess to religious doubts could she be elected in the United States? Most commentators doubt it and no modern candidate has made such a confession. If the media were to allow candidates to keep their faith private, perhaps we could have a more open presidential system and focus on the real divisions among us of poverty, health, and race.

Rev., U say "Second, does such belief respect and appreciate the historical Judeo-Christian ethos embedded in the American narrative." This not too subtle exclusivist posture takes us back to where we started about McCain's bigotry: How truely different are U from McCain when U force your "Judeo-Christian" ethos into our throats? What about Islamic and other ethos??

U need to revisit the US Constitution-a long,reflective and thoughtfull visit.

Rev Rodriguez's argument is no argument at all for the simple reason that there is no "de facto religious test" exception to the 6th Article of the Constitution.

Why is it that Xians like Rodriguez can spend their whole day resisting sin and temptation, but when it comes to posing a religious test on candidates, their knees immediately weaken and they give in to their Xian temptations? One would think that the Rev's message to Xians would be, "as an American Xian living under the Constitution, you must respect Article 6 and RESIST your urges to judge candidates through the prism of your religion."

But, no. Rev Rodriguez and others carve out a special pleading for themselves that they think exempts them from Article 6. They use their religion and its "we're just sweet, law-abiding, god-fearing citizens" façade to cover their Constitution-hating religious tests.

The Rev's column lays bare the CONTEMPT in which the Constitution is held by many religionists in this country today. Too bad they don't see it that way.

To JKSTU, above:

You need civics lessons as much as anybody. See the First Amendment to the Constitution -"Congress shall make no law ... prohibiting the free exercise [of religion]". When you argue against an extreme, don't make the mistake of jumping to the opposite extreme; the truth is usually found somewhere in the middle.

To John McCain (and everyone else):

Aren't the "Christian principles" you value also found in the dogma of virtually all religions?

I'm sick to death of these people that foist right-wing ideological clap trap off as speaking for all christianity. Shame on you! I'm a Christian. And I understand the separation of church and state and the establishment clause of the U.S. Constitution. Mr. Rodrigues, you do not speak for me. Justice Holmes speaks for me:

"A danger to liberty lies in the insidious encroachment by men of zeal, well meaning but lacking wisdom." --Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes

You either misunderstand the U.S. Constitution or just don't agree with it. I suspect the latter.

"First, does the religious credo of the candidate interfere or contradict with the constitutional and moral obligations of the office. Second, does such belief respect and appreciate the historical Judeo-Christian ethos embedded in the American narrative."

Such as slavery?

************************

Robert James,

You wrote:

"In Australia, as a general rule, I think that most (but not all) Australians are sceptical of candidates who refer to their religious beliefs. We regard religious beliefs as something that should not directly intrude into political agendas and policies because we want our politics to be secular."

The Australian attitude you describe also prevails in New England, particularly in northern New England.

That's why Howard Dean, of Vermont, was akways uncomfortable when asked to describe his religious beliefs.

So if an American Presidential Candidate would Senator McCain want him to have a good grounding in Christianity? Would he want a Christian Candidate to have a good grounding in Islam?

I do not regard practitioners of Christianity as being superior to Moslems, Jews, Buddhists, Hindus or any other faith.

In Australia, as a general rule, I think that most (but not all) Australians are sceptical of candidates who refer to their religious beliefs. We regard religious beliefs as something that should not directly intrude into political agendas and policies because we want our politics to be secular.

When I listen to American Presidential candidates telling the world that they are 'true believers' I see them as being insincere and of seeking to attract voters with something that is private.

Why do people keep saying this Judo-Christian canard,it's an absolute lie.Are founding fathers were Deists not Christians.If you live in D.C. look at the 19 century monuments none have a Christian theme they do have Free Mason symbols though.This lie comes from the 1950's when ultra religious pols tried to put God into everything.Its no coincidence that the only things written in the constitution are against religion.These people saw the destructive power of religion in Europe and tried to stop it here.We need better civics lessons here or we will repeat that destruction in the future.

Dear Rev Rodriguez -

Once upon a time in the South, asking how long one should beat their slaves "reflected the sentiment of the majority of the South's citizens."

That didn't make beating slaves right and it didn't add legitimacy to the asking of the question.

The BASIS of this country is our CONSTITUTION. It is NOT the Bible. Article 6 of the Constitution CLEAR states that, "no religious Test shall ever be required as a Qualification to any Office or public Trust under the United States." Your "de facto, two-tiered test" is just that - a test, and you and those who impose such a test should be ashamed if not brought up on charges.

Shame on you for attempting to add legitimacy to a practice that clearly violates both the LETTER and the SPIRIT of our great Constitution. This isn't some minor infringement of some obscure Blue Law that says horses can't be brought into a saloon, this is the frigging Constitution, fer X's sake!

Get educated, man! Now, go - and sin against the Constitution no more!

Americans infatuation with religion and the constant claim that this is a Christian nation is downright childish.

This is a secular nation in which everyone is free to worship (or not) as they wish. The media is dead wrong for asking about religious believes and the candidates are equally wrong to entertain those questions.

I can only hope that your statement".......as the electorate, drives us to elect an individual who will uphold the Constitution of The United States.", holds true for the majority of voters when its time to go to the polls.