Posted on 01/15/2012 10:25:18 AM PST by SeekAndFind
With the New Hampshire primaries behind the GOP and South Carolina on the horizon, Mitt Romney seems the likely presidential candidate. Perhaps surprisingly, Romney’s Mormonism has yet to be a major stumbling block, and as time passes it doesn’t appear that it will become a hindrance.
But let’s consider another question. Could America vote for a Muslim?
Say a Muslim arrived on the scene with powerful and equitable ideas and challenged the status quo. Perhaps doubts are cast that a Muslim could actually become president, but the same was once said about Catholics and people of color.
One stumbling block to the potential Muslim candidate would be that many people think America is a “Christian nation.” At one time even this would have been questioned. If you had said to the predecessors to what would become the United States that “America is a Puritan nation” they likely would have agreed.
Simply put, there very well could come a day when a president who prays to Allah sits in the Oval Office. As Christian privilege slowly erodes due to tidal waves of globalization and pluralism, America’s hope is that religious differences will not erode but become respected. This is thanks in large part to the Constitution.
Just this week the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals unanimously upheld a lower court order striking down an Oklahoma constitutional amendment that would prevent state courts from considering Sharia law. The decision is based not on respect for Muslim tradition, but rather for the First Amendment -- the same First Amendment that protected Baptists early in the American experience.
If anyone should be the greatest allies with Muslims in America, it is Baptists. Yet time after time many Baptists lead the charge against religious differences, even at the risk of harming their own self-interest. Many Baptists have kowtowed to political power in order to protect their power and privilege, in the process sacrificing their prophetic voice.
As Roger Williams stated in The Bloudy Tenent of Persecution for Cause of Conscience, “the blood of so many hundred thousand souls of Protestants and papists, spilled in the wars of present and former ages for their respective consciences, is not required nor accepted by Jesus Christ the Prince of Peace.”
A truly Christian nation not only imposes no formal religion on its citizens but also fosters freedom to express one’s own conscience – Muslim, Mormon or whatever.
-- Zachary Bailes is an M.Div. student at Wake Forest University Divinity School. He is editor of Those Crazy Liberals … and Conservatives and a contributor for Progressive Christian Alliance .
I counted more than 5 responses similar to yours.
However, Obama OPENLY calls himself a Christian who prays to Jesus Christ ( whether you believe him or not is another matter ).
So let’s ask ourselves a different and more specific question — Could a person who HONESTLY and OPENLY calls himself a Muslim be President of the USA?
Our current President is a closeted Muslim.
HECK NO!
Say a Muslim arrived on the scene with powerful and equitable ideas and challenged the status quo.
Then he wouldn’t be a muslim.
No, HELL NO!
The first ammendment is not a suicide pact either.
Democracy and Theocracy cannot exist within one government. Not going to knowingly vote for someone who wants a theocracy. Not going to vote for someone who wants a socialist or communist country either.
I would not, could not, check his box.
I could not, would not, he’s a sly fox.
I will not support him or his spouse
I will not support them in my house.
I will not support them here or there.
I will not support them anywhere.
Romney is a minion of SATAN.
Answer: Any demographic that would vote for the current occupant of the White House would vote for a Moslem, thus the answer is yes there could be a Moslem elested as President. As far as my voting for one the answer is no!
The author of the article speaks about our Constitutional freedom of religion. Yes, we do have the freedom to believe as we choose.
However, the Muslim "religion" is based on forcing others to adopt the same beliefs, be subjugated, or be murdered. At some point, their freedom has to be curbed.
I have freedom of speech here in the United States, too. However, that freedom does not extend to yelling "Fire!" in a crowded theater, now, does it?
We already have one. I did not vote for him.
Only when prompted to "correct" himself.
Obama: "My Muslim Faith"
Okay, yeah, a bit over the top.
Won’t vote for him though.
I would not vote for a muslim,
I would not vote for a RINO mormon,
I would not vote for a ghetto organizer,
I would not eat green eggs and ham.
I would go to war against one!
vaudine
I will not eat any more green eggs and ham, right way right I am.
All muslims who obey the Koran lie.
We won’t eat in a place owned by a muslim.
We won’t eat in a place where muslims work.
We won’t patronize any business where we see muslims employed.
We wouldn’t vote for any muslim seeking any elective office.
We didn’t vote for the muslim currently in the White House and surely won’t vote for the next one who runs for president.
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