Posted on 08/17/2004 4:23:06 PM PDT by COEXERJ145
AUSTIN - Just a few miles from George W. Bush's former office at the state Capitol, a panel of religious experts Tuesday weighed a question with relevance to many people of faith: How would Jesus vote?
It's a complex question that can't be boiled down to simple political terms, say religious leaders who attended a Texas Faith Network conference in Austin.
But at least one conference speaker - James C. Moore, co-author of "Bush's Brain: How Karl Rove Made George Bush Presidential" - said he knew exactly how Jesus would vote.
"If ever there were a bleeding-heart liberal, it was Jesus Christ," Moore said. "I think the carpenter from Galilee was the original Democrat."
Moore drew laughter and applause from a moderate to left-leaning crowd of about 250 clergy and lay leaders who met at Congregation Agudas Achim synagogue.
Many at the conference voiced concerns that the religious right dominates discussions of faith and morality in politics. They complained that issues such as abortion and gay marriage seem to take priority over hunger, corporate crime and even the war in Iraq.
Some research has found that white Christians who attend worship services at least once a week are far more likely to vote Republican, while less frequent worshippers and those who are not religious tend to lean Democratic. Many analysts have criticized Democrats for failing to more effectively reach religious voters.
"The sound bites and the headlines have co-opted people of faith," said the Rev. Tom Heger, pastor of St. John's Presbyterian Church in Manchaca, south of Austin. "It would be a surprise to a lot of folks to discover that there are some very faithful, regular church attendees who aren't going to vote for Bush."
(Excerpt) Read more at thestate.com ...
I agree 100% about Bush.
But .. being righteous has nothing whatsoever to do with humans being perfect; that is an unrealistic expectation.
It's a common misconception because some people think that if you are born again .. you automatically do everything perfect. That's a mistake. Righteousness is based on the condition of your spirit, not your flesh.
We don't know that.
Mel
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