Posted on 02/15/2008 4:52:57 PM PST by Quiet Man Jr.
Too long - if he can summarize it, I would be interested.
I'm sorry, this is bogus.
Christians are always Christian first. If they look conservative to outsiders, because they adhere to ancient values, the fact is that those ancient values are very much alive in the here and now.
The primary difference between the two parties is actually quite simple; one party prefers a more centralized government, and one prefers at least in theory a more de-centralized approach. Christians could in good conscience easily fall on either side of this divide, and traditionally you have found genuine Christians in both parties.
But in recent decades one party has been captured by hard-left activists, who are notably hostile to believers, and has furthermore raised up abortion as its defining issue.
As a consequence the Democratic Party has been bleeding believers. They lose more every year, and not only "protestants" but catholics and believing jews as well. If one party has become identified with believers more than the other, it is because one party has made it increasingly difficult for believers to remain in its ranks.
If the GOP is the party less hostile to believers, it is bizarre that he would be complaining of that. Either he can accept that it is so and join his brothers there, or if he finds that he really prefers the DNC's emphasis on centralized government solutions, he could focus on helping like-minded Christians take the Democratic Party back from the anti-God ideologues who presently control it.
Good luck with that.
Didn't Karl Marx already establish that alliance and movement?
I got sick of reading his dribble. He needs to compress his thoughts if he wants anyone to read him.
For me to put things into one or two sentences, I disagree with his title. The religious right, the moral majority, whatever you want to call it, cannot coincide with the democratic party. What does light have to do with darkness? Everything we fight against, they fight for. We call good, good, and evil evil. They call evil good, and good evil.
The guy is an idiot.
written by a typical “democratic socialist”, which many Catholic intellectuals privately admit they are
It would summarize it this way.
“All you ignern’t redneck bible thumpers need to fall in line.”
Frankly people who write this crap aren’t doing themselves any favors.
This is why most Catholics didn't join the "religious right" they're busy occupying the "religious left".
I for one, as a Catholic, identify myself as a religious American, and conservative by choice.
Did you guys read it? How can you critique something before you read it.
I agree with some parts and disagree with other so far...
I read it the first time it was posted.
The more I read the worse it gets.
When human persons become objects to be disposed of for parts, we have simply embraced a new form of slavery where an entire class of persons has become less than human.
Without a doubt, the alliance of Christian believers with any political movement will always be a fragile one. We're witnessing that in 2008.
The writer is intelligent and yet wrong. What he is proposing is the old “liberation theology” that many priests bought into in the Central American wars that involved communists.
He is a genuine Pro-Lifer, but he declares the “religious right” dead, which is premature. He advocates the same tired “social justice” calls that actually mean more government spending on social problems. He attempts to link this to being a good Christian.
It is relevant as there is some of this “theolgoy” being accepted by the Huckabee Evangelicals. To me it is a scarey movement but they are free to make that choice...but as my tagline states...don’t be confused with being a conservative. There is nothing conservative about it. More importantly, I think Christians are being led down a wrong road with thise “new” theology”. The wrong road is taking the focus off of the gospel and salvation and placing it on doing “good” by advocating huge government programs.
This is definately worth debating and I’d like to here both evangelical and Catholic viewpoints on it.
Who runs the Catholic ping list? lol
Agreed, the whole thing is bogus. While there may be good and decent Christians on both sides of certain issues....ummmm....let’s consider taxes; only good and decent INFORMED Christians are on one side of this issue while UNINFORMED people are on the other side of tax people more and class envy and wealth redistribution.
Same for secularists.
Conservatism, Republican, left or right isn’t the issue...I know well meaning good Christians that don’t have the very first clue what they’re talking about when it comes to politics or issues, let alone liberalism or conservatism. Hell, they don’t even know what liberalism freakin’ IS, let alone how destructive it is!
It FEELS good and charitable to say things like “progressive” or “if vets weren’t so POOR they’d not be homeless”, WHOLLY unaware their problems are mental illness and/or addiction, NOT financial; and misunderstanding broken education: it’s NOT an issue of throwing ever more money at broken schools.
No one’s “lost their way”. The problem is more and more people never FOUND their way to begin with!
That and the fact that people like us have had pathetic inadequate or all tooo often ABSENT leadership, not just in politicians...as I’ve pointed out the so-called best in the business like Ann Coulter, Sean Hannity and so on don’t even get it right from the very OUTSET, by letting the liberals win the war on semantics and the lexicon! Good and decent people are perpetually on the defensive from the opening bell because the REAL issue is FAULTY COMMUNICATIONS!
All too often liberals lob the first grenade and get a complete free pass for SETTING the opening rules!
When people around me say things like anti-abortion I IMMEDIATELY correct them and point out it’s actually more accurate to use terminology like ‘anti-infanticide’ (EACH abortion is a life and EVERY SINGLE time its not the childs fault!).
I sometimes think people are so stupid they have no idea what an abortion really IS...just some kind of CHOICE that means they’re no longer saddled with something unexpected or unwanted and can go on with their life never to look back as if it’s merely a medical procedure like say to have a wart removed!
How about: “liberation of Iraq” or even “anti-terrorism” instead of PRO-war? Which is a flat out HOPELESS no win and ludicrous position to fight from from the get go!
These stupid polls...”Are you FOR the war or against the war in Iraq”?
Now, WHO THE HELL LIKES WAR?
How about would you prefer to pull out and leave a mess or how about are your pro- or anti-terrorism?
Pro-liberation or anti-liberation of Iraqis?
Pro- or anti-saddam? Are you pro-murder and pro-rape of Iraqis?
The ONLY person that sometimes dances around the subject is Rush Limbaugh but for the so-called brainiac he thinks he is, HE falls woefully short also!
High and low taxes = income and asset confiscation. Wealth redistribution. Class warfare.
And for the absolutely BRAIN DEAD idiots on the left for change and/or hope:
A vote for Obama (or Clinton) is a smaller paycheck.
PERIOD!
Are these people pro- or anti-smaller paychecks?
McCain could simply say I’m pro-larger take home pay, my opponent is for smaller take home pay and less choice in controlling where your assets go.
By the time socialists are through your life will be simple, since they will not only schedule each aspect of your life for you, they’ll also dictate what portions of your checks pay for what!
Socialist healthcare and welfare means enormous taxes, which means you have not enough money left over for food...but that’s OK...you can get welfare and food stamps which means even MORE taxes, which means you can’t pay for utilities...but THAT’S ok cause you can get energy stipends which will make taxes higher and eventually, the hypocrats can make your life ultra-simple on their scales and schedules...in some cases people will be able to eat out once a month though, so long as they’re not too fat and don’t like McDonald’s they should be REAL cool.
And perhaps once a year they can even afford to go catch a hollyweird movie!
Get sick...well if your last name begins with the letter A, H, M or S and it’s March, your’re ALL good!
Obamamatons unite!
Or maybe they can also understand 1/3 to 1/2 of what they make NOW will go to their unemployed or uninsured homeless “neighbor” wandering around in their neighborhood sucking on a bottle of wine by the laundromat that they pass by on the way home every day.
I don’t know I’m no linguist myself.
Universal healthcare? = Hillary-knows-best care or Unaccessable healthcare. See a nurse for all your needs ‘cause you won’t get a dcotor anymore unless you’re dyin’ care.
The President deciding your health decisions for you. And when you call Dr. Hillary or Dr. Obama, be prepared to be on hold since some 300 miilion or so other people will be in the same boat.
Good decent sane people know wrong when they encounter it but for far too long the language has been deviously hijacked JUST LIKE EVERYTHING ELSE and people have been tricked and dumbed down and lulled to sleep!!!
We need to start with semantics and the lexicon!
ENGLISH only and think, no SPEAK from from OUR own perspective from now on! Take the time to correct from the opening volley and people will be successful!
Ping
Whatever this talented author may have said: I know the real reason why the “religious right” has lost its way since I am part of the new generation, and know many ‘young Christians’ or those from Christian households: The reason we have ‘Lost’ our way is that many Churches have ‘Stopped preaching Biblical truth’- instead prefering emergent theology (or making themselves look like the world). Christ said we should be in the world, but not of it. We should not be like the world and ‘try to mimic it’..which is what many churches in the US now try to do. At least with the Catholic Church (though I disagree with some of their theology and they have been infiltrated by some sinful groups), they are consistent and do not easily fall to fads and things of the world!
Read David Kuplian’s “The Marketing of Evil” it give a very good explanation of what has happened here in America!
Ping!
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