Posted on 03/27/2010 7:04:16 AM PDT by pinochet
Last year, I met with a former congressional aide, who said that there were several closeted atheists in Congress. To run for public office in America, it is almost a requirement that people publicly proclaim their religious affiliation, irrespective of whether they believe or not. Would you vote for a self-proclaimed atheist?
Nor would he get the financial backing to even get off the ground in his campaign.
Perhaps he could be the nominee of some offshoot party, however, these candidates don't get elected.
Therefore, the hypothetical question posed is tres moot, although fun to play around with.
Leni
Ayn Rand, one of the greatest speakers on the issue of individual rights and probably the greatest defender of capitalism, was an atheist."
I would still not vote for her. Because conservative atheists, almost by definition, will not have that fundamental value for human life. If life on earth is solely about capitalism, then "might makes right" and "survival of the fittest" become governing principles. Conservative atheists could easily make a case that the elderly are unproductive drains on the economy and should be euthanized. No distinction from the Nazis there.
American-style freedom tempered by the Judeo-Christian tradition is what makes us the most generous people on earth. No one in Europe is generous anymore ... that's the Government's job. Even American Democrats today are more like Europe. Biden had a salary of $400,000 per year for decades and his charitable contributions were basically zero each year. Obama gave a tiny bit more. Contrast with President Bush and VP Cheney, who each donated healthy amounts each year ... I forget, but 10-15% of their gross income.
Our Founding Fathers were right. Freedom and capitalism are incomplete without religious faith, or at least a national consensus that God exists and that there are eternal rules to be adhered to.
I would be interested in your response to my post #56.
I’m curious to learn how you know whether someone is saved. Seems to me we don’t know that until the person leaves this life and stands before God. At that time, God makes the decision on whether a person is worthy of eternal life, not you.
The acknowledgment of the self-evident truth that "all men are created equal, endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights" is the cornerstone of American liberty.
Take away that cornerstone and the whole edifice is on its way out.
Perhaps "he" would know that the Constitution says no such thing.
Indeed, given the nature of the times, and the religious faith of large majority of the Founders, it is quite remarkable that there is no reference to God or Jesus in the Constitution (except for the pro forma phrase "in the year of our Lord"), leaving it a completely secular document.
Atheists, by definition, do not believe in a power greater than themselves. Therefore, there is no limit on their actions other that what other men impose.
Scary.
Garde la Foi, mes amis! Nous nous sommes les sauveurs de la République! Maintenant et Toujours!
(Keep the Faith, my friends! We are the saviors of the Republic! Now and Forever!)
LonePalm, le Républicain du verre cassé (The Broken Glass Republican)
He wrote of disbelieving in the divinity of Christ--yet, Jefferson remained on the vestry of his local Church--and never made a break with membership in the Church.
The infamous "Jefferson Bible" is also usually misunderstood. This is his version of the gospels where he cut out all the miracles of Christ.
He did not write that bible for himself....or pretend he thought it was what the "real" bible should be, rather he attempted to write a book of Jesus' morality to share with the American Indians...so they wouldn't have to deal with question (and skepticism toward) Jesus miracles. Of course it was futile and a failure--Jesus message, morality, and miracles simply cannot be rationally separated--but Jefferson surely was an enlightenment era skeptic to try.
I think it's fair to say while the winds of Deism blew strong amidst the founders (part of the cultural climate of the day), very few (perhaps Franklin alone) were actually full blown, consistent deists. Paine took deism to it's logical end...an absent God is pretty much the same as no God.
I would have a hard time voting for an atheist, even if I agreed with his policies....mainly because I don't know how he would have a basis of ethics. As Dostoevsky's Ivan indicated (though never actually said...), without God all things are permissible. The most powerful atheists who ever ruled have shown how this worked out: Hitler, Stalin, Pol Pot, Mao..... with hundreds of millions of victims' blood on their hands.
Ronald Reagan
There is no guarantee that even decent, God-fearing Christians will vote their beliefs.
But I expect that their Congresscritters campaign as conservative Christians but vote as liberals. They also bring home pork each year. Even a Christian’s vote can be bought by money.
I keep expecting that WV will get over their love affair with Robert Byrd and the rest of the Dems, and join the ranks of the south and Midwest by voting common sense and as an American patriot.
It’s understood, because the rights can’t emanate from anywhere else.
One is with us or one is not.
The deeper I get into my walk with God, the God of Abraham, the only God, the more I realize the need to consider every decision I make in prayer.
That is very true and wise of you. But I would argue, as this article does, that there are many professed believers in politics and few if any of us in a position to judge who among the so proclaimed are real believers of exactly what.
Although I have to admit that there might well be a selection bias as far as the % self reported for prison, in that there is a “Huckabee effect” that places a premium on Christian repentance in consideration of leniency.
Sgt, USAF.
Oh hell ya, religion is on its way out. C’mon, a dude died for your sins on a cross 2000 years ago and you believe it? Die a martyr and get virgins? The 2 are the same BS we indoctrinate our kids with. I am a huge conservative, but religion has got to go. It is time for pols to come out with what they really believe. Pols go to church for one reason, to make the Sunday news reel.
Amen. :-)
His mother was atheist and mark my words so is he
I just don’t get this.
There are many atheists who oppose these federal power grabs, who support life and the Second Amendment, and only want to be left alone to live their lives. People commit an injustice summarily dismissing someone just because they don’t believe in magical beings.
Still, I guess I should be grateful that these wonderful Christians aren’t calling for our heads like the peace-loving Muslims.
I support anyone who will decrease the power of the federal government, regardless of their religious beliefs.
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