the blog that gets bizzy   2log

Could God Make A Barack So Powerful... Posted by Gerrit at 2007-11-13 12:31:52 My answer is, I guess I'm a hypocrite.  But I won't get to the question until the end. Obama has made religion a centerpiece of his campaign.  His speeches are couched in religious imagery.  He's reaching out to evangelicals.  He's set up a faith section on his website.  And just as lefties have happily embraced Sufjan Steven's crooning about how much he loves God, we have no qualms about Barack openly trying to bring religion into the public sphere.  Brother man is so charismatic, he's winning over atheists, despite being the most pious of the candidates.  This isn't necessarily an anti-Obama post, though.  My view on religion comports with his, so it's a no-brainer for me to support him.  In the interest of challenging my beliefs, however, I can't figure out an appropriate response to this article.  Money quote: "A liberal Democrat who advances a political agenda on the basis of claiming to be doing "the Lord's work" is no better than a conservative Republican doing the same thing." It's pretty much true.  The reason I give Barack a free pass on religion, yet condemn Bush for the same thing, is because Barack's on my side and Bush is on the other side.  It's a nasty us vs. them, and I've chosen my side.  I'm a blind partisan, willing to overlook the log in my own eye. I suppose the fair answer is that, if I accept faith-based politics on my side, I need to excuse it in the other side.  I can't condemn evangelical Christians for using religion to justify their abhorrent policies.  I have to accept that it's OK for people to demonize homosexuality based on obscure readings of the Bible.  It's OK to have a foreign policy based on getting a country nuked just to trigger the end times.  I may disagree with the conclusions, but then it just becomes the classic argument of "my god is better than yours". If I can't learn to accept the right's faith-based politics, then what does that make me? Permalink | 5 Comments | -49 Billion points Filed Under: religion, Election 2008, Baracknroll, dogma

	Points:   (optional) Point Bomb:     From:   (optional) Email:   (optional) Comment:

	393 Sam (0) Tue, Nov 13 '07 02:31:32 PM It's a tough call, but think about what Obama views as the central tenets of Christianity: humility, compassion, and public service. It's tough to argue with those from any standpoint. He has spoken out against the homophobia, moral absolutism, and general narrow-mindedness that other politicians have claimed as religious prerogative, and believes overall in the enduring power of dialogue to solve complex problmes. His view of religion is fluid and adaptable, and he treats it as a personal motivator and not a mission of conversion. To me that's entirely different than the faith of Bush and others, who see Christianity as a justification for protecting Christianity at all costs. Reply

	-49 Billion SD (0) Tue, Nov 13 '07 02:45:48 PM Your logic doesn't make much sense: 1. As you rightly point out in response to my Ron Paul comments, just because you endorse a candidate doesn't mean you agree with ALL his viewpoints and strategies. You can still endorse Obama but condemn how much he is introducing religion into his campaign. During elections, I find myself often voting for the lesser of two evils rather than the perfect good. I, for one, believe there should be a "wall of separation" (Jefferson) between politics and religion and hence, it raises a red flag for me whenever politicians start collapsing religion with politics. 2. However, I am not naive and recognize that politics and religion seem to be inextricably linked somehow. Even if you don't agree with my "wall of separation" approach, the next question is how much you are willing to let religion encroach into politics and vice versa. As far as I am aware, Obama has not justified his political stances on religious grounds unlike the Christian right who has pursued various intolerant social and political agendas based on their religious views. 3.) If you are a religion/politics mixer guy, there is still plenty of room to distinguish Obama's use of religion against Bush's. There is no "objective" religious interpretation. Hence, it's perfectly legitimate to support one religious stance over another. As far as I can tell, Obama seems to use religion to unite whereas the Christian right seems to use religion to divide and discriminate. It's ok to say you prefer the former over the latter. The bad news is your logic here isn't completely sound. The good news is you are not a hypocrite, at least not in this respect. Reply

	-1 Gerrit (0) Wed, Nov 14 '07 10:05:47 AM I think the answer I've settled on is that I distinguish between politicians who are genuine about their religion. Some righties, like Mike Huckabee or Orrin Hatch, I disagree with on the issues. But I've never had a problem with the way they incorporate their faith into their politics, because they practice it in a way that appears very genuine. Meanwhile, people like Bush or the entire Christian right are all too happy to abuse religion as a convenient organizing tool. Reply

	500 + 2,000 SWZA (0) Wed, Nov 14 '07 03:46:05 PM The 500 are for Sam. Fuckin A, bro. Nice call. The 2Gs, for Gerrit. It's a rough trip, buddy. Trying to ally yourself with any party or non-party member, 'cause you know that turd in the punchbowl is about to surface at any minute. Dead hooker, lesbo daughter thought to be safely under wraps, anti-cheese platform. It doesn't make you a hypocrite, but it can make you nuts. Mesh the best you can and move on. Or, become a single-issue voter. Gun rights, baby. Then everything else just falls into line. Why? 'Cause we got the guns. [This point award is in no way backed by the NRA, Wayne LaPierre's insane rantings, or Charleton Heston's cold dead hands.] Reply