Stephen Colbert on the separation of church and state

reply to post by windword

We have been shown time and time again the dangers and evils of religious authority. I'm afraid Steven Colbert may be right. A religious civil war may be in the works for America, as we work to free ourselves from the agenda of religious rhetoric, ignorance and suppression again, and again.

Exactly.

Just as the Pope's ex-butler showed us this spring, and now has been sentenced to a few months of incarceration. In my mind, he did the right thing. I started a thread about that, too, (feel free to look it up, I'll not pimp my own thread in this other one). I find it astounding that when atrocities are exposed, it is the exposERS who get in trouble, simply due to their power.

I, for one, would be perfectly content if a politician was unaffiliated with ANY religion, political party, or activist group.
Hence why I think philosophers (as stated by one of those Greek sages of antiquity, though I can't recall which: Aristotle, Plato, Socrates perhaps) would be the best leaders. They see the bigger picture, not just the capital gains and other global upper-hand advantages to be had.

Originally posted by wildtimes
reply to post by NOTurTypical

 

I'm not "blaming you", NuT. Relax!
I am interested in hearing what those of faith feel about how politicians practice their own, and whether it matters, or SHOULD matter, or should be irrelevant.

Perhaps I wasn't clear: I didn't ask which you were voting for; I asked what you consider to be "the best leader", and if your own faith, and you said "no rhetoric please."

The question is quite rhetorical. Sorry if I ruffled your feathers. Would you feel less confident, or more confident, if any political candidate shared your faith to the letter? Say, if someone from your church was running, would that automatically predispose you to consider them?

No, because as I said earlier I'm not voting for my pastor or minister. I don't care if the man or woman running worships aliens, if I feel they have the right plan to stop running the country in a deficit, grow jobs, and repeal Obamacare they are getting my vote. Their religious expression and beliefs would be a factor to me if they were running for a position in my church.

reply to post by windword

You'll never get a straight answer from Christians on this issue. For one thing, Christians don't have a vested interest in the success of America, or the human race for that matter, because they pin their hopes on the savior cleaning up our mess for us.

What an absurd, hateful thing to say.

reply to post by NOTurTypical


Pretty sure this is sarcasm, but it mirrors many of the sermon's I sat and listened to during my youth and many sermons posted right here on ATS!



If you have a problem with this ideology, look to your Bible and your Christian leaders. Don't attack the messenger.

In what appears to be a callous effort by Rumsfeld to cater to President George W. Bush's religious fervor, the fiery Pentagon leader sent the president daily briefings on the war's progress headlined Worldwide Intelligence Update, which often included Bible passages on the cover paired with striking images.

In one report, a brilliant orange sun beams down on a U.S. tank in the desert beneath a passage from the Book of Ephesians reading, "Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand."
www.cbsnews.com...

For thousands of years, prophets have predicted the end of the world. Today, various religious groups, using the latest technology, are trying to hasten it.

Their endgame is to speed the promised arrival of a messiah.

For some Christians this means laying the groundwork for Armageddon.

With that goal in mind, mega-church pastors recently met in Inglewood to polish strategies for using global communications and aircraft to transport missionaries to fulfill the Great Commission: to make every person on Earth aware of Jesus’ message. Doing so, they believe, will bring about the end, perhaps within two decades.www.religionnewsblog.com...

What an absurd, hateful thing to say.

Indeed!