November 10, 2004
THE CITY ON A HILL OR IN A GUTTER?:
THE PURITANS WON: Shaken by the notion of a faith-based nation (Diane Winston, November 10, 2004, Baltimore Sun)
Just like the faithful who fled England some 350 years ago, voters placed their faith -- and government -- under God. Proving what conservative pundits claimed for the past year, the 2004 election showed that Americans care as much -- or more -- about the spiritual and moral health of the nation as they do about its social and economic well-being.For those feeling as blue as the votes they cast, the lesson is clear: Religion and values are as much a part of the political calculus as tax cuts, health care and national defense. Political strategists are nothing if not quick studies, and we can expect that future candidates will add attention to ethical ideals and spiritual aspirations to politicking on governance and policy issues. For their part, journalists and pundits will need to become savvier about the questions they ask and the answers they report on religion's role in society.
The Bible tells us that without a vision, the people will perish, and with this election, the people -- evangelicals and their friends -- indicated that vision transcends mere peace and prosperity. In fact, President Bush's insistence on morality and ultimate meaning -- God continues to bless America -- won him a second term, despite problems in Iraq and a lagging economy. While many Democrats hold an equally robust religious world view -- albeit one that leads to a different set of social and political positions -- few expressed it with compelling directness.
The most revealing aspect of the current discussion about how the Democrats can save themselves from oblivion is that no one is suggesting that they forthrightly run on their secular relativist worldview. Posted by Orrin Judd at November 10, 2004 7:50 PM
Well, I' m not giving them any advice, but I'll give you some.
It's reported that a Dutch painter painted "Thou Shalt Not Kill" near the site were Van Gogh was murdered, and that the municipal authories sandblasted it away at the request of the local imam, who said it was "racist."
So much for the Abrahamic religions sharing a common moral background.
My advice: cultivate the better aspects of secularism. Joining up with Islam is the same as hanging yourself.
Posted by: Harry Eagar at November 10, 2004 8:03 PMThe Dutch are reaping what they've sewn, dependent on but hateful of their immigrants. And why you'd expect us to think your hatred of Mus;lims is different than your hatred of Christians I have no idea.
Posted by: oj at November 10, 2004 8:07 PMThe problem is that to the Dems, the Bible et al is just "working the Jesus angle" to win elections. That is all.
I'm reminded of the USSR and their ilk, to whom everything "ees political matter, Comrade". Our Enlightened Betters have bought into the same tunnel vision.
Posted by: Ken at November 10, 2004 8:10 PMThe "Thou shalt not kill" fiasco was merely a case of Muslim extremists taking advantage of the Dutch religion of Tolerance, which commands "Thou shalt not criticize non-European-Christian cultures", but apparently has no problem with cultural suicide.
Posted by: brian at November 10, 2004 8:27 PM"....And so in the year 2007, the pilgrims, seeking secular freedom, blasted off from Cape Canaveral aboard the IPS Mayflower."
From History of the Universe, Disc III, Houghton-Miflin, New Woodstock, Mars, 2076.
Posted by: Barry Meislin at November 11, 2004 2:22 AMFrom HISTORY OF THE UNIVERSE, Disc III...
As the 6th and final pilgriam ship blasted off and freed itself of Earth's grip, in May of 2009, the great institutional war between Islam and Catholicism began. [NOTE: Disc IV has been banned on Mars & Phobos due to religious content. It's importation from Earth, Deimos or any other place is illegal.]
Take a look at A Canticle for Liebowitz by Walter M. Miller, in which the Catholic Church, having brought the world back from a post-blast dark age, only to have the secularists rediscover atomic weapons and set out to re-destroy everything, launches a spaceship to carry the Apostolic Succession to the stars.
Posted by: Lou Gots at November 12, 2004 11:48 AM"And you will be witnesses for me in Jerusalem, in all of judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth." Now the gospel is to be proclaimed in the solar systems beyond our own. Thanks be to God for the opening of this evangelistic door!
Posted by: DW at November 12, 2004 10:34 PM