Thanks, K, and Sheila, you both said it beautifully. In a similar vein, I would add the example of former President Jimmy Carter in his approach to leading being similar to Biden's. Both are men of strong faith, but both as elected leaders of the people knew their task was to rule in the way the people elected them to lead. Their job was…
Thanks, K, and Sheila, you both said it beautifully. In a similar vein, I would add the example of former President Jimmy Carter in his approach to leading being similar to Biden's. Both are men of strong faith, but both as elected leaders of the people knew their task was to rule in the way the people elected them to lead. Their job was NOT to force a populace to believe what they believe. I think that's what the founders of this country intended: lead the people, but leave your personal faith outside of that. And then, in his post-Presidential work, Carter has really shone his true colours: commitment to helping others. You wanna be like Jesus? Then serve your fellow man, and do it quietly, under the radar, without calling attention to yourself. Jesus exhorted us to do that very thing. Help only for the sake of helping, not to show how wonderful you are. There ARE many many Christians who do just that, and they are the ones you never hear about, which is as it should be. Yes, I believe the RCC is, in its leadership, one of the most corrupt entities around, but in spite of that, there are many of its members who follow Christ's example anyway. Personally, I could never be Catholic myself because of its tenets--so I'm Anglican: all of the theatrical pageantry, none of the guilt!--but I have many Catholic friends who I know ARE good Christians and who are not supportive of much of their leadership hierarchy. In that regard I feel kinda sorry for them (actually, sometimes the leaders in my denomination aren't perfect either...), but we carry on anyway.
By that I do not mean that the majority of religious believers in this Country are not Christians, as they are. Rather, in spite of the gratingly annoying noise emanating from the Hobby Lobbyists, the US of A was founded on political principles derived from, for the most part, the Enlightenment. On the subject of religion, Messrs. Locke, Montesquieu, Diderot, etc. were skeptical, to say the least.
But that does not mean that principles whose origins are found in the Christian Bible, Catholic or Protestant, and in various church teachings have no place in politics. The trouble comes in when those who are, as I see it, mostly faux religious, misusing their claimed Christianity as a tribal weapon of exclusion, the exact opposite of the teachings of the Prince of Peace.
It's sad we're losing Jimmy Carter soon. He has always been a good human being who lived his beliefs. (It's also appalling what Regan did to sabotage Jimmy's efforts to end the Iran Hostage situation for his own political gain. (and so many other bad things Reagan did that we're still having to deal with.)
Thanks, K, and Sheila, you both said it beautifully. In a similar vein, I would add the example of former President Jimmy Carter in his approach to leading being similar to Biden's. Both are men of strong faith, but both as elected leaders of the people knew their task was to rule in the way the people elected them to lead. Their job was NOT to force a populace to believe what they believe. I think that's what the founders of this country intended: lead the people, but leave your personal faith outside of that. And then, in his post-Presidential work, Carter has really shone his true colours: commitment to helping others. You wanna be like Jesus? Then serve your fellow man, and do it quietly, under the radar, without calling attention to yourself. Jesus exhorted us to do that very thing. Help only for the sake of helping, not to show how wonderful you are. There ARE many many Christians who do just that, and they are the ones you never hear about, which is as it should be. Yes, I believe the RCC is, in its leadership, one of the most corrupt entities around, but in spite of that, there are many of its members who follow Christ's example anyway. Personally, I could never be Catholic myself because of its tenets--so I'm Anglican: all of the theatrical pageantry, none of the guilt!--but I have many Catholic friends who I know ARE good Christians and who are not supportive of much of their leadership hierarchy. In that regard I feel kinda sorry for them (actually, sometimes the leaders in my denomination aren't perfect either...), but we carry on anyway.
Carry on indeed! Good call, Bruce.
We are not a Christian Nation.
By that I do not mean that the majority of religious believers in this Country are not Christians, as they are. Rather, in spite of the gratingly annoying noise emanating from the Hobby Lobbyists, the US of A was founded on political principles derived from, for the most part, the Enlightenment. On the subject of religion, Messrs. Locke, Montesquieu, Diderot, etc. were skeptical, to say the least.
But that does not mean that principles whose origins are found in the Christian Bible, Catholic or Protestant, and in various church teachings have no place in politics. The trouble comes in when those who are, as I see it, mostly faux religious, misusing their claimed Christianity as a tribal weapon of exclusion, the exact opposite of the teachings of the Prince of Peace.
AMEN ! Daniel !
It's sad we're losing Jimmy Carter soon. He has always been a good human being who lived his beliefs. (It's also appalling what Regan did to sabotage Jimmy's efforts to end the Iran Hostage situation for his own political gain. (and so many other bad things Reagan did that we're still having to deal with.)