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Old Time, Religion - Why are only GOPers asked about religion?
National Review Online ^ | November 21, 2012 | Daniel Foster

Posted on 11/21/2012 2:23:52 AM PST by Cincinatus' Wife

...... (Rep. Tulsi) Gabbard’s (D.Hawaii) espoused Hinduism, like Obama’s espoused Christianity or Ellison’s espoused Islam or Harry Reid’s espoused Mormonism, entails a range of commitments to claims that are, prima facie, at odds with the empirical record. But there isn’t a cottage industry in interrogating Democrats on their faith the way there is with religious conservatives.

One reason for this is that elected religious conservatives tend to be white, male Christians, and owing to those groups’ cultural and political position of power, we as a society are freer in challenging the pieties (in both the positive and negative senses of that word) of whites, males, and Christians. By contrast, liberals and conservatives alike tend to be queasier over the idea of hassling members of minority religions, or minority members of Christian confessions (both of which groups tend to lean Democratic), about the details of their faith. This explains why you’re not likely to see an interviewer ask Gabbard whether she thinks we really are in the 156 trillionth year since the last Brahma was born. Is there a familiar whiff of condescension in all this? Sure, but let’s suppose it’s innocent enough and leave it to one side.

Even so, as the number of nonbelievers in political life is vanishingly small, there are still plenty of white, male Democrats who espouse a Christian faith. Why aren’t they asked how old the universe is? (Or better yet, a more loaded version of that question that would be far more revealing: “Do you think God created the universe 4.54 billion years ago?”)

They aren’t asked such questions because the proximate purpose of asking such questions isn’t to start a conversation about metaphysics, it’s to get conservatives to say odd, politically damaging things....

(Excerpt) Read more at nationalreview.com ...


TOPICS: Constitution/Conservatism; Culture/Society; Editorial; Politics/Elections
KEYWORDS: articulation; faith; morality; politics
I Believe and Am thankful ".......There is no difference between the believer and the atheist “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God”. It’s just that only the believer is held, in the secular world, to account because only the believer embraces the standards of the faith.".......
1 posted on 11/21/2012 2:24:03 AM PST by Cincinatus' Wife
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To: Cincinatus' Wife

Well said.
Let us reason together for a minute...

I do not believe there are very many true atheists -

the very fact that atheists argue against the existence of God, they acknowledge the existence of God or, if there is no God why are they arguing about it?


2 posted on 11/21/2012 2:57:59 AM PST by WorkerbeeCitizen (we are so screwed - ^_^)
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To: WorkerbeeCitizen

” ....the very fact that atheists argue against the existence of God, they acknowledge the existence of God or, if there is no God why are they arguing about it?”

Spirited: Karl Marx reached this very conclusion and that is why he advised against atheism and advanced antitheism instead. The safest position said Marx, is to harshly criticize all questions pertaining to the existence of God. Beat all such questions into the ground with ridicule, labeling, and other such psychological bullying.

In practice this led to the murder of millions of Orthodox Christians.


3 posted on 11/21/2012 3:18:55 AM PST by spirited irish
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To: Cincinatus' Wife

Simple. Members of the GOP are asked about religion because there is no point in asking the godless.


4 posted on 11/21/2012 3:25:04 AM PST by Pecos (Double tap: the only acceptable gun control)
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To: Cincinatus' Wife
there are still plenty of white, male Democrats who espouse a Christian faith

Proving the old adage that 'talk is cheap'.

5 posted on 11/21/2012 3:26:49 AM PST by tbpiper
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To: Cincinatus' Wife

Because only Republicans take their religion seriously. Catholic and Jewish democrats use their religion as a badge, but don’t give a damn what it says.


6 posted on 11/21/2012 3:47:32 AM PST by I want the USA back
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To: Cincinatus' Wife

First off the Mourdock and Aikin loss.When it comes to defending a fundamental concept the godless ones have been pretty good at attacking an article of faith and reducing it to ridicule. Now the camp followers in the media are piling it on and thestampede is on.
The question becomes how should they handle it ?
Here is a suggested response...

“I happen to believe bla bla bla (the article of faith) which will has nothing to do with any legislation that may cross my desk and never will....At least I believe in God ...as a political party God is someone they booed...use the convention clip ...and I don’t believe that an election to office is a license to steal...


7 posted on 11/21/2012 4:27:59 AM PST by mosesdapoet ("A voice crying in the wilderness make streight for the way of the Lord")
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To: Cincinatus' Wife

I have stated time and again that the Democrat Party IS the Religion of the Democrat.

The Democrat can see their god in the benefits it gives them. They do not have to believe in a God they cannot see or speak directly to.

Many of them attend a religious service, but they worship the power of the party.


8 posted on 11/21/2012 4:54:38 AM PST by Venturer
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To: spirited irish

interesting bit of history - being repeated as we speak I might add...


9 posted on 11/21/2012 5:19:36 AM PST by WorkerbeeCitizen (we are so screwed - ^_^)
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To: Cincinatus' Wife

There are probably a *LOT* of conservative agnostics, but they keep their mouths shut because of the number of people who are absolutely convinced one cannot be a constitution following, patriotic American without being either a Evangelical or an Orthodox Jew.

It’s silly, but just another way the conservative movement shoots itself in the foot in a quest for ‘purity’.

I know of more than one atheist Republican who will gladly mouth the words to a hymn or tell you s/he is “saved” so as to make peace within family and caucus (and keep the focus on the economy where it belongs), while believing it all to be absurd.


10 posted on 11/21/2012 6:35:48 AM PST by RedStateRocker (Nuke Mecca, Deport all illegals, abolish the IRS, DEA and ATF.)
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To: WorkerbeeCitizen

interesting bit of history - being repeated as we speak I might add...

Spirited: Yes, right down to the teaching of Darwinism. Despite fallacious claims made by evolutionary theists, Darwinism is grounded in philosophical materialism which denies the existence of God, heaven, hell, angels, demons, and man’s soul and spirit. And this is why Marx embraced Darwinism and Bolsheviks forced its teaching onto Russia’s youth.


11 posted on 11/21/2012 8:34:04 AM PST by spirited irish
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To: Cincinatus' Wife
Old Time, Religion - Why are only GOPers asked about religion?

Because, maybe, the Olde Time Religion of the leftys includes phrases like "Ph'nglui mglw'nafh Cthulhu R'lyeh wgah'nagl fhtagn"*.

*That's a joke, I say, that's a joke son."

12 posted on 11/21/2012 1:42:28 PM PST by Lee N. Field ("Eschatology preceeds soteriology" --G. Vos, Pauline Eschatology, 1930)
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To: Cincinatus' Wife
(Rep. Tulsi) Gabbard’s (D.Hawaii) espoused Hinduism, like Obama’s espoused Christianity or Ellison’s espoused Islam or Harry Reid’s espoused Mormonism, entails a range of commitments to claims that are, prima facie, at odds with the empirical record. But there isn’t a cottage industry in interrogating Democrats on their faith the way there is with religious conservatives.

One reason for this is that elected religious conservatives tend to be white, male Christians, and owing to those groups’ cultural and political position of power, we as a society are freer in challenging the pieties (in both the positive and negative senses of that word) of whites, males, and Christians. By contrast, liberals and conservatives alike tend to be queasier over the idea of hassling members of minority religions, or minority members of Christian confessions (both of which groups tend to lean Democratic), about the details of their faith. This explains why you’re not likely to see an interviewer ask Gabbard whether she thinks we really are in the 156 trillionth year since the last Brahma was born. Is there a familiar whiff of condescension in all this? Sure, but let’s suppose it’s innocent enough and leave it to one side.

First of all, as to white male chrstians having power, at what point in the universal war on them by all the powers the establishment can marshal will they be acknowledged to no longer have the power they once had?

Second, the universal public scorn poured on Fundamentalist Protestants in the name of an ideology allegedly serving the interests of American Blacks has always been absolutely astounding to me. Do liberals think that all those little churches in the Mississippi Delta are dedicated to discussing the dialectic or cutting edge liberal Protestant theology? Why the Black churches always been given a free pass on Fundamentalism?

Furthermore, I can no longer believe that the members of those churches are ignorant of these attacks on the religion they claim to profess. There is no way they can be ignorant of it. They must either hate their white co-religionists with a passion so white-hot they don't care (and would happily see them all die in some fashion) or they are left-wing intellectuals who just happen to worship like Appalachian hillbillies. Which is it?

I hate to say this, but I so look forward to the day when the Left begins to turn on Black chrstians. Of course, since Black chrstians long ago sold out their religious beliefs, that time will probably never come.

13 posted on 11/21/2012 2:56:43 PM PST by Zionist Conspirator (Ki-hagoy vehamamlakhah 'asher lo'-ya`avdukh yove'du; vehagoyim charov yecheravu!)
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To: RedStateRocker
It’s silly, but just another way the conservative movement shoots itself in the foot in a quest for ‘purity’.

No kidding.

I get it both ways. First as an ex-Catholic because, after all, as a kid I was completely empowered to choose the Church my parents took me to and secondly as an ex-Catholic because I don't share the same beliefs as others.

Leads to some entertaining conversations and rocking the "purists" back on their heels.

14 posted on 11/22/2012 11:44:42 AM PST by superloser
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To: superloser

Well, there is nothing as fearless as an ex-Catholic. Maybe an Ex Communist.

If you’re raised to think of a person or institution as infallible, and then come to the empirical conclusion they aren’t, then really, there is no reason to have a higher regard for them than for one’s own observation and reason. Thus I’ve no hesitation to tell any preacher, priest, Democrat, Republican or anyone who is not more heavily armed than I to “F-off” if I don’t happen to agree with them :-). If someone isn’t cool with that, that’s why we have the second amendment.


15 posted on 11/23/2012 8:21:59 PM PST by RedStateRocker (Nuke Mecca, Deport all illegals, abolish the IRS, DEA and ATF.)
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To: RedStateRocker
Thus I’ve no hesitation to tell any preacher, priest, Democrat, Republican or anyone who is not more heavily armed than I to “F-off” if I don’t happen to agree with them :-).

Exactly!

16 posted on 11/24/2012 12:07:23 AM PST by superloser
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