Howdy, Maam!
Mind if we tell you the TRUTH about your religion??
Posted on 07/08/2011 11:59:15 AM PDT by delacoert
(WNS)--Mitt Romney and every American is free to believe whatever he wants, and religious belief – whether benign or bizarre -- should not prevent anyone from running for public office.
But that doesn’t mean voters shouldn’t take a candidate’s religious views into account. Indeed, a person’s religious beliefs tell us a great deal about both a candidate’s character and the core principles that inform his governing philosophy. When we evaluate candidates for public office, religion matters – and should.
As for Romney, I start with the understanding that Mormonism is not orthodox, biblical Christianity. If this understanding is true, then the promotion of Mormonism would be to promote a false religion. So the real question is whether supporting a Mormon for president would promote Mormonism. My answer to that is “yes.” It is inconceivable to me that electing a Mormon to the world’s most powerful political office would not dramatically raise the profile and positive perception of Mormonism. That is why I cannot in good conscience vote for Romney, despite agreeing with him on a good many social and fiscal issues.
Some argue that we elect a president, not a preacher, but this argument fails to account the presidency as “bully pulpit.” He is a preacher, apologist-in-chief for the American Vision. In this vital role, worldview matters. We have a right to expect the president to project a vision consistent with the beliefs, values, and ideals we’ve long held as a country.
I sometimes hear the related argument that we don’t ask an airplane pilot his religion, only that he can fly the plane. However, we do ask airplane pilots their religion -- at least indirectly. A theologian friend is fond of saying, “There are no postmodern airplane pilots.” He means that pilots do not merely push levers and twist knobs. They have a core set of beliefs and values about how the universe operates. They believe in the physical laws of the universe. Their behavior in the cockpit directly connects to their beliefs about the world.
Romney’s strategy has been to talk about “values” and dodge questions about religion, as if they were somehow unrelated. He hopes that as America accepted John Kennedy’s Catholicism, so too will America accept his Mormonism. But Kennedy gave a famous speech to the Houston Baptists about religion that explained his views and calmed concerns. Romney’s problem is that if he really believes what the Mormon Church believes, he dares not make that speech. The American people will say, “Really? Are you kidding me?” Or, if he says he doesn’t believe what the Mormon Church teaches, fellow Mormons will feel betrayed and even those who have trouble with the Mormon Church will nonetheless wonder about a man who can’t stand up for his own.
Yogi Berra famously said that “predictions are dangerous, especially predictions about the future.” That said, my prediction is that for Romney these problems are insurmountable and will ultimately bring down his bid for the presidency.
Howdy, Maam!
Mind if we tell you the TRUTH about your religion??
And has it engraved in STONE!!
Actually, Xzins...Mitt Romney acts just like the wishy-washy weaving of Mormon leaders of foregone years.
~ Wilford Woodruff, 4th LDS President
While most Americans naturally worry that having a MORMON at the helm would lead us the wrong way; MORMONs should be worried that their 'mormon' would abandon his (her? nah...) religion and do what the GOV'T wanted him to do!
Or, apparently, for others.
I would guess there are very few that 'respect' religion per se.
They may 'respect' their OWN, but I don't believe that it would extend too far to OTHER 'religions'.
As Orwell stated in Animal Farm, "Some are more equal than others."
They would, perhaps, respect the RIGHT of the person who believes the other religion, but NOT the actual focus OF that religion.
Call me a BIGOT, but I do NOT 'respect' Scientology, Wicca, or Satanism.
Cargo cults escape me and Moon gods leave me unenlightened.
OPRAH's brand makes me want to spit.
The only bigotry I see on FR is yours.
STOP using God’s Name in vain!!
You sure got that right. I thought that was a violation of the Religion Forum rules. Apparently there are those who believe they are above the Laws of God and the Religion Forum.
When one doesn’t respect God they do not respect anything else.
The Constitution of the United States of America, Article 6, paragraph 3: "The senators and representatives beforementioned, and the members of the state legislatures, and all executive and judicial officers, both of the United States and of the several States, shall be bound by oath or affirmation, to support this constitution; but no religious test shall ever be required as a qualification to any office or public trust under the United States.
I have already stated that I do think that Romney will be the Republican nominee for President because of his views on "manmade global warming", which I am convinced is a hoax that has an anti-freedom agenda behind it. His being deceived on this point is a valid reason for not supporting his bid for the presidency.
You are free to publicly oppose Romney because of his religion. You are free to try to amend the Constitution so that a religious test becomes required, so that any person born into a Mormon family, unless they repudiate that religion, are forever banned from holding any office or public trust under the United States. If that is your desire, go for it. I would not recommend it, because many people might view the endeavor as divisive and hate-filled.
From the article: “That is why I cannot in good conscience vote for Romney, despite agreeing with him on a good many social and fiscal issues.”
It seems the writer wouldn’t have a problem with Romney if only he wasn’t LDS. How else do you read that?
Freegards
“Well, that’s fine for you Ransomed. But you don’t represent the majority of Americans.”
No doubt. That is why I kept saying “for me”. I didn’t say anything about other folks, besides the writer who doesn’t seem to have a problem with Romney’s liberal garbage. Which is fine, I was just pointing that out.
“...and then they wind up superimposing/projecting their own opinions onto the majority of Americans!”
You can choose to make religion the most important thing for you when choosing a politician, that’s your right. Folks can say you are wrong, in turn you can say they are wrong.
Freegards
Well said. However, it appears that the Romney operatives have latched on to the accusation of "bigotry" on FR in order to get around Jim Robinson's plainly stated comments that no Romney support will be allowed here.
Harry Reid and mormon church president Thomas Monson with Obama.
Mormons talk policy and more at Obama White House-June 17, 2011
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