THAT GOES FOR ME TOO...   I'm scared of the Religious right, now, and I used
to support them back in the '70's and early 80's.

-----Original Message-----
From: Cleveland, Kyle E. <[log in to unmask]>
To: [log in to unmask] <[log in to unmask]>
Date: Thursday, May 22, 2003 10:37 AM
Subject: Re: Dang!


>Ok, I'm going to go out on a soapbox hanging off a limb here too (though
>I'll probably have a spasm and fall off).
>
>Most of you know where I stand faith-wise so you'll be surprised when I say
>that I am a staunch supporter of the separation of church and state.  It's
>only because of that separation that I have the freedom to practice my
>faith.  Any attempt by the "religious right" to create even the most
minimal
>of theocracies should be opposed with vigor.
>
>I believe what I believe because the logic of my faith seems overwhelming
to
>me, but it no way was acceptance of that faith forced upon me by government
>fiat.  I believe that our "founding fathers" (a phrase become trite through
>overuse)in no wise ever advocated the co-mingling of government and faith.
>For one thing, it's not the government's place to legislate morality.  A
>moral code is an agreed upon lifestyle between mankind and his maker, or,
if
>you don't believe in a "maker", mankind and his society.
>
>One's moral code is an individual and personal script.  If the government
>gets in the business of legislating the finer points between right and
>wrong, who's to say that my personal code won't be legislated away?
>
>As far as the "Christian Right" is concerned, they need to become more
>familiar with their own sacred texts.  The theocracy of Israel ended with
>the temple veil being torn at Jesus' crucifixion.  The implication was that
>at that point in time an individual's relationship with God became personal
>and not national.  These folks would be well served by remembering this
most
>basic element of their Christian faith.
>
>From Constantine to the Crusades to the Inquisition to modern day Islam, we
>have a pretty good precedent for what happens when you mix the two
>"unmentionables": religion & politics.
>
>Stumbling from soapbox
>
>-Kyle
>
>
>-----Original Message-----
>From: BG Greer, PhD [mailto:[log in to unmask]]
>Sent: Wednesday, May 21, 2003 8:44 PM
>To: [log in to unmask]
>Subject: Re: Dang!
>
>
>Deri,
>
>       I would be terrified if the Christian Right would have power over
our
>government. I say more power because in the Bush Administration, we are a
>close as we ever have been to that state. The same goes for other
extremists
>such
>as Shiites. If we have gotten rid of Saddam Hussein(and we can't even say
>for
>certain we have done so) to be replaced by a Shiite theocracy; we have done
>a
>grave disservice to Iraq. Another tenet of our government is the separation
>of
>church and state. A theocracy as I understand it, is a government premised
>on
>certain religgious beliefs. What I know about Muslims and Iraq comes from
my
>son in law who is Lebanese and who gave me a Muslim 101 just recently.
>
>Bobby