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April 27th, 2011
10:44 AM ET
Gingrich blasts secular 'fanaticism' at prayer breakfastFormer House Speaker Newt Gingrich condemned the growth of American secularism in harsh terms Wednesday at a Catholic prayer breakfast in Washington. It's a pet topic for Gingrich, who converted to Catholicism two years ago. His 2006 book "Rediscovering God in America" opened with the blistering line: "There is no attack on American life more destructive and more historically dishonest than the secular Left's relentless effort to drive God out of America's public square." Read the full story on the Political Ticker
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Will someone please....seriously....define secular anaticism for me please? The phrase itself is an oxymoron. It's like dividing by zero. What a dirtbag Newt is.
Gingrich said, "condemned the growth of American secularism in harsh terms ..." Oh, but conservative Christian fundamental movement is ok, in his opinion. Guess who he sucks up to?
I don't care for extremists, be they conservative Christian or any religion for that matter and extremist atheists. The extremist views of either side is simply a reflection of each other. I see no real difference between the two, regardless of believing in deity or not but rather the pushiness and condemning of either side when speaking of those who do not follow their thoughts and or beliefs.
@ Steve (the real one),
I agree the prayer breakfast wasn't the time or place to bring up something that would case people to take their minds off of what the occasion was for. I do agree though that this country has been trying to get rid of God for a while now.....as you can see by all the comments as it says in Proverbs 9
7 Whoever corrects a mo-ck-er invites insults;
whoever rebukes the w-icked incurs abuse.
8 Do not rebuke mo-ck-ers or they will h-ate you;
rebuke the wise and they will love you.
9 Instruct the wise and they will be wiser still;
teach the righteous and they will add to their learning.
Wow....so much truth....out of the Bible that those who don't want to believe say is an old book.
@CW
You said: "Wow....so much truth....out of the Bible that those who don't want to believe say is an old book."
If a perfect God actually existed, and if He had written / inspired a book of His wants, the book would leave its readers in absolute awe. Every word in the book would be absolutely true without reservation. The meaning of the verses would need no "interpretation". No portion would be ambiguous. There would not be 38,000 different Christian denominations. Prayer would be answered, exactly as Christ said it would. We would need no doctors, no social security, no pensions. We wouldn't have to worry about tomorrow.
No, CW. That old book is just that. An old book. Written by ancient men who were afraid of women's private parts.
Cheers!
Who can be wise, amazed, temperate and furious,
Loyal and neutral, in a moment?
– William Shakespeare
Wow....so much truth!
It is unwise to be too sure of one's own wisdom. It is healthy to be reminded that the strongest might weaken and the wisest might err.
– Mohandas K. Gandhi (supposedly)
I agree with you CW! God bless!
Anger and intolerance are the enemies of correct understanding.
– Mohandas K. Gandhi
So much truth!
"There is no attack on American life more destructive and more historically dishonest than the secular Left's relentless effort to drive God out of America's public square." Newt
I don't get this, I am not aware of any secular Left attack on American life. Attacks on the government's endorsement of religion, sure, but not the personal lives or beliefs of Americans.
However, there are REAL attacks on every other belief system and behavior not in line with the fanatical evangelists. No one is trying to shut down or block churches. Mosques? yes. No one is trying to limit Christians' rights. Gay's? yes. Your bedroom? Square in their cross hairs.
Good points, Nonimus and MarkinFL. You are in the lead.
@Nonimus & MarkinFL
Well said !
Peace...
How is stating your beliefs during a prayer breakfast different from spewing them on a comment board?
Depends on whether you see a difference between the two. Newt, apparently, does not.
It is none of Newt's business how a person choses to or not to practice a religion.
I always find the assertions of religious fundamentalists funny, especially when they assert that infidels, secularists, people that haven't been born again, etc., are capable of thwarting "God" or "His Purpose." I must be a god myself in order to keep the "Master of All Creation," from doing what He wants or from affecting my life or affairs in the world around me. Atheists, Agnostics, and non-Believers must possess some incredible strength to keep "God" out of public affairs. Funny how The Creator needs books, charlatans, rituals and dogma in order to exist. Maybe Gingrich and the fundamentalists of all flavors and fallacies are worshipping a false weak god or subscribing to a completely bullshi'ite concept of the creator in the first place.
Newt may be smart although I cannot see it He is not a huanist he is a hypocrit. Typical of most religious freaks they cannot accept that we Philosophically Emanciated, can see through all of the stories and see through the story tellers
Not too long ago, Mr. Gingrich's political aspirations would have precluded a conversion to Catholicism.
When JFK was running, rumours abounded that he would sell America out to the Vatican!
But no matter what form of religion he claims, Gingrich is a snake in the grass.
He once said: "There's no question at times in my life, partially driven by how passionately I felt about this country, that I worked too hard and things happened in my life that were not appropriate." Things like serving his wife divorce paper while she lay in hospital recovering from major cancer surgery.
Mr. Gingrich doesn't see the problem with being a hyprocrite, though:
"It doesn't matter what I do. People need to hear what I have to say. There's no one else who can say what I can say. It doesn't matter what I live."
I sincerely hope the American people can see right through his lies by now...
Yes, back in JFK's day Protestants and Catholics got along together sooooo well.
If anything, he should be thankful that secular advocates have arisen to give them both a common foe, and keep them from their historical sectarian hatred of each other. Get rid of us, Newt, and see how long it takes for the long knives to come out from your brother conservatives.
He is a catholic now, wonder if he has new urges?
"There is no attack on American life more destructive and more historically dishonest than the secular Left's relentless effort to drive God out of America's public square."
I counter with: there is no attack on American life more destructive and more historically dishonest than the religious Right's relentless effort to drive God into America's public square.
Separation of church and state! Myths and fairy tales should find no home in politics. Newt is an idiot.
Estevan wrote: "Newt is an idiot"
You're being unkind to idiots...
Sorry. My mistake. Newt is NOT an idiot. He is just a deluded believer. A deluded believer with a modic-um of intelligence and political clout makes him a dangerous man. Fanatics like him are threats to our national security.
I am someone who believes in a higher power, and because of that i used to align myself with the "Right". Then i saw that they hated more people then they loved, so now i tend to be more "Left". It really annoys me that because i don't hate g-ay people i must be less Christian.
That this fraud of a public figure can still draw an audience and spew his venomous opinions to mass media coverage says a lot about the state of our country and our standing in the world...
This guy has no idea how hypocritical he is being. What about anyone who lives in America with a belief in a different god than the Christian's? I don't get it.
It just goes to show the ignorance of his thoughts on the matter. They are twisted and wrong. They make people like myself feel bad and attacked for simply not believing in what he does. Uhg.
I supposed evangelical fanaticism is just fine?
Everytime I hear this clown's name, I think of the line in Monty Python's Holy Grail, "she turned me into a newt!......I got better."
Me being helpful:
hypocrite – a person who pretends to have virtues, moral or religious beliefs, principles, etc., that he or she does not actually possess, especially a person whose actions belie stated beliefs.
Gingrich says he has pro-family values. In fact, he has been married three times and has admitted to two extramarital affairs.
Cheers!
But you see...that's why he converted to Catholocism. Sin all week long, go to confessional on Sunday and start all over again on Monday. What a religion!
No, you're seeing this wrong. He's so pro-family, he's started three different ones and gave a run at two more!
@jefe – Excellent!
Newt knows a lot about blasting.
Where' Newt's birth certificate?..... long form, please!
Foaming at the mouth Christian fanatics as this stoog is the greatest threat to America. They spew their hatred of reason, science and anything else that threatens their delusions until it serves their purpose. I wonder how he would feel if Muslims demanded quotes from their Koran to be displayed in Federal court houses along side their dribble called "the ten commandments"?
WINNING!!!! (comment)
I totally agree with Steve(who?) and Peter F on this one! Gingrich is a turd. He wants to make nonbelievers and those who believe in separation of church and state, the boogeyman. He wants to be the believer's champion. Only he can save you. Well, him and that other fellow whose name I can't remember right now...
With ~ 83% of Americans claiming to be Christian, I think the numbers are on the believer's side.
You can do better than Gingrich, people.
Cheers!
Wait a minute! Agreement? Do you have a fever?
As a Christian, I have to disagree with Gingrich! A prayer breakfast should not be used to blast anyone or anything. I thought it was to remember the greatness of our God and to pray for those who are hurting and especially for our nation!
As a retard, you are doing very well, Steve. Your gibberish almost sounded like it had something to do with reality.
@Steve (the real one)
I totally agree with you on this one. Is such a gathering suppose to be used as propaganda against those who think differently? Is prayer a tool for attacking other people and blaming them for what's going wrong with the world?
Not helpful, Newt. Not helpful at all...
Blessings
Steev
As a retard, you are doing very well, Steve. Your gibberish almost sounded like it had something to do with reality.
-----
Ah yes another blast from one of the "tolerant" ones. Cool. What else you got?
@Steve (the real one): Having never been to a prayer breakfast, I would not be an authority to comment on Mr. Gingrichs statements. I do agree with you that there are more appropriate venues for his chosen topic. The CNN Belief Blog, for example!
@Steve (the real one)
Hey -Steve...
You Said: "As a Christian, I have to disagree with Gingrich! A prayer breakfast should not be used to blast anyone or anything. I thought it was to remember the greatness of our God and to pray for those who are hurting and especially for our nation!"
Well, I can't speak to you about what 'Christians' should or should not do, however, I do 'believe' that there are better contexts and ways to vent opinions. I make basically no comment to your assertion of 'prayer,' but I would typically agree that a 'prayer' breakfast probably is not the time, nor the place, nor the appropriate action to do what Mr. Gingrich decided to use as his platform.
Respectfully,
Peace...
@Steev
"As a retard, you are doing very well, Steve"
If Steve (the Real One) hadn't identified himself as Christian, you wouldn't have called him a retard. After all, you atheists are predictable. Given the "quality" of your response, may I assume you're an atheist?
I have no idea what a prayer breakfast should be like, but Newt's speech seems to fit with the theme, sort of.
"The theme of this year's breakfast is 'Celebrating the Beatification of John Paul the Great', as the Beatification for the late Holy Father will be celebrated in Rome on May 1."
"As we gather together in response to Pope John Paul the Great's call for a 'New Evangelization,' we ask that you pray for the ongoing success of the National Catholic Prayer Breakfast."
that was from: http://www.catholicprayerbreakfast.com/
@Nonimus
Hey pal...
Thanks for the 'link.'
Peace...
Newt should keep his mouth shut and just be happy to get invited to a prayer breakfast. If I were a Christian, I would not want him speaking on my behalf. That guy is a REAL talking snake. No offense to snakes.
@brad Please don't lump all atheists in with Steev. He's part of the problem. Most atheists I know, including myself, are absolutely fine with people having their own beliefs, and would actually fight to protect people's right to believe what they want. The #1 issue right now dividing atheists and believers is the Separation of Church and State. And really, it doesn't need to be an Us vs You debate. The bottom line is as an elected official and government, you represent the people, not just THIS or THAT group of people, not just believers, but all people, of all races, creeds, and religions. In order for there to equality towards all these people, something as personal as religious beliefs have no place as the basis for law or in government.
ColinO-
"Most atheists I know, including myself, are absolutely fine with people having their own beliefs, and would actually fight to protect people's right to believe what they want."
Same for the other atheists I know as well. I find far fewer believers willing to abide with our presence than the other way around.