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August 9th, 2011
04:44 PM ET
Evangelical leaders debate values voters tourFamily Research Council president Tony Perkins and rising evangelical influencer Jonathan Merritt debate the propriety of a new conservative Christian bus tour of Iowa that will feature a handful of Republican presidential candidates. Perkins says that deeply held values should help shape politics and policy. Merritt says Christians are being co-opted by politicians. Where do you stand? |
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The CNN Belief Blog covers the faith angles of the day's biggest stories, from breaking news to politics to entertainment, fostering a global conversation about the role of religion and belief in readers' lives. It's edited by CNN's Daniel Burke with contributions from Eric Marrapodi and CNN's worldwide news gathering team.  |
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Supprting g-a-y rights is immorality and perversion. Supporting woman's right to abortion is murder. Those are nothing of value but pure evil. Why don't stupid secular Americans get it? As a non-white, I get offended when the whites put the blacks and g-a-y-s together in the civil rights issues. The whites have become weird. I hope it's not in their genes.
I suspect that you are just superst.itious that abortion and gay rights will anger your god enough to cause collateral destruction on you personally in which case you sound about as sane as somebody calling for all black cats to be put to sleep because the bad luck might hurt them.
@Free, don't be stupid. Every sin is an offense against the Creator God, but it is also pure science and logic. Immorality is bad for health( mental, physical) for everyone and corporately, and murder(abortion) increases crimes and causes natural disasters.
How, exactly, do abortions cause crime and natural disasters? I just know you have sources to back up this claim. Otherwise, you would be lying. God doesn't like lying.
I wonder how it is that "values voters" came to mean conservative Christian voters. After all, tolerance of other cultures is a value. Belief in freedom of (and from) religion is a value. Support for g-ay rights is a value. Support for gender and racial equality is a value.
@Civiloutside
You are spot-on.
Interesting that you mention that. I have been beating the drum for years that somehow the Christian right, and/or Conservative party have been able to 'frame' the use of linguistics and 'catch-phrases' to their benefit.
Someone has been asleep at the wheel in the other parties, while the conservatives continue to have better marketing with their 'words' IMHO.
Thanks for bringing it to light
Peace brother...
@Peace2All: And they continue to do so since the wealthy have now become the "job creators". They took a page out of George Orwell. Newspeak to make some animals appear more equal than others.
About 40 years ago, Christian conservatives made a concerted effort to infiltrate the Republican Party. It was a planned and organized invasion. They figured their social and religious conservativism would blend better with financial and political conservatives. Now, the people in power at the GOP are Christian conservatives, bent on enforcing their brand of faith as the law of the land. Christians co-opted the GOP for power and the GOP uses them to get votes. Both sides are using and perverting the other.
The Republican Party of today bears very little resemblance to the Party of the 50’s, 60’s, and 70’s.
This nation was founded by the principle of keeping religion separate from politics & not declaring a state religion! I expect all politicians to uphold that principle! Those who claim this to be a christian country either enjoy deluding themselves or have simply forgotten the 1st amendment!!
First they came for the liberals,
and I didn't speak out because I wasn't a liberal.
.
Then they came for the pagans,
and I didn't speak out because I wasn't a pagan.
.
Then they came for the Atheists,
and I didn't speak out because I wasn't a Atheist.
.
Then they came for me
and there was no one left to speak out for me.
From the article: "Merritt says Christians are being co-opted by politicians." It seems like quid pro quo to me. Not only are the conservative Christians being co-opted by the politicians, the politicians are being co-opted by the conservative Christians in order to push their own conservative agenda. I'm not sure who is really being duped here, but I believe it's those of us who want both freedom of religion, as well as freedom FROM religion. I have my own religious beliefs, but they are NOT aligned with most Christian conservatives.
Because you are a Hindu, not Christian.
faith never responded to my post saying that she was not a Christian. It must be true.
@ Faith – so that makes you a witch since you can guess my religion based only on my comments. And not even a very good witch since you are incorrect about my being Hindu.
JW, Rick, you guys are not Christian. Stop pretending.
Faith, you are lying, bearing false witness, and judging again. God was very clear about the first two. Jesus was definite about the last one. Why do you insist on breaking commandments and your savior's teachings?
I agree with Faith...Christians need to win the country back b/c we are on a fast track toward immorality.
Yeah, CW, instead we should be slaughtering and burning animals to please god, because your sick Christian bible commands it, and we should keep slaves 'cause your guidebook supposedly from god says that's fine.
Take your evil religion and your evil bible and shove them sideways up your back ori-fice. http://evilbible.com
@Gozer, animals were slaughtered for consumption just like today. Slaves were/are always freed by Christians all over the world. Pagans keep slaves and atheists kill slaves. The Bible time slaves were treated much, much better than the employees in US companies. You guys are stupid slaves of the American super-rich.
Yes, we should return to a Christian Theocracy. Because that worked so well in the Dark Ages.
Bible time slaves were still slaves, seen as less than human. If one person killed another person, they were arrested and tried. If one person killed a slave, they just had to pay a fine to the slave’s owner. They slept in squalid conditions and were beaten by their owners as a matter of course.
Christian Americans should get their nation back before it gets nuked because of immorality.
@Faith
Are you nuts...? W T F ?
Peace...
Sorry for being too realistic. After seeing what happened to Ja-pan months ago...
And the inanity of "Faith", the lady red-neck of many aliases, continues !!!
PS Faith is a troll.
The Bobinator
PS Faith is a troll.
---–
SAY IT AINT SO!!!! I thought she was legit. She is like a dancing midget and monkey sidekick.
Thats where we are headed Faith.
This country is about to merge church and state.
History has always shown that when church and state are merged, religous persecution takes control.
In American churches, the Law of God has been made void. Gods 4th commandment is spit on by christians.
Another day is idolized that God calls common ( Sunday). While the 7th Day is desecrated .
See this in Gods eyes. My Bible says He never changes. The ten commandments aren't the 9 suggestions.
You can laugh and ridicule me and hold me in contempt. For what. Sound doctrine
I'm a Christian, but I to have too agree with you Anti-Christian. This is totaly unethical. If these politicans do can not stand on their own ethics–they don't have any in the first place. And I say with you–DANGER!! DANGER!! Watch these Polltcians–I don't trust their integerity!
I find it odd that for people like the two above, it’s not enough for them to believe and abide in their faith. They constantly seek ways to make their belief visible everywhere. I have to wonder how strong their faith is if they can’t go for an hour without seeing a cross or a church.
First they came for the liberals,
and I didn't speak out because I wasn't a liberal.
Then they came for the pagans,
and I didn't speak out because I wasn't a pagan.
Then they came for the Atheists,
and I didn't speak out because I wasn't a Atheist.
Then they came for me
and there was no one left to speak out for me.
Anti Christian Taliban Schizophrenics,
"They want to push for using the government as a weapon and tool by which they can impose their beliefs."
I agree completely with you on this thought. All I have to do is look at Iran and other Muslim controlled countries, see how they push religious laws on everyone and the penalties for those who believe as they do and those who do not believe as they do, to know that Evangelicals would be and act the exact same way here in the U.S., if they could. Theocracies DO NOT work and just because it's Christian doesn't mean it would work or because it is Christian that it would be benevolent.
The very nature of a theocracy is anti-Democracy.
But, Ron, those countries have eeevil moos-lems! A Christian theocracy wouldn’t be like that! Because all Christians are good and loving! You know, like in the Dark Ages, the Burning Times, all the Crusades, all the Inquisitions, WWII…
Its not enough to have freedom of religion. They want to push for using the government as a weapon and tool by which they can impose their beliefs
*DANGER*
Evangelical = Red Flag-enemy of the state
@ACTS: I totally just heard your post in a Dalek voice!
@Frogist
Eatin' DD hash browns and watchin' 'Dr. Who...? With your 'rainbow' Jeeeeezus T... Sounds good to me ! 😀
Peace...
@Peace2All: Dr Who and hash browns? Who hash?!
Does that make me Cindy Lou Who? Hmmm Do they have Grinch Daleks? I guess all Daleks are grinches anyway...
Argh! Stop making my brain go all random! Rainbow Jesus!
@Frogist
Ya' know... I just can't help myself with the humor stuff. Gotta' mix it up and make someone smile. If it's you... great !
If it truly 'hurts' your brain, I shall refrain from said 'random' tie-ins...?
Peace...
@Peace2All: Naww! It's all good. We all need a random Rainbow Jesus Dalek laugh every now and again! Gotta go for tonight tho. Have a great night!
Perhaps we should hold a Random Rainbow Jesus bust tour of Iowa?
@John R.
Hey buddy... What a great idea ! The fundies would just looooooooooooove it ! 😀
Peace bro...
@Frogist. What we need is more Doctor. I miss the PBS al night beg-a-thons. with the doctor and Dr. Pepper going to bed at sunrise just to what a 20 year old British TV show. For the record Tom Baker is still the best Doctor ever
@John Richardson: random rainbow jesus BUST tour... Will there be wet t-shirt contests?! 😉
@Ed: Ahh yes Tom Baker... He is the only Doctor previous to the new ones that I know. It's almost blasphemy, isn't it?
I have to say I do love Eleven. He is manic and silly. And Amy Pond is oh so hott.
Anti Christian Taliban Schizophrenics
"Evangelical = Red Flag-enemy of the state"
I can't imagine American Evangelicals without their having some 'enemy' to be mobilized against.
America is a garbage can if it doesn't have Evangelicals. Evangelicals are the only normal humans left in America.
Yeah, those righteous Evangelicals. Telling everyone else what to do and how to live. Ignoring the Consti-tution in their search for a theocracy. Denying people rights because they personally don’t like those people. Always telling other people that they (the other people) are going to Hell. Judging, condemning, lying, bearing false witness.
I wonder if God looks down, pinches the bridge of his nose, and says, “Would you all stop being on my side? You’re making me look bad.”