Religious Beliefs of Al Franken

[Eric J in MN]

From my blog at moveleft.com,
http://www.moveleft.com/moveleft_essay_2005_01_05_the_religious_beliefs_of_al_franken.asp

To listen to the audio discussed in this article, click below:

Al Franken talks about his religious beliefs at the start of the Jan. 3, 2005 "Al Franken Show" radio broadcast

At the end of the above audio excerpt, Al Franken mention that his radio show blog has this link to organizations accepting donations to help tsunami victims.

Al Franken has been away because he was on USO tour to entertain the troops in Iraq two weeks ago and subsequently was on vacation last week..

Franken returned to his show on "Air America Radio" on Monday.

A great tragedy, the tsunami which killed over 150,000 people in Asia,
had occurred while he was away.

Franken, who is Jewish, began by talking about God.

Franken implied he has these religious beliefs:

God created the universe.

However, God does not get involved in modern affairs.

The Holocaust and the tsunami deaths do not seem
consistent with a loving God involved in modern affairs.

Franken said that his character, Stuart Smalley, was
inspired by a man who
thanked God for helping him find an apartment.

Franken doesn't believe that God helps people find
apartments.

Franken's negative reaction to a man who apparently thinks that God allowed the Holocaust but
wouldn't allow that man to go another week
without a new apartment helped inspire Franken to create Stuart Smalley.

On politics, Franken said that George W. Bush's belief
that he's chosen by God is "incredibly arrogant" (Commerce Secretary and close friend of Bush, Don Evans, said that Bush believes he was chosen by God to be president, as reported in "Strain of Iraq war showing on Bush, those who know him say" by Judy Keen, USA Today, Apr. 2, 2003.)

Franken doesn't believe that God chooses presidents.

Since Bush apparently believes that God got involved to make him president, Franken wonders if Bush also believes that God got involved to kill 150,000 people with a tsunami.

In previous shows, Franken has criticized
Pat Robertson's notion of the Sept. 11, 2001 attack as
God's punishment. Franken also discusses the Pat Robertson's remarks in his best-selling book, "Lies and the Lying Liars Who Tell Them."

[autorank]

1. Nice post. I agree with most of this. Deep thinking....

...lets hope he applies his sharp mind to the voting rights issue.

[elshiva]

2. Interesting

Would you call Franken a Deist? The founding fathers were Deists. They believed God created the world and let it be, and that Jesus wasn't Divine. I think Franken would agree with them.
I like Al Franken, but that doesn't mean I agree with his theology. But, WANT TO MAKE THIS CLEAR, I believe in a universal salvation of all creation, so in the glorious reign of God none of this religious claptrap will matter. The lion will lay with the Lamb, we won't study war no more, and God will rule. NO ONE IS EXCLUDED.

[tuvor]

3. Have you heard of this site?

www.tentmaker.org

I'll bet it's right up your alley.

ON EDIT: Welcome to DU! :hi:

[Az]

4. He claims to be a Jew

Why not take him at his word?

I know an atheistic Rabbi. Judaism allows for a fairly wide scope of followers.

[elshiva]

7. Yes, he is a Jew...

I did not mean to deny it. I believe in a very wide scope for Judaism, too. I am half-Jewish on my Dad's side, I am more Christian in my belief system, but I am proud of my Jewish heritage. I love being a half-Jew and I am happy to have Al Franken as a Jewish brother.

[Az]

5. Some of the founding fathers were Deists

Some were Quakers. Some were Universalists. Some were simply firebrands. A lot were Christian too.

[Eric J in MN]

9. He's Jewish, but his beliefs seem consistent with Deists

like Thomas Jefferson.

[Az]

12. Er

Are you saying Jefferson was Jewish, Deist, or had views similar to Deists? :D

[Eric J in MN]

13. I'm saying the Thomas Jefferson was a Deist, not that Jefferson

was Jewish.

[Az]

14. Ah, not sure he would agree

He kind of tried a bunch of different beliefs. The Universalists claim him. He rewrote the Bible extricating all the brimstone and hellfire stuff so the Christians have an iffy claim with him. He did quite like Deism as well. Just not sure he would feel comfortable being placed in one container.

Not a major issue. Just trying to add to the info. After Franklin, Jefferson is my fave founding member.

[Nothing Without Hope]

6. Thanks for this. It fills out my sense of Al Franken

Yes, Bush is quite the psychosocial marvel, isn't he? I believe him to be whatever the modern equivalent of a "sociopath" is. Did you see the wonderful Pat Oliphant cartoon on Bush's reaction to the tsunami victims? It is deadly, precisely on-target. Even the facial expressions and gestures are right. Coincidentally enough, it's posted in reply #30 in this interesting thread...about whether Bush is a sociopath:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=104&topic_id=2902995&mesg_id=2902995

If Bush is indeed a sociopath and (as many suspect) a narcissist as well, then it is not so hard to imagine how he can juggle such opposing things as God choosing him and God killing all those people without boggling. There's no conflict -- all the other people in the world don't mean anything to him. He doesn't care at all, so why would he expect his god to? And with the narcissism and his entitled personal history, it's no wonder if he thinks God guides his political career.

There are lots of people who pray to God to make their football team (or whatever) win and are sure he has "personally" answered their prayers when it does. They never stop to think (a) whether God is interested in fixing football games, and (b) whether nobody on the other team is praying that THEY win. Madness. And Bush is immeasurably worse both because of what he is and because of what he has done and will do if given the opportunity.

Just venting here. I imagine I'm preaching to the choir.

Best to you, and to Al Franken too. Nice to have some genuine human beings around when it's too scary looking at the monsters.

(self-edited to correct two irritating typos -- sort of ridiculous when you think about it, but they were sort of smirking at me.)

[Eric J in MN]

11. Thanks for the cartoon link (nt)

nt

[Nothing Without Hope]

8. A similar theology seems to be expressed in this quote

by writer Christopher Morley (1890-1957):

My theology, briefly, is that the universe was dictated but not signed.

[elshiva]

10. This sounds like Process Theology

and I dig that, hon. Blessings