God is not a RepublicanBy Matt Wisnewski - The Daily Toreador, Opinion
Thursday, September 07, 2006
America grew strong due to the belief in the separation of church and state, civil liberties and free enterprise. Adopting these principles as their own, Republicans used to be about smaller, less intrusive government. Not anymore. The 21st century Republican Party has lost its course, and it's about to lose this Republican.
Modern day Republicans only seem to care about weaving religion into the fabric of American government. We've seen this affect our nation's policy for six years now, and it's time that we take a stand for what we believe in. It's time to take our party back!
Here's what I believe: The Republican Party is not God's party, all Christians do not vote for politicians based solely on social issues and outside of a few unequivocal truths, Christians can have different interpretations on the scripture. As Billy Graham said in last month's Newsweek, "sincere Christians, can disagree about the details of scripture." Sadly, I feel my cries for help are falling on deaf ears.
Captaining the Republican's sinking ship is Dr. James Dobson of Focus on the Family. Preaching love and hate out of both sides of his mouth, Dr. Dobson has single-handedly turned the party of Reagan into a party of idolatry. Republicans are so dependent on the evangelical vote that they'll endorse and turn a blind eye to the bile that comes out whenever Dobson opens his mouth. In describing these "cavalier Christians," Fox News contributor Charles Krauthammer wrote: "They need their moral superiority like oxygen, and they cannot have it cut off by mere facts." For Dr. Dobson, the facts do not support his reactionary brand of Christianity.
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My problem with the Republican Party is not that the "Dr. Dobsons" of the world are being given a chance to have their Christian views advocated by the party. Instead, my problem is that the content of their Christian views are being based on a distortion of biblical values. Rather than building on the Bible's commands to love our neighbor, these people embrace isolated biblical passages that reflect fear and anger. Dr. Dobson, love is not saying "Patrick Leahy (a Democratic senator from Vermont) is a God's people hater. I don't know if he hates God, but he hates God's people." Consequently, I have become disgusted with the leaders on the religious right.
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http://www.faithinpubliclife.org/content/news/2006/09/god_is_not_a_republican.html