"Surest antidote to tyranny: allegiance to a Higher Power, not goverment"

[Bluebear]

http://www.theocracywatch.org/theocracy.htm

On the subject of Democracy Reed writes: "The surest antidote to tyranny is a free people who believe it owes its allegiance to a Higher Power, not the government. The consent of the governed rests upon faith in a sovereign God. Faith as a political force is the very essence of Democracy." - Ralph Reed

From Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia: "...Government...derives its moral authority from God. It is the minister of God with powers to "avenge" to "execute wrath" including even wrath by the sword."

"How much more forcefully can I say it? The time has come, and it is long overdue, when Christians and conservatives and all men and women who believe in the birthright of freedom must rise up and reclaim America for Jesus Christ." - D. James Kennedy

[shadowknows69]

1. I'm not sure I agree

While a Government is fallable because it's made of people the "higher" power we should have more allegiance to are the statutes the Government is supposed to operate by. We should make the tenents of justice and equality be the "official higher powers" that we base our government on (which it already is even though many have lost sight of that) or that we grade our public official's merit by. Not justice according to anyone's God but justice and equality as universal terms. All people understand these things regardless of their religious leanings.

[Bluebear]

2. 'All people understand these things regardless of religious leanings.'

You are kidding, right?

[shadowknows69]

3. No

I think any human know swhen he/she is being treated unjustly or unequally.

[Bluebear]

6. There is a great blindness out there.

The lowest paid in America, for instance, who think that Bush is 'just like them' and 'cares about people like me'.

[shadowknows69]

7. I think they know its being done to them

but they project the cause onto the perceived (or propagandized) "enemy" of the hour. IE Your pay sucks/we have to spy on you/oil companies are fucking you, because of terror, or democrats, or godlessness. A person treated unjustly feels it even if they deny it to themselves.

[magellan]

4. BUSHit

(Not directed at Bluebear!)

A government that believes it's invested with moral authority by an invisible being is on a direct path to theocratic authoritarianism. Faith as a political force is the very essence of jihadism. I reject both. As an American my first loyalty is to the US Constitution and the rule of law, without which we would have no democracy.

[shadowknows69]

5. That is what I meant

in a round about way. I was saying make the rules of our government more holy than any single aspect of it. right now it seems the offices and people in them are deified above the laws governing them.

[Kailassa]

13. You put "holy" and "our government" in the one sentence?

Sorry, but these days that is blasphemy.

There is nothing holy about the government any more.

If you want to see true holiness, look at some of the atheists around who work selflessly to help others
despite believing that there is no god telling them to do it
and no heavenly reward afterwards.

[shadowknows69]

15. I said justice and equality

are holy concepts to me and should be to our country. NOT any government made up of flawed humans. Sorry I'm not communicating this well.

[rman]

8. The "Higher Power" - that's us

After all it's The People who came up with this radical idea of self-governance by means of elected representatives, "consent of the governed" (not consent of god) and all that.

[upi402]

9. Consent is contingent on a worthy form of government

Or it should be.
Support for a government should not predicated on group delusion, mysticism, nor religion.

[xchrom]

10. reed doesn't believe what he says.

he says what his lunatic followers want him to say.

[bowens43]

11. Complete nonsense.

Theocracy = Tyranny. Tyranny of the worst kind.

[Kailassa]

12. Speaking of godly authority ...

From Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia: "... Vaffanculo"



Now what was it again that makes allegiance to a higher power a good thing?

Could it be that it makes the sheep "bahhh" more docilely on their way to the abbatoir?

Or is it the inflammatory cry of: "to the Crusades!!!" that makes religion useful?

[merbex]

14. We need a discussion in this country about civics; religion gets enough

attention

Does a certain section of the country need a reminder of how and why our system of government was set up in the first place??

Kevin Phillips thinks so

Buy his book - it is the scariest book I've read in years

[Marr]

16. Right- cause Iran is an egalitarian paradise.