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Christian = Republican?
December 9, 2013 at 4:52 am
This is one for the colonials.
To what degree is Christianity in America tied up with the Republican / right wing political position?
On the xtian forum I also frequent there seems to be a very strong correlation between the two. In fact it's tough to find a Christian over there who is not a Republican, sometimes it seems that the theology and the politics blur together. More than once I've had to remind people that the US constitution is not a religious document.
But of course there is lots of selection bias there. So what's the real story?
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RE: Christian = Republican?
December 9, 2013 at 4:55 am
There's a sliding scale of Christianity in America. The closer you get to fundamentalist, the closer you get to (or in many cases, far beyond) the Republican fringe. There are plenty of Christian Democrats and liberals, though. They tend to the Buddy Christ interpretation.
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RE: Christian = Republican?
December 9, 2013 at 11:12 am
(December 9, 2013 at 4:52 am)Jacob(smooth) Wrote: This is one for the colonials.
To what degree is Christianity in America tied up with the Republican / right wing political position?
On the xtian forum I also frequent there seems to be a very strong correlation between the two. In fact it's tough to find a Christian over there who is not a Republican, sometimes it seems that the theology and the politics blur together. More than once I've had to remind people that the US constitution is not a religious document.
But of course there is lots of selection bias there. So what's the real story?
Define religious document. The constitution may not declare God to be 'x' nor does it say one has to worship god a certain way, but it does allow for state sponsered church, or so thought men like Jefferson Adams and the other founding fathers.
http://www.loc.gov/exhibits/religion/rel06-2.html
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RE: Christian = Republican?
December 9, 2013 at 11:17 am
(This post was last modified: December 9, 2013 at 11:17 am by Chas.)
(December 9, 2013 at 11:12 am)Drich Wrote: (December 9, 2013 at 4:52 am)Jacob(smooth) Wrote: This is one for the colonials.
To what degree is Christianity in America tied up with the Republican / right wing political position?
On the xtian forum I also frequent there seems to be a very strong correlation between the two. In fact it's tough to find a Christian over there who is not a Republican, sometimes it seems that the theology and the politics blur together. More than once I've had to remind people that the US constitution is not a religious document.
But of course there is lots of selection bias there. So what's the real story?
Define religious document. The constitution may not declare God to be 'x' nor does it say one has to worship god a certain way, but it does allow for state sponsered church, or so thought men like Jefferson Adams and the other founding fathers.
http://www.loc.gov/exhibits/religion/rel06-2.html
No, Jefferson and Adams were staunch advocates of the separation of church and state. You are delusional.
Skepticism is not a position; it is an approach to claims.
Science is not a subject, but a method.
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RE: Christian = Republican?
December 9, 2013 at 11:33 am
Drippy, dear drippy....Jefferson did not write the Constitution. He was in Paris watching the revolution break out as American ambassador.
And Madison said, famously: "Religious bondage shackles and debilitates the mind and unfits it for every noble enterprise.”
― James Madison
Smart guy, that Madison.
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RE: Christian = Republican?
December 9, 2013 at 1:23 pm
(This post was last modified: December 9, 2013 at 1:43 pm by Drich.)
(December 9, 2013 at 11:17 am)Chas Wrote: (December 9, 2013 at 11:12 am)Drich Wrote: Define religious document. The constitution may not declare God to be 'x' nor does it say one has to worship god a certain way, but it does allow for state sponsered church, or so thought men like Jefferson Adams and the other founding fathers.
http://www.loc.gov/exhibits/religion/rel06-2.html
No, Jefferson and Adams were staunch advocates of the separation of church and state. You are delusional.
You didn't click on the link did you?
http://www.loc.gov/exhibits/religion/rel06.html (page one the above link is to page two)
If Jefferson and madison (or Adams) held to your understanding of this seperation then why did they both hold church services in the captiol building? why did they use govermental funds to print bibles? What they meant by seperation of church and state was the state could not dictate or put limits on what the church was allowed to do. In the link provided there are copies of the actual letters Jefferson wrote defining what he ment. IF you take the time to educate yourself you would see there is a huge difference between what they actually thought and what you have sheepishly accepted the meaning of this seperation between C&S to mean.
(December 9, 2013 at 11:33 am)Minimalist Wrote: Drippy, dear drippy....Jefferson did not write the Constitution. He was in Paris watching the revolution break out as American ambassador.
And Madison said, famously: "Religious bondage shackles and debilitates the mind and unfits it for every noble enterprise.”
― James Madison
Smart guy, that Madison.
You didn't click on the link did you?
http://www.loc.gov/exhibits/religion/rel06.html (page one the above link is to page two)
If Jefferson and madison (or Adams) held to your understanding of this seperation then why did they both hold church services in the captiol building? why did they use govermental funds to print bibles? What they meant by seperation of church and state was the state could not dictate or put limits on what the church was allowed to do. In the link provided there are copies of the actual letters Jefferson wrote defining what he ment. IF you take the time to educate yourself you would see there is a huge difference between what they actually thought and what you have sheepishly accepted the meaning of this seperation between C&S to mean.
Just incase you can't or simply won't read the info I provided in the link here is a video
http://youtu.be/3zek_T7ZW-Y
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RE: Christian = Republican?
December 9, 2013 at 2:40 pm
I did click on the link. Which is why I wrote to explain to you that Jefferson did not write the constitution.
Simple facts always seem to elude you. Probably the result of having your head shoved firmly up your ass.
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RE: Christian = Republican?
December 9, 2013 at 3:50 pm
(December 9, 2013 at 4:52 am)Jacob(smooth) Wrote: To what degree is Christianity in America tied up with the Republican / right wing political position?
Christians are a pretty large and powerful support base in the Republican Party in the USA. For a time it seemed as if their influence was waning, but now it seems to be picking up. I think that in the past there have been minor (and very ineffective) attempts at marginalizing the religious right or even separating the party from them, but the relationship has held.
I think that most self-described libertarians in the USA are Republicans who either want to separate themselves from the religious right, or are seeking to present a version of the GOP that isn't beholden to it. But I don't think you can separate them. I think that as time goes on, the GOP will rely more and more on the religious wing of the party. And I think that over time this will erode their support substantially. But we are still an overwhelmingly religious country and that might take some time.
"Well, evolution is a theory. It is also a fact. And facts and theories are different things, not rungs in a hierarchy of increasing certainty. Facts are the world's data. Theories are structures of ideas that explain and interpret facts. Facts don't go away when scientists debate rival theories to explain them. Einstein's theory of gravitation replaced Newton's in this century, but apples didn't suspend themselves in midair, pending the outcome. And humans evolved from ape- like ancestors whether they did so by Darwin's proposed mechanism or by some other yet to be discovered."
-Stephen Jay Gould
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RE: Christian = Republican?
December 9, 2013 at 4:07 pm
(This post was last modified: December 9, 2013 at 4:09 pm by Drich.)
(December 9, 2013 at 2:40 pm)Minimalist Wrote: I did click on the link. Which is why I wrote to explain to you that Jefferson did not write the constitution.
Simple facts always seem to elude you. Probably the result of having your head shoved firmly up your ass.
Where did I say Jefferson wrote the constitution?
Define Founding Father for me Minnie, what does that term imply? Now the other half of my statement hinges on Jefferson being a 'founding Father.' Was Jefferson considered a 'Founding Father' of the united States?
The Grand Old Party Republicans would be middle right. The tea party republicans would be hard right wing. Some of them scare me.
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RE: Christian = Republican?
December 9, 2013 at 6:29 pm
(December 9, 2013 at 1:23 pm)Drich Wrote: why did they use govermental funds to print bibles?
They didn't: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/chris-rodd...98698.html
Christian apologetics is the art of rolling a dog turd in sugar and selling it as a donut.
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