[...] given the increasing diversity of America’s population, the dangers of sectarianism have never been greater. Whatever we once were, we are no longer just a Christian nation; we are also a Jewish nation, a Muslim nation, a Buddhist nation, a Hindu nation, and a nation of nonbelievers.
And even if we did have only Christians in our midst, if we expelled every non-Christian from the United States of America, whose Christianity would we teach in the schools? Would we go with James Dobson’s, or Al Sharpton’s? Which passages of Scripture should guide our public policy? Should we go with Leviticus, which suggests slavery is ok and that eating shellfish is abomination? How about Deuteronomy, which suggests stoning your child if he strays from the faith? Or should we just stick to the Sermon on the Mount – a passage that is so radical that it’s doubtful that our own Defense Department would survive its application? So before we get carried away, let’s read our bibles. Folks haven’t been reading their bibles.
This brings me to my second point. Democracy demands that the religiously motivated translate their concerns into universal, rather than religion-specific, values. It requires that their proposals be subject to argument, and amenable to reason. I may be opposed to abortion for religious reasons, but if I seek to pass a law banning the practice, I cannot simply point to the teachings of my church or evoke God’s will. I have to explain why abortion violates some principle that is accessible to people of all faiths, including those with no faith at all.
Now this is going to be difficult for some who believe in the inerrancy of the Bible, as many evangelicals do. But in a pluralistic democracy, we have no choice. Politics depends on our ability to persuade each other of common aims based on a common reality. It involves the compromise, the art of what’s possible. At some fundamental level, religion does not allow for compromise. It’s the art of the impossible. If God has spoken, then followers are expected to live up to God’s edicts, regardless of the consequences. To base one’s life on such uncompromising commitments may be sublime, but to base our policy making on such commitments would be a dangerous thing. And if you doubt that, let me give you an example.
We all know the story of Abraham and Isaac. Abraham is ordered by God to offer up his only son, and without argument, he takes Isaac to the mountaintop, binds him to an altar, and raises his knife, prepared to act as God has commanded.
Of course, in the end God sends down an angel to intercede at the very last minute, and Abraham passes God’s test of devotion.
But it’s fair to say that if any of us leaving this church saw Abraham on a roof of a building raising his knife, we would, at the very least, call the police and expect the Department of Children and Family Services to take Isaac away from Abraham.
Source: ‘Call to Renewal’ Keynote Address, 2006
More than good enough for me. Pity I’m not American, or I would, for the first time in my life, vote for a guy and be proud of it. (I’m assuming he’ll beat Hillary, by the way, which seems increasingly likely, according to the latest results.)
Contrast this with Mike “rewrite the Constitution so it conforms to the Bible” Huckabee, Mitt “secularism is a religion” Romney (yes, I realize he’s out), or John “Roe v. Wade should be overturned” McCain.
(To be fair, McCain seems to be by far the lesser evil amongst Republicans (which admittedly isn’t saying much, given who his current main opponent is), and would certainly be an improvement over Bush… but, then again, who wouldn’t? 
Unless an oddly convenient “terrorist” attack allows Bush to institute martial law and remain in power, things are sure to improve — not just for the U.S., but for the entire world — after November, regardless who wins the election.)
EDIT: removed the bold font emphasis on the original text. Sorry about that. 
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COULD BE IF HUSEIM OBAMA MAKES PRESIDENT, WE MIGHT HAVE TO BECOME MUSLIM AND THE WOMEN LIKE HIS WIVES BECOME SLAVES TO THE NEW CALIPH OF MUSLIMS BEFORE OUR DEATH.
or maybe he will be a great president who won the election even though people decide to stereotype him and place him in gross generalizations
Let’s just hope he truly is about action more than speeches and words – he talks a good game. I have read ‘Dreams of my Father’ and the guy certainly seems to be as much about outcomes and action as he is about fine words and speeches.
And I really hope that ‘Michael Schmitz’ is just a bigot knowingly spreading hateful disinformation, and isn’t truly as ignorant as his portrayal or Barak Obama would suggest. It would seriously worry me if any significant proportion of the USA population actually believed that sort of bile.
I usually moderate spammy or offensive comments like Schmitz’s, but I think I’ll leave this one as an illustrative example of the thoughtfulness and honesty of some of Obama’s opponents.
Really, can’t you do better than “HE’S CALLED HUSSEIN AND OBAMA SOUNDS LIKE OSAMA SO HE’S AN EVIL MUSLIM AND A TERRORIST!!!!!1!!!” (in all caps, of course)?
This sounds pretty good to me too. It actually makes me feel a little bit better about my decision to support Obama.
** Our Constitution was not heaven-sent to a “xian nation” **
You’d do better to read Mr. Madison, who actually penned the original founding document. You might start with the Federalist Papers.
>> The Constitution is the foundation document for the U.S.
There’s no natural law. Neither God nor religion plays any role. There are no “law givers.” Laws do not get made on Sinai. They do not get “handed down.”
The Constitution contains no reference to any god. The word ‘God’ does not appear. (‘Jesus’, ‘Christ’, ‘Christianity’ don’t appear either.) The word ‘religion’ appears only once, in Amendment One.
The first amendment protects “freedom of conscience.” Initially the rights of a well-to-do white man (not slave, not female, not propertyless) to freely choose how to conduct his life as a legal person.
One Civil War (1865), the vote for women (1920), one Civil Rights Movement (1965) — that’s the turbulent blood-soaked price paid so far for extending equality (reciprocity).
>> Amendment One also establishes freedom *from* religion.
The U.S is a secular state from its inception. The U.S. is *not* one nation under any god, power, force or immaterial being.
It (she or he or some committee) doesn’t rule here. The people do. Not child molesting priests, not fanatical tax-dodging televangelists, nor cabals of delusional fundies seeking to overthrow the Republic.
God-talk disappears from justificatory language of 1776 (in the Declaration of Independence) and gives way to a view of 1786 (in the Constitution) that the people give themselves their own dignity and rights as citizens.
They enjoy or abuse their ‘freedom of conscience’ in matters of religion, speech, publications, public assembly, petitions to the elected representatives of the people, civil disobedience, and even armed revolution. Is this order on the edge of chaos? Yes.
Some conjectured divinity (or divinized leader) no longer needs to exist as a “holy lie” a la Plato for people to act in ways consonant with social order. The people are sovereign; we abide by the laws which we create for ourselves.
>> Let’s be clear here: The people are sovereign.
Christ is not sovereign . . . God is not . . . they do not exist. They are illusions no more real than Zeus, Sherlock Holmes, or Batman. And, theology is third rate fan fiction. As one wag puts it, “Theology is a subject without an object.”
There are many who pretend to speak for metaphysical nonentities, demanding social control and political domination. They should be seen for the lying frauds that they are.
They are christo-fascists, threats to our secular Republic greater than all islamo-fascists combined.
bipolar2
c. 2008
I haven’t particularly liked any of the mainstream candidates in this election, but things like this are starting to change my mind. Also, for anyone wondering if Obama is all talk and no action, you should check out his record as a Senator: the bills he has introduced and co-sponsored. He has been active in a wide range of issues and is willing to strike for the bigger picture, rather than work at little changes that, while still helpful, don’t go nearly far enough to have much impact.
Pedro: Obama is quite an accomplished individual and public “orator” indeed – top of his class at Harvard Law School, and also served on the Harvard Law Journal, and also other great accomplishments in the world of academia…however this is the real world, which is nothing like the academic world. So this is my worry, if he is elected president, will he be able to make practical decisions? Will he be able to take on the rogue nations of the world like Bill Clinton (who BTW was very successful in peace-negotiations). I am impressed with his academic record, but worry that he does not have the qualifications to become president, as of yet. President of the USA is a big job…and requires lots of real-world experience and preparation. Nice Article…muito obrigado…Regards, Keith Johnson, Author “365 Great Affirmations”
Schmitz, you really need to learn the facts before you talk and make yourself look like a flaming ignorant bigot. First of all, if I remember correctly, Barack Obama is not Muslim he is Christian. If you read the article, you would have seen that he’s AGAINST making people follow one religion. Also, this country is based on a DEMOCRACY! Do you honestly think that Congress, or even the people of this country, will stand for a president who even TRIES brings back slavery or force people to follow one religion? The truth is that either you are listening to a bunch of right-wing conservatives that are feeding you a load of baloney or you are just retarded.
He is not a Muslim but if you think Schmitz got this from right-wing conservatives you must be listening to the spin of the left-wing communists. For at least the last six months, Clinton supporters across the country have polluted the internet with assertions that Obama is Muslim now suddenly it is the right wing causing the problem? Don’t believe me? Check the Oprah forums. I have not seen that much hate in one location since Robert Byrd (D) was heading up KKK meetings.
Oh, and the country is/was a Republic — not a Democracy.
That’s one of the most refreshing things I’ve read in a long time (from a politician anyways.) Fortunately, I am an American and I think I will vote for him.
Michael Schmitz totally fails at trolling. How do I know this? Because he knows what a caliph is. Anyone who seriously believes Obama is a secret muslism that will take over the US after elected probably does not know what the word caliph means.
This speech goes to show how level headed and grounded Barack Obama is. Our the framers knew exactly what they were doing, and over the last decade, we have allowed right wing evangelicals to insert themselves and their personal values into the the political framework.
I look forward to a president who will uphold the values and principles of the Constitution.
you know this may be a “new” approach to religion in politics. I believe it is important for our president to have morals and strong beliefs but whats most important is the freedom to express your beleifs. This means not imposing your beliefs on anyone, even if you think your religion is better than theirs. Please allow us to live freely!
Since when is Obama Muslim? You’re an idiot Michael S.!
As an atheist it comforts me to see this coming from Obama, especially considering the past eight years of a man with his personal crusade against Islam (but mostly his puppeteer’s Zionist agenda).
It’s looking like Obama is most likely going to win the election. I just don’t see America voting in another Republican. Then again, America didn’t actually vote in a Republican for the last two elections and yet here we are, so anything is possible.
In my opinion, Obama is the easy choice between he and McCain, but he’s still a globalist, and he still supports the bullshit War on Terror. I’m voting for Ron Paul, but I’d feel better if Obama wins over McCain. Anyone but him!