Archive for the ‘Politics’ Category:
the paper of record, the living of faith
The New York Times published an article in its June 1, 2008 edition titled “Taking Their Faith, But Not Their Politics, To The People” It’s a notable piece that highlights a church in the St. Louis area that is an example of what seems to be a larger trend: some of the younger generation of evangelical American Christians are desiring to re-focus what being ‘evangelical’ means. Read more »
Politics and Religion: Is there a “Christian” Party?
As the Potomac Primaries are winding down tonight, it raises some questions regarding the assumptions about religion with regard to politics. In this article by CNN it is clear that Huckabee is hoping to draw support from the evangelical Christian base in his bid for the Republican nomination. My question is, what are the assumptions about Christianity based upon this statement? Read more »
it’s not 2008 yet, is it??
Part of the downside of the 24-hour news cycle is that what wouldn’t pass for news 10 years ago passes for news now. The air, the pages, and the Web sites have to be filled with something.
I thought of this while noticing a recent article in the New York Times about the supposed “splintering” of evangelicals as it pertains to the 2008 presidential election, and cultural issues overall. I find the article to be a mixture of accurate understanding of history, yet also an ignorance of evangelicals overall.
This ignorance of understanding evangelicals happens a lot in the media, and it’s nothing new. Other religious groups no doubt experience this as well, the attempt by various media outlets to effectively label and fit the values of people into 250 words or less. It was in 1993 that a Washington Post reporter labeled evangelicals as “poor, uneducated, and easy to command.” Other labels have not been this insipid, but labels regardless abound.
(And before you prepare to comment, I recognize that evangelicals label folks just as much as anyone else.)
american justice
I’ve sometimes heard that with respect to public figures, the established stereotype is far from how they actually are as a person. In American politics, there are few people as polarizing as Supreme Court justice Clarence Thomas. Just mentioning his name may make you think of what you think about him. It certainly does to me. Liberals hate him. Many African Americans misunderstand him. But who is he?
Thomas recently wrote his memoirs titled My Grandfather’s Son, and also recently sat down for a fascinating interview with 60 Minutes. This is possibly his first interview of this depth he’s given since the U.S. Senate approved him to the Supreme Court.
He discusses many aspects of his life, including time spent studying at a Roman Catholic seminary. He later left the seminary due to how he perceived the school’s indifference to civil rights issues, but came back to his faith later in as an adult. I wish they had spent more time on this, but with so many other topics to consider in his life, it’s understandable.
I won’t spoil the rest of the interview, but it is an intriguing look at someone that so many carry opinions about, but few actually know. Regardless of how you feel about him, you will be better informed for watching this. See for yourself, and tell me what you think after watching it.
dta
It’s been about 50 years since the U.S. began printing ‘In God We Trust’ onto the currency. This occurred during the Eisenhower administration to further accentuate the difference between America and the then-Soviet Union. That form of communism suppressed religion a great deal. We wanted any advantage out there.
This Cold War relic has held on though, despite challenges that that this phrase violates separation of church and state. As a Christian, I admit I do not empathize well with those who oppose this. I am somewhat bemused by notions that this moves the U.S. toward being a theocracy. More abrasive defenders of this have argued the Constitution guarantees freedom of religion, not freedom from religion. While that’s a good slogan, I’m not sure how much that helps foster reconcilation.
(Strangely enough, Protestants are commonly thought of as pushing for a theocracy, though world history shows that either Jews (Israel) or Roman Catholics have been in the habit of establishing theocracies, not Protestants. But no matter.)
Should we continue to carry this message on our currency? Does it even serve a purpose? An article here examines the history of this controversial phrase. Enjoy!
