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Originally Posted by MageB420666
when the senator was a kid he had a Jewish friend who would spend the night on Saturday's, and if the Jewish kid wanted to eat the sunday breakfast at the senator's house, he had to go to CHURCH with them. At this point the crowd stood up and gave a standing ovation and was cheering their heads off, and me being jewish, I just sat there, offended has hell and wondering what the hell the crowd was cheering at and why they would think forcing someone to go to church in order to eat was a good thing.
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This is exactly why I left the church (and the republicans). I let God be a part of my learning morals and ethics. The bible is full of great lessons. I believe in the existence of sin and that we should try to follow morals, ethics, and logic to avoid them. Sins are destructive and selfish. I would never let my religion come into play when I was with a client, though. There are some places and timeswhere "evangelizing" is entirely innapropriate. Being the president is one of those times.
Not to mention that there are people in the church who try to use religion as a weapon. People use guilt and try to twist the words of God to push their own selfish interests. Case in point, that anus of a senator mentioned in the story above.
This is from a discussion on October 13th when the candidates were asked by moderator Bob Schieffer of CBS News about the role religion plays in their lives.
BOB SCHIEFFER: You were asked before the invasion or after the invasion of Iraq if you had checked with your dad. And I believe, I don't remember the quote exactly, but I believe you said you had checked with a higher authority. I would like to ask you, what part does your faith play on your policy decisions?
GEORGE W. BUSH: First, my faith plays a big part in my life. That's when I was answering that question, what I was really saying to the person was that I pray a lot. And I do. And my faith is a very – it’s very personal. I pray for strength. I pray for wisdom. I pray for troops in harm's way. I pray for my family. I pray for my little girls. But I'm mindful in a free society that people can worship if they want to or not. You're equally an American if you choose to worship an almighty and if you choose not to. If you’re a Christian or you’re Muslim, you’re equally an American. That's the great thing about America is the right to worship the way you see fit. Prayer in religion sustains me. I receive calmness in the storms of the presidency. I love the fact that people pray for me and my family all around the country. Somebody asked me one time, well how do you know? I said, I just feel it. Religion is an important part. I never want to impose my religion on anybody else, but when I make decisions, I stand on principle, and the principles are derived from what I am. I believe we ought to love our neighbor like we love ourself. That's manifested in public policy through the faith-based initiative where we’ve unleashed the armies of compassion to help heal people who hurt. I believe that God wants everybody to be free -- that's what I believe, and that's one part of my foreign policy. In Afghanistan, I believe that the freedom there is a gift from the almighty, and I cannot tell you how encouraged I am to see freedom on the march. So, my principles that I make decisions on are a part of me and religion is a part of me.
If this seems fine to you, read it again carefully. "I believe that the freedom there is a gift from the almighty" and "So, my principles that I make decisions on are a part of me and religion is a part of me." both stick out in my mind. Yes, seperation of church and state is no law, but I didn't get the memo saying we're switching over to a theocracy. Relying on God to make policy for the country is flirting with a theocracy.