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Debate & Discuss / Religious People with (present day) Political Power
« on: March 25, 2012, 05:05:40 pm »Message ID: 510163
Before I begin, let me just say that this thread isn't necessarily to go on a tirade against people who are religious. This is primarily to discuss beliefs coupled into politics and how they can be beneficial and dangerous. The reason for this thread came from me watching a bit of the republican candidates speaking about their faiths and (to me) how goofy it sounded coupled with an interview with Penn Jilette on youtube. If these people want political power yet willingly preach their beliefs which encompass things like ghosts, afterlives, magic, but most importantly the end of the world, should they have political power? For instance, do you believe Mitt Romney is well-equipped to deal with this country when he devoutly believes that a 19th century conman saw angels and formed the 'correct' religion? Do you believe Rick Santorum should have control over any form of scientific education considering he's a devout creationist and has been pushing for Intelligent Design for years?
I know some will say that it's not these types of things that one should be worried about as their are many more technical aspects to these politician's merit (for instance Mitt Romney being a smart businessman). To that I say- how can you trust someone whose fundamental grasp on reality is so skewed? How can you trust someone who goes against American principles and willingly tries to blur the line between church and state? Granted people have every right to believe what they want to believe, when you boast and throw these types of things on the table (as these candidates have), how can these be positive things when viewed rationally- something that should be encouraged during an election?
This goes well beyond just the current candidates though as it's constantly being brought up in politics in the past (Bush telling people that god wanted him to go to war, the IL governor who quoted the bible when the topic of global warming was brought up, Sarah Palin and her infinite religious spurts, etc. etc.). What do you think? Is this just a dirty tactic to sway voters with the most-popular religion in this country (as I believe Obama did) or do you think these types of people are actually this delusional? Or is this topic have no weight and really does not even matter?
Personally I wish people would ask these politicians basic religious conundrums rather than blunt questions about their faith. And I'd wish for them to just say "Yeah, my religion is psychotically crazy at times, but I'm not." Unfortunately this is rarely the case.
I know some will say that it's not these types of things that one should be worried about as their are many more technical aspects to these politician's merit (for instance Mitt Romney being a smart businessman). To that I say- how can you trust someone whose fundamental grasp on reality is so skewed? How can you trust someone who goes against American principles and willingly tries to blur the line between church and state? Granted people have every right to believe what they want to believe, when you boast and throw these types of things on the table (as these candidates have), how can these be positive things when viewed rationally- something that should be encouraged during an election?
This goes well beyond just the current candidates though as it's constantly being brought up in politics in the past (Bush telling people that god wanted him to go to war, the IL governor who quoted the bible when the topic of global warming was brought up, Sarah Palin and her infinite religious spurts, etc. etc.). What do you think? Is this just a dirty tactic to sway voters with the most-popular religion in this country (as I believe Obama did) or do you think these types of people are actually this delusional? Or is this topic have no weight and really does not even matter?
Personally I wish people would ask these politicians basic religious conundrums rather than blunt questions about their faith. And I'd wish for them to just say "Yeah, my religion is psychotically crazy at times, but I'm not." Unfortunately this is rarely the case.