A Post-Evangelical America

We can no longer mince words, anyone???s belief system is indicative of a greater underlying mental illness if they believe that you are communicating with the dead.

Professing to have a personal relationship with Jesus is in fact no different than claiming to be Napoleon.

In addition, the presumption that the creator of all reality might concern itself with any individual???s petty little self is an indication that they suffer from delusions of grandeur.

Many confuse the difference between spirituality and religion.

I was taught that spirituality is the presence of god (spirit/higher power), and religion is the search for god. By that measure, a person could be deeply spiritual and never enter a formal house of worship. In the same vein, a person with a strong religious committment could be a person who is deeply committed to his or her house of worship but not have a particularly close relationship with god.

Evangelical Christians, Orthodox Jews, Shia Moslems, Mormons - all of these groups seem to me to have a very deep committment to both their particular house of worship and their definition of god.

The problem we as Americans face is when anyone has such strong committments AND expects everyone else to, as well. This seems to be the line evangelical Christians in this country have stepped over: deep and abiding faith in one's beliefs is acceptable; forcing others to agree and intimidating them when they don't is not.

And using those beliefs as the sole test for public office flys in the face of our country's tenet of separation of church and state.

"Long before the United States Constitution, the colonies had written documents that established government and citizen's rights under God's authority."

Perhaps. Too bad those don't carry the force of law, as the constitution does.

Ever heard of the Treaty of Tripoli .... read it sometime. First of all the majority of our founding fathers were DEISTS and most also practiced Freemasonry...they did NOT believe in any established religion and PURPOSELY left religion out of the Declaration of Independence AND the Constitution. I suggest you educate yourself a little better. Religion has NO place in politics nor does it have any place other than in your homes and churches. Please keep it there and quit trying to shove your beliefs down the throats of we "common sense and reason" freethinkers.

Franky the "fool" believes in a god because he cannot believe in himself.

You deserve a standing ovation. Way to go, absolutly amazing post.

I'll just say, OhioGal, while I disagree with your pro-life stance, it's nice to finally hear the logical continuation to it rather than the usual pro-life ends after birth.

Arkansas never removed the law on the books outlawing abortion. Should the Supreme Court ever have reversed it's position in Roe, the state would have simply reverted to the ACA. In a lot of states, a reversal of Roe would have swept abortion right back into the horrible practices of the past. Likewise Federal legislation outlawing the taking of a minor across state lines to get an abortion will make abortion completely unaccessable to persons who might just not have any business carrying a child to term, such as in rape or incest, etc.
The States Rights argument on abortion is a step off a steep cliff.

The collapse of democracy due to loose fiscal policy would be directly related to BUSH... it's already happened.

Sadly I do mostly agree with the quote. It is always likely the majority will act in their short-term best interests rather than the long term best interests of their country.
But your comparison is laughable beyond Bush's loose fiscal policy undermining the country.

That does sound like it makes a little sense, but then again he said that almost 250 years ago and this democracy is still alive. How many democracies have fallen to dictatorships in the past 100 years?...not that many I think. And it's been proven that under the right president like FDR who helped bring america out of the depression or even clinton who lowered the national deficit, that america can prosper fiscally and continue to grow.

I beg to differ... Catholics are most certainly NOT Christians. They are indeed MARIANS. Almost all tenets of the Catholic faith are directly contradictory and contrary to the bible... just as an example 1. the importance of Mary ( who is NEVER given any significance or reverence in the bible other than the fact that she was the mother of Christ...PERIOD) 2. The extremely heavy presence of pagan idolotry... statues of Mary, Saints, Christ, etc...the bible states CLEARLY and PRECISELY that there shall be NO GRAVEN IMAGES. 3... confession to priests ....the bible again clearly states that a man shall confess his sins DIRECTLY to god... no middleman involved. 4 The idiocy that is the Pope ... NO WHERE does it say anywhere that there is ANY representative on earth that has a direct line to god. 5. Recitation of prayers and rosary....bible warns against the utterance of such pre-fabricated drivel and also against rituals like candle lighting, religious medals, revering saints, etc. I can go on and on and on but why bother. Religion is the biggest HOAX ever played on mankind.

During Europes war's of religion the immigrants who came here were by and large the repressed groups.
In our colonial History there is the Sermon, Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God. The cultural descendants of these people rule the roost today. We are a Nation of Heretics, practicing Democracy in the face of a history poorly suited to it. The zealots would still have witch-trials if they could enact it by statute.

These are the same people who have NO concern whatsoever for the "right to life" for anything outside of the human species. These are the same christians who abuse their pets, kill wildlife for "fun" and "sport" , murder innocent animals for their meat and their fur, destroy wildlife by carelessly destroying their natural habitats in a lust and greed for MONEY. Where in your book of fairytales does is say that all other forms of life are expendable and insignificant ? I thought people were to be the STEWARDS of the planet and all that inhabits it ?? Hmmmm...last time I checked to "steward" meant to CARE for.

Unless it's CAPABLE of living and breathing OUTSIDE of the womb it doesn't count and it's far from "murder".
So sad to see people who've been indoctrinated w/such stupid self-righteousness. JUDGE NOT LEST YE BE JUDGED.

Our President Elect does not advocate the murder of the unborn; he supports the right of each individual to make up their own mind, to decide for themselves, to practice their "free will", which if memory serves was given us by God.

President Elect Obama does not advocate the murder of unborn children, he supports a person's right to choose by their own free will....which, if I am remembering correctly, was given to us by God.

"Shouldn't issues that go against the word of God be put ahead of the economy?? "

In short... NO. Keep RELIGION OUT of politics. It and moral issues DO NOT and SHOULD NOT have any impact on the government or government policy. Not everyone believes in YOUR beliefs or YOUR imaginary god. Don't try to dictate the morals , rights or responsibilities of the many by the few. This is EXACTLY why there is a separation of church and state.

I believe I can give you an example of why some decide not to be a born again (ie. non-denominational) Christian. Twenty-eight years ago, my partner married a man who was a member of her church. He was a dynamic individual, well on the road to becoming a pastor. They had two daughters within 5 years. While earning his master's degree to become a family counselor, he met a woman who shared his professional aspirations as well as his religious beliefs. He abandoned his first wife and their daughters to be with this woman. He left them without a car and emptied their savings account. He stayed with is second wife for 17 yrs. He has since dumped his second wife and moved on to a younger "trophy" wife. And this man is a pastor in a non-denominational church AND a marriage and family counselor.

The moral of this true account is that being born-again does not make a person more moral than anyone else. This is a great example of the notion that it is not one's religious affiliation that brings one close to God.

Hon, pray for yourself. Praying for people who neither asked for nor need/want you to do so is condascending and unnecessary. If someone wants you to murmur a bunch of words that nobody but you will hear, they'll ask you.

... That was meant to read "economic" on the last paragraph... I also forgot to say this was a beautifully written column, despite the aforementioned oversimplification of voting blocks. : )

Excuse me... not believe others have the "right" to believe ?? Are they coming to YOU to make a request or are you just arrogantly ASSUMING that they wish for you to come "save" them ??? This is EXACTLY the problem with religion. YOU have NO right to impose your beliefs on anyone or to assume that they are welcomed or needed/wanted.

What the religious FAIL to take into consideration and realize is that we are guaranteed not only freedom OF religion but freedom FROM religion. They cant seem to wrap their little closed minds around that concept. I am sick and tired of being looked upon as a pariah because I refuse to believe in their mythical god. Sorry, i cannot life my life based on superstition, fear and blind ignorance. If ever there was a GIFT to humanity...it is the gift to be able to use your mind for critical thinking, reason and logic. Religion is contradictory in that a person is not allowed to exercise this "gift" when they have been continuously indoctrinated in dogma since birth and never had the opportunity to think for themselves for fear of being shunned, ridiculed, rebuked and persecuted for having the intelligence to question and not accept everything as "fact" when there is nothing to substantiate those claims.

could you give me an example of a Christian denomination which does not believe in the right of others to believe in God in ways other than themselves? I have been an evangelical christian for most of my life and have yet to come across a single person who has shared that belief. Of course others have a right to believe as they see fit. This is another example of the Left setting up a paper tiger of supposed "right wing beliefs" and then tearing it apart. Give me a break.