'This Is Not a Bluff'

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  • Posted By: CharlieOS @ 10/23/2007 1:55:21 PM

    Thank goodness that the founding fathers were wise enough to be suspicious of organized religion. Granted, many of them -- most of them indeed -- were Christians. However, they knew well enough to keep their beliefs at the personal level and not infuse American government with religious morality and the inevitable abuses of religious power that comes with such an infusion. It's a shame that today's Christian fundamentalists have, through creative rationalizations from their pulpits around the country, forgotten -- or entirely dismissed -- that cautionary philosophy of rational government.

    • Posted By: wigirl13 @ 10/23/2007 2:05:43 PM

      You are not looking at the facts if you think the founding fathers thought religion should be entirely seperate from government. In fact, the Consitution did no prohibit states from establishing a governmental religion (the colonies did). It was not until the 14th Amendment applied the 1st tot the states that state governments were disallowed from establishing religion. I'm not saying religion should or should not be in goverment but get your arguments straight.

  • Posted By: Reality-Check @ 10/23/2007 2:05:26 PM

    I thought we already had a third political party in this country!
    What happened to the Independent Party? There is way too much smoke and mirrors and shell games going on in the Evangelical community. It is a shame that they are incapable of joining the world in reality.
    Ignorant children are having unprotected sex, yet they refuse to educate them. Gays are born the way they are because God made them that way. Rudy will win the nomination because people want and believe in him. Dinosaurs did not live along side humans and the earth was not created several thousand years ago.
    Are these people inhaling too much model glue?

  • Posted By: dvern67 @ 10/23/2007 1:55:59 PM

    I am all for a Christian conservative 3rd party. If done, the Republican Party won't have to be such a slave to the religious right and will be able to make vote and make decisions that are better for the rest of us.

    • Posted By: Just my 2 cents @ 10/23/2007 2:04:15 PM

      You Repugs. married the fanatic religious right wing. and now you denounce it. for shame. sounds like you want a divorce!. How un-christian like for you to say such blasphemy!

  • Posted By: ruthanez @ 10/23/2007 2:03:01 PM

    Mr. Land, and Newsweek: I appreciated this article very much. I am very much in Mr. Land's "camp" and agree totally with his opinions. I wish more Christians would take politics seriously! Thanks again to both of you!

  • Posted By: jj72200 @ 10/23/2007 2:00:58 PM

    Sorry for the typo's.

  • Posted By: tedandrewspcci@msn.com @ 10/23/2007 2:00:44 PM

    I would welcome the Religious Right starting their own political party. Then I could rejoin the Republican Party, as it used to be, before the Religious Right took it away from me and the Silent Majority.

  • Posted By: tillerbuck @ 10/23/2007 1:59:44 PM

    What does religion have to do with this election. I truly wish we could get rid of both parties and start voting for the person who is best to run this country, not the person who has the most support of it's party in washington. Wake up America, the problems we have are created in Washington. This counrty is more divded now than ever, lets unite under one party and really go to work. If Bill Clinton can have affairs in the whitehouse, and the American public is considering letting him move back in, then who really cares how many times someone has been married or what their religios views are.

  • Posted By: jj72200 @ 10/23/2007 1:59:05 PM

    As an evengelical Christian, if the "Religious Right" forms a third party, I for one will be furious. No Republican will win, and no way the third party candidate gets in. It's pure idiocy to do so, at least this late in the game. If you want to make a run at 2012 or 2016 that's one thing (and still very unlikely to succedd). What I find even more fascinating is the complete lack of understanding from most of the posters on this board. Nowhere in this article is it stated the Christians want to institute a one faith government. Mr. Land said several times that he is voting his conscience, like all us do. What changes is what's important to us. Learn some history and realize a vast majority of the founders believed in God, and many were Christians. They felt that freedom was tantimount to both a fair government and to religion. You can't find the words "seperation of church and state" in the constitution anywhere. It was in a letter by Jefferson to a colleague. The consitution's aim was to not allow the government to run any church (like the church in England was at the time), not to seperate people from their beliefs when they go vote or when they take office.

  • Posted By: peace and love @ 10/23/2007 1:58:42 PM

    I think a third party for these zealots is a great idea.

  • Posted By: dvern67 @ 10/23/2007 1:58:41 PM

    I hope the religious right does form a third party. If it gets done, the Republican Party won't have to be such a slave to them, will be able to vote and make policy decisions without having to worry about the extremists, and can stop alienating the rest of us who just want good government
    .

  • Posted By: Napa1234 @ 10/23/2007 1:58:40 PM

    Radical Islam vs Extreme Christianity? Those who do not read a bit about history are doomed to repeat it. Radical religious beliefs will be the mark of the 3rd World War.

  • Posted By: peace and love @ 10/23/2007 1:57:58 PM

    I think a third party for these crazed zealots is a great idea.

  • Posted By: tedandrewspcci@msn.com @ 10/23/2007 1:57:04 PM

    I would welcome the Religious Right starting their own political party. Then, I could rejoin the Republican Party.

  • Posted By: kpeysin @ 10/23/2007 1:56:50 PM

    This is such utter nonsense, what relevance does a candidates personal life have on the running of a country. Focusing on so called "values" is ridiculous as it trivializes being president to "let me make god happy, and then I will be a good president". It;s not nearly that simple and these so called values are currently ruining lives of people who are more rational about their beliefs. Case in point, embryonic stem cell research and all the benefits it could potentially provide, but here we are letting a president's "values" get in the way of a more rational safer world. Just because people, such as myself, do not believe in god does not mean we are in any way less civilized, just that we use thought and reason instead of the promise of heaven to make our decisions! This frustrates me beyond belief.

  • Posted By: alexa21 @ 10/23/2007 1:54:49 PM

    apsanford - The Soviet Union is no longer - please think before you speak.

  • Posted By: tillerbuck @ 10/23/2007 1:54:47 PM

    When does religous values play a part in politics. The job of the President is to support the entire country and do whats right for everyone. I truly wish we could get rid of all parties and instead vote for the person who is the best canidate to run this country, not the one that has the most support of a poitical party. This counrty is more divided than ever and it is because of the two parties, lets unite and become one party

  • Posted By: Napa1234 @ 10/23/2007 1:54:17 PM

    Radical Islam vs. Extreme Christianity. To bad nobody has brushed up on their history as we are now poised to repeat it. Radical religious beliefs will be the mark of the 3rd World War to come.

  • Posted By: gospursgo123456 @ 10/23/2007 10:14:02 AM

    No offense to the christian believers; but do you have any empirical and scientific evidence that proves without a doubt, that a god exits? Do you have evidence that definitively substantiates that ???god??? helped to create the ???new testament??? and even the bible for that matter? Where in the universe does god live? Has god even communicated to any of us here on Erath recently, in a language that another person can understand and be able to confirm? Has anyone seen this god that can walk on water? Can any prove that god made the earth and even made man in his image? Remember now, faith can???t be used to prove the existence of god because faith is NOT a scientifically based tool. So, when christian people in this country can prove the existence of god and prove that he wants this country to vote for a conservative republican president that is willing to do ???god???s??? work, then I will fall to my knees and repent my sins??? (P.S., I will highly doubt that it will ever happen???)

    • Posted By: t9900 @ 10/23/2007 10:17:12 AM

      Can non-Christains prove that he does not exist? No. And Christains can not prove he does either. Its pathetic to try to use this. It won't work against Christians because the atheist side can not prove themselves right either.

      • Posted By: gospursgo123456 @ 10/23/2007 10:31:55 AM

        Yes, I can prove that god DOES NOT EXIST. There is NO EVIDENCE of god's existence on this planet!!!

        • Posted By: rogerally @ 10/23/2007 10:50:34 AM

          Have you been all over this planet to check? I'll bet not. God may be just around the corner, but you are not curious enough to look.

          • Posted By: gospursgo123456 @ 10/23/2007 11:11:54 AM

            You're right, I have not been all over this planet to check to see if there is a god. I am very curious to know if this god exists, and that is why I am calling on him or her to prove itself that it exists.... Still waiting.

            • Posted By: 12thLetter @ 10/23/2007 11:24:49 AM

              Seek and you will find. If you take your hands away from your eyes, and do some good research, He will walk right in front of you. Or, like C.S. Lewis, God may drag you kicking and screaming to make you see Him. Either way, He'll meet your challenge personally.

              • Posted By: gospursgo123456 @ 10/23/2007 11:59:38 AM

                My eyes are wide open, the problem is, how can a non-existent being walk in front of me without me knowing it? Non-existent matter does not come into contact with a material object, becuase that would break all of the laws of physics. Therefore, since a non material object such as god, can't present itself in the real material world in which we all ive, there is no scientific way that god can communicate with man. Also, there is no proven evidence that there is non material element out there in the universe and thus, no god...

                • Posted By: Mr. 101 @ 10/23/2007 12:22:22 PM

                  The one thing you will never be able to explain is why there is anything. Where did the material elements come from? If there was a big bang, how did all that matter get stuffed into that black hole and where did it come from? You don't know, no one can. Really, not believing in God takes just as much faith, maybe more. However, the reason most people choose to deny God's existence is because they don't want to be accountable for their actions. I also don't find denying a non-material existence very scientific, given the number of well documented, but unexplainable phenomena. What if the non-material is the real stuff, and we are just a shadow of it?

                  • Posted By: gospursgo123456 @ 10/23/2007 1:52:19 PM

                    Mr. 101, I never said science has answered and explained all the mysteries of the universe, but I guarantee that it WILL eventually answer those questions when the technology becomes advanced enough. Science my not answer them in our lifetime, but it will eventually answer them. Just as science proved that the earth was never the center of the universe, just as it proved that the earth was not flat, scince will prove the big bang theory and will explain where all matter came from. I am very accountable to my actions because I don't put my beliefs in an imaginary being. People who put their faith in this god, are the ones that do NOT account for thier actions. Ex: King george bush. He bases his actions on "god's will", now tell me who doesn't account for his actions... The unexplained phenomena, please Mr. 101, give me an example of one and I bet you that science will explain it for you clearly.

  • Posted By: Midwestfella @ 10/23/2007 1:48:08 PM

    Let's face it, America is not as free as we think it is. We are still under marshall law (in a moral sense). These Christian Fundalmentalists believe that if you are not one of them, you are not-American. They criticize anyone for speaking out against any actions that the US Government has put out.

    If you do not follow any teachings from the Bible, then you are GODLESS. They believe that they are the stronghold for America.

    I don't believe in that crap.

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