Does confident belief in God by politicians scare you?

[BUDDY]

Does a confident belief in the God of the Bible, or any God for that matter, by our elected officials scare you? If so, why? If not, why not?

I am not sure if this goes in the political section or the religious section, as it kind of rides the line. If I put it in the wrong place, I apologize.

 

[Willamena]

Only if it's the literal interpretation. That's scary in anyone.

 

[BUDDY]

I'd say no, because I have a confident belief in God and yet I'm still a rational, realistic person who can make sound decisions (for the mst part, although my failure to make good decisions from time to time have nothing to do with my faith in God ). So if it's possible for me, then it's possible for politicians as well. However, I am concerned when their faith gets in the way of their ability to make rational and realistic decisions, like what the U.S. did with Stem Cell Research. That was a no-no in my book. :no:

I agree with the first part of the thread, sort of. I think that for many people, being religious helps them become a good leader. There are plenty of religious principles that help in that regard. As for stem cell research, that is for another debate, but I would agree if you are referring to all stem cell research, I would disagree if you are referring to fetal stem cell research.

 

[FatMan]

A confident belief in god by elected officials does not scare me - a reliance on the Religious Right to lend influence to policies and laws does, however.

If Church and state are seperate by the laws of the land, then they should be seperate in the influence behind the laws. Thus, when the call is made for "Family Values", why is it perceived that only the overly-religious know what constitutes good family values over others? Values are values, regardless of political denomination, which should mean that religion doesn't need to be involved.

Just in the past month, the Religious Right has exerted influence on lawmaking, most notably in the provision that puts a severe deterrance on Internet gambling, but surprisingly did not do a thing to horse racing or lottery wagering. Like most else in politics and religion, it is selective in what it decides to pursue. This melding of religious influence and lawmaking has no part in our society, IMO.

 

[BUDDY]

Only if it's the literal interpretation. That's scary in anyone.

Why is that scary? What about a literal translation of the Bible, would be scary trait in someone who hold political office?

 

[BUDDY]

A confident belief in god by elected officials does not scare me - a reliance on the Religious Right to lend influence to policies and laws does, however.

If Church and state are seperate by the laws of the land, then they should be seperate in the influence behind the laws. Thus, when the call is made for "Family Values", why is it perceived that only the overly-religious know what constitutes good family values over others? Values are values, regardless of political denomination, which should mean that religion doesn't need to be involved.

But, also according to the laws of the land, all citizens have the right to participate in government regardless of religious belief. So there isn't a whole lot that can be done about that, unless you are suggesting a litmus test to weed out the "religious right". (Never really been sure what defines that by the way). And family values refers to Judeo Christian concepts concerning the make up of the family and values that hold it together, are you saing that conept is a bad one? Is there another well formalized value concept that works better? Why would someones belief in that value set scare you?

 

[Wandered Off]

It would scare me if I started seeing a lot of "I did this because God told me to" explanations that didn't refer to broad, general principles.

 

[FatMan]

But, also according to the laws of the land, all citizens have the right to participate in government regardless of religious belief. So there isn't a whole lot that can be done about that, unless you are suggesting a litmus test to weed out the "religious right". (Never really been sure what defines that by the way). And family values refers to Judeo Christian concepts concerning the make up of the family and values that hold it together, are you saing that conept is a bad one? Is there another well formalized value concept that works better? Why would someones belief in that value set scare you?

Any influence the government provides that extends outside of a legislative process scares me. I simply do not like the government saying how we should live our lives as long as we are living them within the agreed upon laws of society. Thus, I don't believe government should say who should or should not be married, where you can and cannot gamble, or what you can and cannot view - either referring to nudity or violence.

My opinion is that the Religious right attempts to influence policy that affects those areas.

My view on Family values are not religious based - they are based on the principles of good behavior and manners. The Religious right will tell you all gays will go to hell and they treat them differently and with scorn. Well, if I have a gay son, then that treatment simply doesn't wash. Family values aren't what you believe - they are how you act. Politeness, integrity, charity, etc - are attributes that cross religions because they are not bound by religions.

 

[BUDDY]

Any influence the government provides that extends outside of a legislative process scares me. I simply do not like the government saying how we should live our lives as long as we are living them within the agreed upon laws of society. Thus, I don't believe government should say who should or should not be married, where you can and cannot gamble, or what you can and cannot view - either referring to nudity or violence.

My opinion is that the Religious right attempts to influence policy that affects those areas.

My view on Family values are not religious based - they are based on the principles of good behavior and manners. The Religious right will tell you all gays will go to hell and they treat them differently and with scorn. Well, if I have a gay son, then that treatment simply doesn't wash. Family values aren't what you believe - they are how you act. Politeness, integrity, charity, etc - are attributes that cross religions because they are not bound by religions.

So if those same laws were passed without any religious influence whatsoever, that would not be scary? It appears to me that it is not the passage of these laws that scares you, so much as it is the motivation for the passage of these laws that scares you.

 

[evearael]

A confident belief in God held by a politician does not scare me. Similarly, a lack of belief in God would not scare me either. I look to the quality of the individual, not their creed, when I evaluate them as a politician and I have not been impressed by either the democrats or the republicans.

 

[Feathers in Hair]

Not at all! If a person governed well, I would hope that I would be confident in them, no matter what. Like I would be with any elected official of any tradition, though, I'd be kind of wary of the potential for that person to try to use their office in order to further their religion's 'causes' or vice versa.

 

[FatMan]

So if those same laws were passed without any religious influence whatsoever, that would not be scary? It appears to me that it is not the passage of these laws that scares you, so much as it is the motivation for the passage of these laws that scares you.

That's incorrect. You can't take the inverse of a statement I find false and make it equal a truth.

What scares me is the creation of policy based on input from the Religious Right. I find it disappointing that the President even consults with members of the Religious Right if it isn't balanced out with consulting with those opposed to the Religious right.

Simply put, the passage of any law that prohibits personal freedoms scares me - it just so happens that in most cases, the recent laws being passed that restrict personal freedoms are influenced by the Religious Right - hence the tie-in to my statements on this thread. I would find the laws equally as scary if they were influenced by Atheists or Devil Worshippers, and while that may be the case, if it is, it is not publicized.

 

[doppelganger]

No. It's non-belief in separation of Church and State, separation of powers (checks and balances) and the need for open government that concerns me.

 

[Willamena]

Why is that scary?

Because some things, like god, make much more sense to me in a non-literal context.

What about a literal translation of the Bible, would be scary trait in someone who hold political office?

Depends on which parts of the Bible. If it's the mythological bits, then yeah.

 

[Djamila]

Only if he's Christian.

 

[Feathers in Hair]

Only if he's Christian.

Why's that? Hopefully, most of us have seen that here on RF alone, there are dozens of 'types' of that faith that exemplify true peace and kindness.

 

[Faint]

Does a confident belief in the God of the Bible, or any God for that matter, by our elected officials scare you? If so, why? If not, why not?

I am not sure if this goes in the political section or the religious section, as it kind of rides the line. If I put it in the wrong place, I apologize.

If I am aware of a politicians "confident belief in the God of the Bible", then I take that immediately as a bad sign...it means that they are likely talking about their faith which should have NO place in a campaign or in political decisions. Case in point, today I voted against Richard Mountjoy, a challenger to the California U.S. Senate BECAUSE the first sentence on his campaign website is a Bible verse.

While this does not "scare" me, I see it as symbolic of a much deeper lack of reason, something that is undesirable in any politician.

 

[FatMan]

So you're saying that people who are deeply religious are incapable of reasoning?

I won't answer for Faint, but my take is that people who are deeply religious would logically have a harder time separating church and state than those who aren't. And for those of us who believe religious and political motivations should not intermingle, this is an issue.

 

[Faint]

So you're saying that people who are deeply religious are incapable of reasoning?

No, but they have a deep flaw in their reasoning ability if they put so much faith in such superstition. If a politician's site says "Dick Mountjoy is a no-nonsense conservative Republican who believes in God, Country and Family in that order." it shows a mentality that is dangerous to the well-being of the people he seeks to represent. This guy puts God before the good of the country? Does that seem sane or reasonable to you?

A proclaimed belief in God (especially the Biblical one) makes me wonder what else they're failing to think about and casts a shadow on their overall ability to think critically about important issues.

As they are dealing with human, earthly, material concerns, a politician should be primarily secular.

 

[Djamila]

Why's that? Hopefully, most of us have seen that here on RF alone, there are dozens of 'types' of that faith that exemplify true peace and kindness.

Just because, for me personally, I need only fear the actions of religiously-motivated Christian leaders. Bosnia is nothing to Jewish nationalists in the Middle East, nor is it much to Muslim extremists. But Christian leaders, namely American, German, and British leaders, have a lot of influence here.