I was puzzled why you kept bringing up Nixon but now I see that when I mention being a Catholic, you bring up the Spanish Inquisition. It always puzzles me when that happens. What does the Spanish Inquisition have to do with anything? I guess I could say "Cotton Mather" "Salem Witch Trials" "Scopes Monkey Trial," but why? I'd just be showing off a little shallow erudition that's also completely beside the point. I thought you were better than that.
If you knew anything about Southern Baptists, which you probably don't, living in the Pacific Northwest, you'd know that it is an article of their faith that they are saved because they have been baptized.
If you knew anything about Catholics, which you don't seem to, you'd know that you aren't saved unless you die in a state of grace. So every time you commit a sin, you have to confess and be absolved. That means have to admit to yourself that you did wrong, that you sinned, and then admit it to another person, and to God. So Catholics are constantly examining their consciences, or at least are supposed to.
Others have noted the odd coincidence that so many of those at the forefront in the Republican and Democrat parties are Southern Baptists. My observation, that it may be because they don't have to examine their consciences, I think is cause for thought. I think Jimmy Carter is, or was, a Southern Baptist, and he does examine his conscience, so it's not a hard and fast thing.
I'm not saying my religion is good and theirs is bad. It's just a cultural observation, and I hope no more offensive than remarking that the Protestant Work Ethic seems especially conducive to capitalism, or that the Islamic prohibition against loaning money to collect interest makes it harder to start a business in an Islamic country. These things are both articles of faith and cultural artifacts. |
