Jesus said, "Blessed are the peacemakers" - yet the Bush administration was hell-bent for war in Iraq
Iraq wasn't exactly a place of peace. Low level conflict there since 1990 and general repression. I would not go as far as claiming "Jesus' teachings support Bush's plan/actions in Iraq", but I don't think the claim that they are in opposition is a slam dunk.
Jesus said, "Blessed are the poor" and lived among the lowly - yet the Bush administration showered trillion-dollar tax giveaways on the wealthy
"Blessed are the poor", doesn't mean "blessed is the person who imposes high taxes on the rich to redistribute wealth through government social programs.
Jesus opposed the death penalty, saying, "He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her"
This is a better argument but not a lot better. The case Haught refers to is on incidence when the death penalty was being used as a punishment for adultery, not for murder which is pretty much the only thing that gets the death penalty anymore.
"Why on earth do so many churchgoers vote for the opposite of Jesus?"
I'd ask Jim Wallis - Why do so many people try to co-opt Jesus in to their political ideology...
"Neglect of the environment is a religious issue.
I would not call that a religious issue. Its an issue which religious organizations have opinions about and which religious teaching touches on, but its not a religious issue.
Also it doesn't seem to call any opposition to any environmental proposal, or any specific reduction in environmental regulations (even while other new regulations are imposed) to be an example of neglecting the environment.
"Allowing the right to decide what is a religious issue would be both a moral and political tragedy. . . . True faith results in a compassionate concern for those on the margins."
Of course. Wallis must decide what issues qualify as religious, and the correct opinion to hold on each of them...
"God is neither a Republican nor a Democrat, and one's faith in God is not based on what party they belong to,"
Finally something I can agree with in the article.
Tim |
