STupendous7 wrote:
If Romney truly practiced Mormonism, he would not be a good president. It's nothing personal against him or any other Mormons. But if he really practiced Mormonism, his views would affect him as president, and it would not be a good thing.
Can you give me any examples of what he might do as President directly as a result of his Mormonism that you would not like?
STupendous7 wrote:
However, that doesn't mean that Christian laws aren't good for the nation. Even if everybody else isn't a Christian, that doesn't mean that God or the Bible is wrong. Christian laws are best for everybody: if you don't follow God's law, then you're going to hell, no matter what you say or believe to the contrary.
Hang on, hang on, hang on. OK, let's make up a little hypothetical example. Suppose that instead of Christianity, the most common religion in the United States were Islam -- maybe about 60% of the population would be Muslim, and Muslim Congressmen and Muslim Presidents would be the norm. However, in this scenario, you're still a Christian, with exactly the same views. Now, imagine one of these Muslim politicians came along and said, "Even if everybody else isn't a Muslim, that doesn't mean that Allah or the Qur'an is wrong. Sharia law is best for everybody: if you don't follow Sharia law, then you're going to hell, no matter what you say or believe to the contrary."
How would you feel about that?
STupendous7 wrote:
furrykef wrote:
As for a political candidate's religious views: can anybody tell me why they even matter?
I can. Like I said earlier, if a political candidate really and truly follows a religion, then that religion will affect how he lives.
It's quite possible for somebody who isn't a Christian to behave exactly like a good Christian except for the religious parts. I was a Christian, and am now an atheist, and I don't live terribly differently. (I wouldn't say that I made a
good Christian, but a very large number of Christians don't. How do you know Huckabee is one of the good ones, anyway?)
STupendous7 wrote:
But if the religion is for the good of the people, then don't you think it would be best to put it in the law?
Considering that not putting it in the law is one of the
founding principles of this country, no, I don't. If you really want a country where God's law is state law that badly, you could move to a country where it is, or try to found one on your own. This country is not the place for it.
First Amendment: "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion..."It's pretty much cut and dry that putting religion into the law is not the thing to do. And I don't think we should change the Constitution to "fix" that, because it would be violating the fundamental principles of the Founding Fathers. America would no longer be America.
Of course, another founding principle of this country is that you're free to practice any religion you want, within reason. It's the job of the preachers and the people themselves to handle that; they don't need the government to babysit them, especially if they don't share the same religion as the government.
STupendous7 wrote:
People like Obama and Hillary also have a world view; that world view will change how they live, and the laws that they pass. So then, even they are trying to put their world view into the law. Everybody does. So you can't really say that they shouldn't put their religion in the law, or else the president won't be able to change the law at all.
There's some extent to which you're right. The job of the President is to make decisions, and those decisions aren't always going to be easy and obvious ones, and not everybody is going to agree on them. If it were that way, there would be no need for a President.
But the President's job is also to represent the best interests of the people --
all the people, not just those who share the President's religion. The job of the President is most certainly
not to represent his religion -- there's that Establishment Clause again. I daresay that an agnostic President would probably make the best sort of President, because he is more likely to see every relevant issue rationally rather than colored by religious bias. And believe me, he's not gonna forget that there are religious people who don't believe the same as he does.
- Kef