As fundamental as these principles are, they may become topics of democratic debate. So it is today with the enduring institution of marriage. Marriage is a relationship between one man and one woman.The protection of religious freedom has also become a matter of debate. It strikes me as odd that the free exercise of religious faith is sometimes treated as a problem, something America is stuck with instead of blessed with. Perhaps religious conscience upsets the designs of those who feel that the highest wisdom and authority comes from government.
But from the beginning, this nation trusted in God, not man. Religious liberty is the first freedom in our Constitution. And whether the cause is justice for the persecuted, compassion for the needy and the sick, or mercy for the child waiting to be born, there is no greater force for good in the nation than Christian conscience in action.”
Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney, in his commencement address at Jerry Falwell’s Liberty University. Photo: Marc Nozell
david
evangelicals = taliban
Daez
The reason that religious freedom existed from the very beginning had a lot less to do with god than it had to do with the fear of religious persecution by an overarching majority religion. So, what fundamentalist christian religion is doing to gays and lesbians actually resembles the fears that brought about freedom of religion.
Cam
Romney said…
“Marriage is a relationship between one man and one woman.”
Ok Mitt, Your great grandfather was killed by the HUSBAND of his 12th wife…yes, you heard that right. And Mitt, your father was born into a polygomous family….soooooo……..
Mitt also said.
“The protection of religious freedom has also become a matter of debate. It strikes me as odd that the free exercise of religious faith is sometimes treated as a problem”
Mitt, funny how you never want to talk about the religions that BELIEVE that gays should be able to marry. You only seem interested in the religions that support bigotry.
Mark
For someone running for president he really needs to learn his American history. Under God was NEVER EVER put anywhere on any kind of government document. In 1954 “Under God was addend to the pledge and other documents…..I would also like to point out that our founding fathers and first 5 presidents were not Christian but Unitarian and atheist..Thomas Jefferson infact made his own bible “the Jefferson bible” where he tore out and rewrote all miracles and references to God saying Jesus was nothing more than a man and called his bible the morals and life of Jesus of Nazareth….Funny how everyone freaks now when our government does something against religion when our founding fathers didn’t even believe in it…prolly why the very 1st thing they wrote was separation of church and state….
Belize
“It strikes me as odd that the free exercise of religious faith is sometimes treated as a problem,”
Bitch. That has never been a problem until your exercise of religion began to infringe over basic, secular human rights.
till the world endst
@Mark: Preach on Brother! I’m so glad some of us paid attention in history class. There is a clear and present danger with the religious sects right now. They know not what this country was founded on other than bits and pieces on the religion parts. Not the amendments and the constitution.
We have a GOP Presidential nominee and other trying to bring in the Religious aspect.
there was a Family Guy episode where Lois was running for Governor and she made very great points and wasn’t getting any response. So she said “911” and Religious mambo jumbo and showed how ignorant the crowd was and if she said things more dumb than her competitor she would win and she won. That was a cartoon but it is the reality we are facing now.
B
When Romney claimed that “there is no greater force for good in the nation than Christian conscience in action,” he might want to review our history a bit more – there were some individuals living in Salem in 1692 who might disagree. Some died in prison, some were hanged, and one was tortured to death for refusing to deign these ridiculous proceedings with a “guilty” or “not guilty” plea.
Spike
But will the American Christian Taliban trust a Mormon in the White House? They have made their racist Christian views very apparent regarding wanting anyone but the black guy in the White House, but a Mormon? If the Mormon is elected get ready to be sent to the camps, and ovens after that, these people are serious about cleansing the US of gays, abortionists, minorities and non-believers.
Danny
Romney is not a Christian. The LDS Mormon cult he is part of teaches that Mormons become gods in the afterlife with non-Mormons as their slaves. That is antithetical to Christianity which teaches only one God. The rightwing “Christian” religious leaders backing Romney, if you look at them, are all businesspeople who have turned religion into a business to line their pockets. No true Christian leader backs LDS Mormon Mitt Romney – only the merchants who invaded the temple do. LDS Mormonism is the same as Islam – its fanatical founder rewrote and added things to the bible to create itself, which is forbidden for Christians to do. Christians do not have magic underwear, they do not perform secret rituals in inner chambers of their buildings, they do not convert dead people to their beliefs, etc. Beware any “Christian” leader who tries to lead you astray into the LDS Mormon cult.
Paul
“The American culture promotes personal responsibility, the dignity of work, the value of education, the merit of service, devotion to a purpose greater than self, and, at the foundation, the preeminence of the family…”
Romney is way out of touch if that’s what he thinks…these days in American culture, everyone seems to want to be a Kardashian…to be skanky and rich with as little effort as possible.
B
No. 8 · Danny wrote, “LDS Mormonism is the same as Islam – its fanatical founder rewrote and added things to the bible to create itself, which is forbidden for Christians to do.”
This is not true historically. Christianity was more like a bifurcating bush with branches splitting rapidly. Here’s one example – stuff you won’t find in the offical Bible: http://www.nationalgeographic.com/lostgospel/_pdf/GospelofJudas.pdf
Eventually, the Romans took over and organized it, stamping out “heresies”. Things like M
ormonism are simply another example of how religions branch off from each other.