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THE QUESTION
God and the Constitution
Presidential candidate Mike Huckabee says "we need . . . to amend the Constitution so it's in God's standards rather than try to change God's standards so it lines up with some contemporary view." What do you think?
Posted by
Sally Quinn and Jon Meacham on January 23, 2008 4:11 AM
FROM THE PANEL
Amend the Way We Live
Our lives should line up with God’s righteousness rather than with any contemporary or traditional views.
Posted by Leith Anderson, on January 29, 2008 8:49 AM
Presidents Must Follow the Constitution's Standards
In my capacity as president of The Interfaith Alliance, I have written Gov. Huckabee two letters recently asking that he reexamine his understanding of the Constitution and the responsibilities of the presidency.
Posted by Welton Gaddy, on January 29, 2008 7:54 AM
God's Standards Cannot be Changed
We cannot change God’s standards, as Huckabee suggests Americans are doing. God’s standards are God’s standards.
Posted by Chester Gillis, on January 29, 2008 6:24 AM
Untenable and Un-American
America's separation of church and state was to assure that no specific religious denomination be given special preference and that both belief and unbelief have equal protection and space.
Posted by John Esposito, on January 29, 2008 5:11 AM
A Smarter Path for Pro-Lifers
In order for the pro-lifers to win, they need to go beyond religious arguments to philosophical arguments. In other words, they have to convince people that, at some point, the fetus is a human person with rights. Abortion has to be argued as a human rights issue not a religious issue.
Posted by Thomas J. Reese, S.J., on January 28, 2008 9:08 AM
We Need to Have Faith in our Faith
Governor Huckabee’s claim is breathtaking. I can say that because I have to confess that I’ve given in to the temptation of that kind of thinking.
Posted by William Tully, on January 28, 2008 8:30 AM
The U.S Constitution: We Need Space for All?
What the Constitution requires is respect and a fair hearing from all perspectives. No group religious or otherwise should have the only say on how government should run.
Posted by Gabriel Salguero, on January 28, 2008 6:32 AM
Seeing Ourselves as God's Exclusive Agents
Sacred texts can be misapplied through handpicked reading, deciphering and interpretation.
Posted by Rajan Zed, on January 28, 2008 5:29 AM
Whose God? My Pagan Gods?
I’m a Pagan. We have many Gods, with widely varying sets of standards. Are we going to amend the Constitution in favor of Hera, Goddess of marriage, or Aphrodite, Goddess of unbridled love?
Posted by Starhawk, on January 25, 2008 3:09 PM
Time for Serious Debate on God in Public
Huckabee's raising of the question, and the way in which these things are now debated in the U.S. and UK, is an indication that the Enlightenment 'settlement' whereby secular governments run the country and religion is a private affair, is rapidly being seen as threadbare.
Posted by Nicholas T. Wright, on January 25, 2008 2:56 PM
Saving God from Those Who are Right
As a person of faith, I want to “save God” from the religiously self-righteous such as Mike Huckabee who claim to know “God’s standards” and who have no trouble using the name of God to advance their political and social agendas with the divine name.
Posted by Susan Brooks Thistlethwaite, on January 25, 2008 1:15 PM
Faith and Reason -- Compatible and Constitutional
God’s standards were quite explicit as well as implicit in all of the founding documents. What is needed today is not to amend the Constitution but to interpret it according to its original intent. Doing so would eliminate 90 percent of the so-called church-state issues which so bitterly divide us.
Posted by Charles "Chuck" Colson, on January 25, 2008 12:39 PM
Huckabee's Mischief
An amendment seeking to ensconce God’s law guts protections for religious freedom and establishes a theocracy or something close to it. This would fundamentally alter America as we know it.
Posted by J. Brent Walker, on January 24, 2008 8:07 AM
Is the Constitution "under God"?
No way is this Baptist preacher (Elliott) going to agree with that Baptist preacher (Huckabee) on “God’s standards.”
Posted by Willis E. Elliott, on January 24, 2008 7:03 AM
We're Electing a President, Not A Holy Fool
Even a great many of Huckabee's fellow fundamentalists, as suggested by the victory of John McCain in South Carolina, know that when you start talking about a godly amendment to the Constitution, you've ruled yourself out as a viable maintream presidential candidate.
Posted by Susan Jacoby, on January 24, 2008 6:05 AM
Which God? Whose God? Huckabee's God?
Huckabee is influenced by "Reconstructionism," which is quite articulate about its aims: formally to replace anything in constitutional law which does not match their view of God's Constitution, and to unfold an amended and revised "God's Constitution."
Posted by Martin Marty, on January 23, 2008 9:07 AM
That's Cable TV Talk, not Leadership
Most Americans, I believe, are deeply practical and work too hard to be messing around with one of the sacred documents of our diverse democracy.
Posted by Andy Bachman, on January 23, 2008 7:51 AM
First, Consider the Context
What I heard him saying was not that we had to conform the Constitution to the Bible, but rather conform the courts to the Constitution. There's a big difference.
Posted by Cal Thomas, on January 23, 2008 5:05 AM
FEATURED COMMENTS
CeeTee9: I don't know which bothers me more; that we still have people like Huckabee who would rewrite the Constitution based on their personal relig...
D: The Constitution guarantees not only fredom OF religion but freedom FROM religion. America is made up of more than one religious sect. Whose...
JoeT: Huck's statement is an old debater's trick - a false dichotomy with one half so absurd you accept the alternative without realizing you've b...
