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The first Thanksgiving to God in the Calvinist tradition occurred in Plymouth Colony, Massachusetts during the summer of 1623. The colonists declared a Thanksgiving holiday after their crops were saved by much-needed rainfall.
The Pope's remarks September 20 in Regensburg, Germany were in the context of a theological address and appeal for dialogue between Christians and Muslims about the nature of faith and whether the application of it can ever lead to violence.
The prophet Isaiah wrote: "Surely the nations are like a drop in a bucket; they are regarded as dust on the scales...Before Him all the nations are as nothing; they are regarded by Him as worthless and less than nothing." (Isaiah 40:15-16). That doesn't leave a lot of wiggle room for those who claim America is a "Christian nation."
The Constitution specifically prohibits a religious test for holding public office, but that does not prohibit voters from exercising spiritual discernment when selecting someone for whom to vote. There are pro-life Catholics who might vote for a pro-life Baptist if the person's opponent was Catholic, but pro-choice. All other things being equal, we ought to vote for the most competent person rather than one who might use religious language, but not mean it. If one can have competence and real faith, that would be the ideal, but a regular church-goer who is not a good leader is a lose-lose for all of us.
In previous presidential campaigns -- and while some presidents are in office -- we have sometimes witnessed the cynical manipulation of religious faith for political gain.
Israel is a nation-state with an elected government. As such, its policies can be criticized – and often are --by Israelis and outsiders without such criticism being labeled anti-Semitic.
Religion as a subject and the beliefs of individual religions absolutely should be taught in all schools and at all levels.
No, Jesus came to transform the inside, not reform the outside. He said "My Kingdom is not of this world." But when the inside is transformed through conversion, that can have a profound effect on the surrounding culture as it has through the three spiritual revivals that have touched America.
The Jerry Falwell I knew was torn between the two kingdoms he represented: one not of this world and the other very much of this world; one with tactics and tools that could change lives and the other with tactics and tools that changed little.
Theoretically, yes, if such a person was competent and experienced enough to be trusted with the presidency. This is, after all, a "kingdom of this world" office, though many like to infuse it with religious overtones.
Still, I wonder about a person's judgment if he, or she, has embraced paganism with all of the evidence available concerning an orderly universe and the creative mind behind such order. Having judged incorrectly concerning the great "I Am," would a pagan be considered wise enough to judge temporal things? And, in an age when virtually every politician claims some kind of religion, could a pagan win?
Probably not.
Until recently, chaplains who have prayed in Congress -- including guest chaplains -- have been Jewish or Christian, reflecting the foundations and traditions of this country. In recent months, a Muslim clergyman was invited to pray and now a Hindu.
Congress has the right to ask anyone, or no one, to offer an invocation at the start of each session, but I would like to know -- having opened the door to faiths other than Christians and Jews -- if it will, or should be able to stop any request from any religious faith for representation?
If so, would that be discrimination? I don't know. Does any of this make a difference? Probably not.
Politicians have always sought a covering of faith for their policies and during most of the invocations, most of the Members are not on the floor.
Of course Christmas and Christmas have been important to the United States, if for no other reason than that it transforms the bottom lines of many businesses from red to black. For the most part (this election cycle being the exception because of the front-loading of the primaries and Iowa caucuses) it mostly silences the politicians, which is the perfect gift for most of us! But it also gives Congress a way to identify with a feel-good sentiment expressed in such classic films as "It's A Wonderful Life," "The Bishop's Wife," and "White Christmas."
The key to such resolutions is that they not be too specific. Congress wouldn't want to go on record as affirming the greatest contribution ever made: God's gift to Man -- salvation in and through Jesus Christ. It is instructive that language about Jesus was deleted from the resolution before it passed, making the Christmas and Christian resolution no more significant than National Pickle Week to some members of Congress.
I think most people want competence first and ideology second. That would include religious belief. Knowing where -- or if -- someone attends religious services and his/her view of God is interesting, but it tells me nothing about how the candidate, if elected, will run the country. Too often in the past, presidential candidates on both sides have used religious language and practices as a tool for helping attract a certain demographic. But sometimes those presidents have been a disappointment, because the expectations that come from religious believers are not uniform.
Better, then, not to put one's faith up-front, but to first establish one's positions and vision in the public mind. Then, if a candidate wishes to talk about religious faith, that's fine. After all, we are electing a president of a country that is part of a fallen world. We are not members of a search committee looking for a new pastor. They are two different "kingdoms."
As I understand it, Huckabee was responding to a question about abortion and same-sex marriage and noting how the courts have sometimes acted outside what the Constitution says to read their own prejudices into our founding document. In that 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. If anyone were to suggest that the Bible should be the basis of the government of the United States he would be wrong to do so and violate the same Constitution he purports to uphold.
The Question: John McCain's spiritual guide, televangelist Rod Parsley, calls Islam a "false religion" that should be "destroyed." Should McCain renounce Parsley? Will Islam be an issue in this year's U.S. presidential election?
Let me see if I have this straight. Numerous Islamic leaders advocate killing Jews (who they blame for everything from AIDS to 9/11) and Christians (who they call "cross worshippers" and "infidels"). They state their intention to wipe out those faiths. They claim they have a mandate from Allah to do this. And we're worried when one American preacher says Islam must be wiped out? The American preacher isn't recruiting homicide bombers. No one is going to "wipe out" any of the world's three great religions. It's been tried before. The Romans tried to eradicate Christianity and the Nazis attempted to eliminate Jews. These are things of the Spirit, not politics. As Martin Luther wrote: "The body they may kill; God's truth abideth still. His Kingdom is forever."
If McCain were a member of Rod Parsley's church, that might be another matter as it was for Barack Obama and Rev. Jeremiah Wright. But anyone can endorse (or oppose) anyone else. As for whether Islam will be an issue in the presidential race, it seems to be for Muslims as they recruit candidates for office and mobilize to vote probably as a block and mostly for the Democratic nominee, so why shouldn't it be an issue for the rest of us who are not Muslim?
The Question: Jeremiah Wright's sermons continue to be an issue in the presidential campaign. Why? What do you think of his preaching style? What do you wish you understood better about it?
The media tend to focus mainly on the incendiary and the divisive because it makes a better story. There are thousands of African American churches, from storefronts, to traditional looking buildings in which faithful pastors preach the age-old Gospel of Christ without the putrid anointing oil of politics. The media ignore them, leaving the impression -- especially among whites who don't visit black churches -- that African American churches are mostly hotbeds of black liberation theology and anti-American screeds. The black churches I have attended and the black pastors I know are the antithesis of Rev. Jeremiah Wright, but they are never interviewed on TV which prefers rhetorical bomb throwers.
What Islam Really Says About Violence, Rights and Other Religions
Gomaa, Fadlallah, Mubarak, Khan, Siddiqi, Ellison, others | On Faith
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