Politics and religion don’t mix

This post is mainly to suggest a few links worth reading.

The shutdown

Frank Schaeffer has some ideas on what was behind the shutdown.  Whether or not he is correct, they are worth reading or listening to.

I’ll note that Schaeffer is also pushing his recent book.  I don’t have much to say about that.  I did buy the book (the inexpensive kindle edition), but I have not finished reading it.  I’m still half-way through the opening paragraph.  Evidently, reading that book is not one of my high priorities.

Here are the two Schaeffer posts that I recommend:

• My NPR Interview on the Shutdown, the Death of Evangelicalism, God and All That…  I’ll note that it seems to be an interview by a local NPR station, rather than what I would call an NPR interview.  The post provides a link where you can listen.  It is 42 minutes long.  Schaeffer has his own explanations for why Evangelical Christians act as they do.
• Does Being Raised Evangelical Destroy Your Brain? Why The Tea Party-Evangelical Right Learned Nothing Post-Shutdown.  This one is a blog post — no listening time required.  Schaeffer gives his opinion about the way that Evangelicals raise their children.

On abortion

Samantha, at her blog Defeating the Dragons, has a multi-part series on how her views on abortion evolved.  She has a summary post, “Ordeal of the Bitter Waters” which summarizes the six parts and provides links to them.  The summary post is an excellent place to start.

If you are familiar with the biblical reference alluded to in the title, you can probably guess where her posts are going.  Early on, she was persuaded by the “pro-life” arguments.  But then real life happened to her, and she began to understand that the issue was far more complex than the pro-life folk would have you believe.  She is now pro-choice.

As part of her journey, she discovered that the Christian Bible does not condemn abortion.  Quite the contrary, in some circumstances it commands abortion.

Book review – “Broken Words: The Abuse of Science and Faith in American Politics

I recently received a copy of “Broken Words” (by Jonathan Dudley).  I have learned a lot from reading this book.  It is a book about the disputes that underlie the cultural wars that have been poisoning American political discourse over the last 30 years or so.

The main topics discussed are the disputes over abortion, over sexuality (particularly gay, lesbian and similar issues), the disputes over global warming and the disputes over biological evolution.  However, this is not a book about political intrigue in Washington.  It is more about the shifting sands of the theology of conservative evangelical Christianity.  That theology could change so much is remarkable, given the claims of evangelical Christianity that their theology is derived from the timeless word of God.

My advice to the Republicans

The Republicans have not asked for my advice.  And I am quite sure that they will ignore any advice that I give.  Still, they do seem to be in a quandary, so I will offer my advice anyway.

I suppose I should be suggesting a 12-step program, but I will content myself with two steps:

1. Adopt a pro-choice position on abortion.  This should actually be a no-brainer.  It fits with the traditional Republican view of favoring a small government.
2. Welcome the log cabin Republicans into the party, and pay attention to what they say.  Decisions on gay marriage should, in the main, be left to the culture and not controlled by politics.  Again, this fits with the traditional Republican view of small government.

This will, of course, be a painful step.  The Republicans will lose those conservative evangelical Christians from their party base.  But that is actually the point of my suggestions.

Willful murder by the Catholic church

I don’t often write condemning religion.  There are many decent people who are religious.  But this headline reports an incident that demands condemnation:

• ‘This is a Catholic country’: Woman dies of septicaemia after being refused an abortion in Irish hospital

The medical condition of the woman was clear.  But religious demagogues, with their utterly stupid ideas about abortion, condemned the woman to death by refusing her the treatment that could have saved her life.

Notes on abortion

There has been a lot of online discussion since CNN Belief blogs posted an item by Jonathan Dudley “My Take: When evangelicals were pro-choice.”  Here, I shall add my two cents.

My immediate reaction is to disagree with Dudley.  I do not remember that evangelicals were ever pro-choice, and it would seem out of character for them to have  been pro-choice.