Tim Beach-Verhey has already done an excellent job of covering the manufactured controversy around the President's remarks about how we built this country by working together, and of exploring the theological underpinnings of the two competing views of America that are being put forward . . . As for the irony of the Republican's choice for their convention site, I'll let that speak for itself. Read more
Indeed, the Republican rhetoric to support tax cuts completely undermines any idea that the money will be freed up to help the poor—for Republicans, the tax cuts boost the economy by being reinvested (usually as capital), not by being bestowed upon the poor as private charity. Simply put, starving the social services is starving the poor. Cutting social services is the policy option railed against by all the prophets, and it is thoroughly unbiblical. Read more
Time and again the Bible makes clear that what God demands and takes pleasure in is not acts of piety and the scrupulous following of purity codes. Instead, God asks His followers to witness love through our actions and the policies we enact in government, business, and all other institutions. Read more
Isaiah's statement of hope makes very clear what all those who pray “thy kingdom come” should demand of their elected officials. The policy implications of this vision are obvious, and the contrast between the depiction of God’s Holy Mountain and the “kingdom” that our own institutions perpetuate is damning. Read more
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT Rachel Johnson, [email protected] Tweet this: http://bit.ly/PCqmTK http://www.patheos.com/blogs/faithfuldemocrats/ Faithful Democrats Joins Patheos The Leading Democrats Faith & Politics Blog Will Anchor News & Politics Channel WASHINGTON, DC – FaithfulDemocrats.com announced today that it will be joining Patheos.com, the largest independent religion site on the web. As part of this partnership, Faithful Democrats will anchor Patheos’ newly launched News & Politics portal. Faithful Democrats was founded in 2006 to provide a voice for conversations on faith in the... Read more
“If your politics are based on your values, we need to seriously look at your values.” That statement still brings me up short. It was said to me by a dear friend in response to my saying I was a Democrat because of how I understand my faith. The response was made in jest, but it had a stinging edge, and reflected what I knew was the prevailing narrative about religion in politics: Being Christian meant being a Republican and... Read more
Everyone in the country has heard the line from President Obama’s speech in Roanoke, VA, on July 13: “You didn’t build that.” Almost before it was out of his mouth, Fox News and Rush Limbaugh were expressing mock outrage at the President’s disrespect for small business owners who, obviously, created their businesses without any help from anyone. Rush Limbaugh proclaimed, “I think it can now be said, without equivocation — without equivocation — that this man hates this country. He is... Read more
There’s a lot of talk about the relationship between church and state. Whether it’s the Catholic Council of Bishops accusing President Obama of trampling on their religious liberty over contraception or the long-awaited and disputed opening of the Islamic Center of Murfreesboro who have been told their faith is not a religion and threatened at every turn- we can’t seem to escape the inevitable tension of those two things our grandmothers told us not to talk about: religion and politics.... Read more
The Bible has a lot to say about economic policy and the responsibility of government leaders to care for the vulnerable. The Bible leaves no room for trickle-down economics. Jesus and the Prophets do not say, “Help the widow and orphan by supporting businesses in an effort to prop up the stagnant economy”! The Bible’s call is for direct action, and it is a call placed on both society and government. Read more
Republicans are still trying to have it both ways--claiming the mantel of faith and citing Scripture on a few hot button issues—and then putting away their Bibles and turning to Darwinian social and economic theories to support their primary policy positions. Republicans have largely been getting away with it because we don’t call them on their hypocrisy. Read more
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