The article, if you can call it that, actually hurts to read. It is so full of inaccurate legal and cultural statements that I cringe to think about it. But allow me to share a few quotes which I assure you I am not taking out of context.
What Ellison and his Muslim and leftist supporters are saying is that it is of no consequence what America holds as its holiest book; all that matters is what any individual holds to be his holiest book.
Insofar as a member of Congress taking an oath to serve America and uphold its values is concerned, America is interested in only one book, the Bible. If you are incapable of taking an oath on that book, don't serve in Congress.
Ellison's doing so will embolden Islamic extremists and make new ones, as Islamists, rightly or wrongly, see the first sign of the realization of their greatest goal -- the Islamicization of America.
When all elected officials take their oaths of office with their hands on the very same book, they all affirm that some unifying value system underlies American civilization. If Keith Ellison is allowed to change that, he will be doing more damage to the unity of America and to the value system that has formed this country than the terrorists of 9-11.Which brings me to one last quote I think is worth sharing on this topic. I think we can all agree that if there is one writing every member of Congress should uphold it is the United States Constitution. It has a valuable passage which I am reminded of everytime someone screams about the need to elect Christian legislators. You'll find this in Article VI of that most venerable document.
The Senators and Representatives before mentioned, and the Members of the several State Legislatures, and all executive and judicial Officers, both of the United States and of the several States, shall be bound by Oath or Affirmation, to support this Constitution; but no religious Test shall ever be required as a Qualification to any Office or public Trust under the United States.
3 comments:
Point well made. Of course, do you really think those who subscribe to the agenda of the Religious Right care about what the Constitution says when it doesn't benefit them?
You once again miss the point. This country was founded on the Bible. As you might remember, in 1787 the Founding Fathers got together an wrote the Bible, to govern this country after the failure of the Articles of Confederation.
Wait, that's not true? Well, ummm... as you should know, as the Framers entered the Constitutional Convention, the Gideons stood outside, handing them mini-Bibles, much as they do at college campuses today. The Founders then plagiarized heavily in writing the Constitution.
Damn, sorry. I'm not as good at this historical revisionism business as I'd hoped. How do Pat Robertson and Jerry Falwell *do* it with such a straight face???
It's always fun to remind Christian patriot-fundamentalists that most of the Founders were deists (meaning that they don't believe God plays a direct role in human affairs) and on top of that, Thomas Jefferson actually DID write a new version of the New Testament where he got rid of all "irrational" parts - this meant things like the virgin birth, the healings, the feeding ten-thousand, the miracles, and for good measure, the resurrection. How bout THEM apples?
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