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February 20, 2007
Religion, Politics & the Left
by Tina Grazier
The 2008 race for the presidency has begun. One group that I believe will become quite vocal is the newly acknowledged “religious left”. Democrats have been known to poke fun at religion, especially the religious right, but the last presidential election found liberals whining that “they were religious too!” Since that time bible quotes and prayers are showing up regularly in their speeches and activities. Recently, for instance, they invited Husham Al-Husainy of the Karbalaa Islamic Education Center to lead the prayer at their annual winter meeting:
"We thank you, God, to send us your messages through our father Abraham and Moses and Jesus and Mohammed. Through you, God, we unite. So guide us to the right path. The path of the people you bless, not the path of the people you doom. Help us, God, to liberate and fill this earth with justice and peace and love and equality. And help us to stop the war and violence, and oppression and occupation. Amen."
The prayer seems relatively harmless until we ask the obvious...just who are the doomed. A report by Debbie Schlussel last summer revealed that Imam Al-Husainy led "almost-daily protests of thousands of Hezbollah supporters on the streets of Dearborn and Detroit, swarming with swastikas and anti-Semitic, anti-American signs.” Judging from this overt involvement it seems quite probable that Al-Husainy, in his prayer for the democrat party, is expressing the Muslim belief that Abraham, Moses, Jesus and Mohammed were all Muslim prophets and that Judaism and Christianity were created through corrupt teachings by Moses and Jesus. Does his prayer make the subtle but poignant suggestion that Christians and Jews are the doomed people? Read the full article, Known by the Company They Keep? by David Limbaugh.
There are those on the religious left that hate America and believe she represents an evil threat in the world.
Although some fault both democrats and republicans, these extremists are aligned with democrat causes and beliefs, causes such as feminism, environmentalism and Darwinism. In a recent Front Page Magazine article by Mark D. Tooley, The Religious Left vs. "Demonic" America, the extremism of certain religious academic elites is emphasized in his review of a new book:
The recently published “American Empire and the Commonwealth of God ” vividly illustrates the cosmological hatred that mainline Protestant elites, especially in academia, now reserve for their country. “Empire” is a project of the Presbyterian Church (USA) publishing house, Westminster John Knox Press.
Authored by three theologians from United Methodist seminaries, with help from a Jewish professor of law from Princeton, “American Empire” asserts that the United States is the “primary threat to the survival of the human species (along with that of may other species as well).” At least one of the authors argued that America is worse than Nazi Germany and Soviet Russia, and all four writers rejoiced in resistance to the “empire,” whether it is from communist Cuba, Venezuelan strongman Hugo Chavez, or various Islamic dictatorships.
Anyone who would publish the belief that communist Cuba and Islamic dictatorships are preferable to America should leave the country. The only alternative open to them is to try to politically undermine our government and Constitution. They cannot possibly claim allegiance to America and hold this view at the same time. It just does not fly.
This election cycle will feature moral and religious expression from both sides of the aisle. Generally speaking this represents a positive movement in America. As we consider the candidates, it will be important to notice their values and religious beliefs, but more importantly, we should take note of the ideas they propose with respect to the Constitution and our founding religious ideals.
Posted by Post Scripts at February 20, 2007 12:21 AM
Comments
"Anyone who would publish the belief that communist Cuba and Islamic dictatorships are preferable to America should leave the country"
Amend that to "should be kicked out" and you have my full support! We have too many people in the USA who are not with the USA and we would do better without them. They are the leftwing fools and societal parasites we see in protest marches and what little good they serve as an opposition voice is far outwieghed by their destructive force.
Posted by: Fred Ayers at February 20, 2007 08:38 AM
In spirit I agree with you, Fred, and thanks for the great comment.
Our problem, of course, is the free and open system of government that we cherish so very much. I would not compromise the Constitution and Bill of Rights to rid my country of these...hmmm, searching for a word or phrase that satisfies...how about "societal and political parasites, termites and vermin"!!
A more satisfying indeavor is to continue to expose them until they go underground or leave our great country of their own volition. Defeating them in this way will make our nation stronger.
Posted by: Tina at February 20, 2007 08:25 PM