Jimmy_Jam
Senior Member
- Sep 29, 2012
- 1,071
- 136
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There is a great error you and Erroneous Joe make, in believing that we are dealing with a theological issue....rather than a political one.
No one is suggesting a vote for a religious belief...merely the clear choice between the political beliefs of Romney and Obama.
Proof?
Sure.
Name any religious dictum imposed by Romney as governor of Massachusetts.
If you cannot....my premise prevails.
I wasn't questioning Romney, I was questioning Graham. And you're right, it is every bit a political issue. That was my point.
Are you sure?
You did write this: "A Mormon running for President 20 years ago would have been unheard of. I gotta hand it to him, Romney is charming the socks off of mainstream Christianity."
But....I can appreciate one trying to put daylight between their position and that of the bigot Erroneous Joe.
Yes, I'm pretty sure.
Mainstream Christians in the U.S. tend to be Republicans. Romney is, for the most part, winning the support of many mainstream Christians. Billy Graham is helping to sway some of the Christians that do not for religious reasons by simultaneously removing Mormonism from his "cult" list and endorsing Romney. This is fairly academic, yes?
While religion is a factor to the individual voter who votes with Bible in hand, for the GOP it is overtly political, since mainstream Christians are little more than a demographic consideration. If you gain Graham's endorsement, you gain a great number of Christians that may otherwise have objected to you for religious reasons. So, because Graham is a well-established icon to mainstream Christians, Romney is, through him, charming the socks off of mainstream Christianity. It was a potentially enormous political cementing job.
I'm sure there will be a few radical Christians who will still view Romney as the Antichrist, but Graham's endorsement is pretty big. Now, I am a Republican, but not a Christian. Despite this, I think it is a legitimate concern to question the integrity of somebody who is a major spiritual leader, and who is identified primarily by that role, if he would overturn a decades-old religious conviction in favor of his political party. Is his change of heart based upon his spiritual convictions or his party? It could be a combination of the two, but ultimately it is clear that his religious convictions have taken a backseat to party affiliation.
Allow me to use a hypothetical comparison. Bill Maher has repeatedly and consistently bashed Scientology. He is also a liberal. Suppose for a moment that a Scientologist won the Democratic nomination for Presidency. Suppose that the next day, Bill Maher suddenly stopped bashing Scientology and promoted it as a legitimate religious belief. Would you not question his integrity? I suspect you would, and it would be for political, not religious, reasons.
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