Sunday, May 20, 2007
Newt Gingrich spoke at the Liberty University commencement. One of his big topics was religious people getting picked on alot (he knows how to target a crowd).
"This anti-religious bias must end."
"In hostility to American history, the radical secularists insist that religious belief is inherently divisive," Gingrich said, deriding what he called the "contorted logic" and "false principles" of advocates of secularism in American society.
"Basic fairness demands that religious beliefs deserve a chance to be heard," he said during his 26-minute speech. "It is wrong to single out those who believe in God for discrimination. Yet, today, it is impossible to miss the discrimination against religious believers."
Steve Benen, guesting at TPM is incredulous at these statements.
Impossible to miss? It can't be that impossible; I have no idea what on earth he's talking about. Religious beliefs don't have a chance to be heard? Since when?
I'm hard pressed to imagine what country Gingrich and the 12,000 people who applauded his worldview are living in. Out of the 535 members of Congress, 50 governors, the president, vice president, the Bush cabinet, and nine Supreme Court justices, there is exactly one person -- not one percent, just one guy -- who does not profess a faith in God. If polls are to be believed, less than 5% of the population describes themselves as non-believers.
Steve is referring to California congressman Pete Stark, who came out of the closet as an atheist recently. He is waging a one man legislative campaign against the Godly good folk. He is quite successful obviously.
I would like to use this as a springboard back into a subject near and dear to my heart. Most people are lying about their religious faith. A study just came out that revealed 60% of Americans can't name five of the ten commandments. Think on it for a moment. You believe in God, he created the Universe, the stars, the earth, life as we know it, and you can't be bothered with remembering half of a very small list of things he commanded you to do?
How is that even possible? There are people who know the batting average of every member of the 1958 Chicago Cubs, yet don't know the Ten Commandments. What is their faith exactly? That is why fundamentalists, and pseudo fundamentalists like Gingrich annoy me beyond belief. If Newt Gingrich genuinely believed in an omnipotent, omnipresent God, would he have been getting blow jobs from soon to be wife #3, still married to #2, while at the same time impeaching Bill Clinton? Would he lie about his opponents so easily?
Bearing false witness is one of the ten commandments. You can look it up. The late Jerry Falwell had no problem skipping over that problematic order from the God he allegedly believed in. The amount of sin in our country, and the lack of a half assed effort to actually know what your religion tells you goes hand in hand.
My definition of sin is different than some. I believe sin is an absence of faith. If your faith tells you that God is everywhere, including in the very room with you at all times, you would behave differently. I mean believe it in the same sense that your mother was sitting on a chair, staring at you, and giving you a look. That kind of faith. You would modulate your behaviour (well I hope so), knowing that your mother would totally dissaprove of most "fun" things you were contemplating.
Our faith in America is as cheap as our culture. It's something we clothe ourselves in, like a fashion trend, when it is convenient. If it's not, we are in a hotel room with a hooker, followed by a Sunday sermon, sobbing that we have sinned.
I am more than tired of "faith" being used as a justification by people whose very practices belie their whole argument. There are some very excellent Christian people out there who do believe from the depths of their soul, and behave like it. Personally, the ones I know I can count on both hands. I suspect that in real life, their numbers are smaller than those who profess to be atheists.
If Gingrich wants fairness to Christians in this country, perhaps he should actually become one and see how it fits him. Until then, I would encourage his wife to not allow him time alone in the office with young assistants.
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