I say all that, and yet I happen to come from a devout baptist family. I am in fact a recovering baptist myself so I know that religion isn't pure evil. But, it sure can be.
I appreciate that I have a right to reject a belief in God, or gods, or any higher power. In turn I respect others' right to have faith in whatever they want and to worship as they choose. I don't want them telling me what to believe in so I won't force my non-belief on them.
I believe strongly in a separation of church and state. I understand that the founding fathers may not have been strict atheists, but I also know they weren't Bible-thumping Christians. I think we should take "under God" out of the flag salute. It wasn't even added till 1954 basically to set us apart from the godless Soviets. I don't think there ought to be a moment of silence in public schools so students can pray if they so choose. No one is stopping them from praying without ceasing all day long. They just need to do it in their heads. I would be in favor of a comparative religion course in public schools that would focus on the theologies of major world religions as well as the differences between the various Christian sects. I also think that having a basic knowledge of the Bible, as taught in a literature class, is a good idea.
With all that said I want to explain my view of Sarah Palin. First of all, if you haven't heard her speech at her former church, the Wasilla Assembly of God (Assembly of God churches are part of the Pentecostal denomination) please watch the video below.
People who take a literalist view of the Bible have certain beliefs. People who attend fundamentalist churches, and people who agree with the teachings of those churches, have certain beliefs. It is natural for someone who believes every word of the Bible was inspired by God and is one hundred percent accurate historically and scientifically to see the world in terms of black and white, right and wrong, God's way or no way. Sarah Palin is one of those people. Her view of the Bible, its contents, God and his direct communication with her and others through the Holy Spirit is real. At least it is to her. And in her mind, she's got God on her side so how could she be wrong?
That is scary. In fact it is utterly terrifying because it will absolutely guide her political actions.
I want whoever is going to be casting the tie breaking vote in the Senate to use logic and reason and to think objectively and critically about all sides of an issue. I want whoever may succeed the president, in the case of his untimely death while in office, to demand evidence and to be able to analyze empirical data. I don't want someone who ignores scientific proof, or the results of social research. I don't want someone who would make any sort of policy decision based on what he or she thinks needs to happen in order for Jesus to come back because of some book at the end of the Bible. I don't want someone who would rather listen to God talking to her or him over advisors and experts.
In light of Palin's religious views, which are completely irrational because aside from personal revelation and the corroboratory revelations of other Holy rolling Christians there is NO EVIDENCE of God, or Jesus, or the Holy Spirit, or the verity of the Bible, it only makes sense to assume the rest of her views are irrational as well. This, in turn, leads me to call into question McCain's own judgment, since he approved a running mate who discards facts in favor of myths.
I will end with a quote by David Leeming, Emeritus Professor of English and Comparative Literature at the University of Connecticut:
"Fundamentalists see their way as the only way. They forget that myths--themselves in all likelihood factually untrue--represent truths that are spiritual and philosophical."
Here is a related article from the Huffington Post.
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