Tom, re: (Which leaves me wondering: Who are the 4 percent of voters who supported Kerry but believed "moral values" to be more important than the economy, the Iraq war, health care, etc.?)
On Nov. 2nd I received a phone call from a polling group. I told them that I voted for Kerry. They then asked me a series of questions, including "How significant was moral values to my vote." I answered "very signficant". Of course, I didn't have abortion or gay marriages in mind, rather I had the moral values of oppossing the unjust war with Iraq; the lies and deciet of the Bush Jr. administration; and the concern for health care, low income housing, poverty etc.
Into the vortex of the morality and political conviction issue:
While it is now popular for Republican Party operatives and associates to declare that their values represent what may be considered the true Christian values of American society, consider the fact that In his Sermon on the Mount, it seems that Jesus made a direct reference to the kind of public declaration now being asserted by the religious right. When asked what he thought about the laws (traditions) of the most influential sects in his culture, this was his response:
"Do not think I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I did not co me to abolish but to fulfill...for I say to you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven."
In his own succinct manner, Jesus implied that in the eyes of the public, the righteousness of the most right seemed superior, but in his eyes (one who comprehended deeper motives and truth) such superior righteousness did not merit the approval it sought to influence and obtain.
"Leaven may leaven the entire lump, but beware the leaven of Pharisees," he concluded, and so should a discerning progressive Christian.
Progressive Faith Didn't Lose The Election
in Progressive Christianity
Posted · Edited by Kevin of the Vineyard
Into the vortex of the morality and political conviction issue:
While it is now popular for Republican Party operatives and associates to declare that their values represent what may be considered the true Christian values of American society, consider the fact that In his Sermon on the Mount, it seems that Jesus made a direct reference to the kind of public declaration now being asserted by the religious right. When asked what he thought about the laws (traditions) of the most influential sects in his culture, this was his response:
"Do not think I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I did not co me to abolish but to fulfill...for I say to you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven."
In his own succinct manner, Jesus implied that in the eyes of the public, the righteousness of the most right seemed superior, but in his eyes (one who comprehended deeper motives and truth) such superior righteousness did not merit the approval it sought to influence and obtain.
"Leaven may leaven the entire lump, but beware the leaven of Pharisees," he concluded, and so should a discerning progressive Christian.