BLOG AGAINST THEOCRACY

April 10-12 , 2009

The theme of the 2009 blogswarm, as always, is support of  Separation of Church and State. Variations on the theme are many.  This is not meant to be a bashing of religion ---one can believe what they choose, however they choose —-but it is a reminder that the Government should keep out of religion, and Religion should keep out of the government.

I have created several logos (read restrictions below) which you are welcome to copy and paste on your own "Blog Against Theocracy" post. 

Or you can create a logo of your own or use one created by others that can be found HERE.

To participate in the blogswarm.

1. Write a post in support of our United States Constitution, specifically regarding the Separation of Church and State. You can write your post anytime, but the blogswarm takes place Easter Weekend, April 10-12.

2. Send the URL of your post via this online form, and add any comments you would like to appear with your link. Make sure you provide the permalink to your post and not just your blog.

3. Sit back and enjoy the hits.

For more information go directly to the Blog Against Theocracy site.

Feel free to chose one of these logos (below) to add to your blog for the purpose of supporting Church/State Separation for the 2009 Blog Against Theocracy event. I only request that, close to the logo,  you add "Used with permission from My Thoughts Are Free" with a link to this URL: http://tirelesswing.blogspot.com

These logos may not be used for any other purpose without permission from this blog owner.

GOD IN THE WHITE HOUSE

In less than a week a new president will be inaugurated, so I thought this would be a good time to contemplate how presidents' religions have defined their policies.

I recently read an excellent book:
GOD IN THE WHITE HOUSE
How Faith Shaped the Presidency from John F. Kennedy to George W. Bush
by Randall Balmer

        In God in the White House Randall Balmer relates the dramatic change from President Kennedy’s obligation to assure his detractors that, as a Catholic, he would uphold the wall of separation between church and state, to recent candidates who apparently need to embrace religion in order to be elected.
        Yet among recent presidents, declarations of religious belief during campaigns have had little to do with how a president has acted in office.

        Balmer is an ordained Episcopal priest and a professor of American religions at Barnard College. Yet he is not sympathetic to the entanglement of religion and politics in this country.

        "The radical disjunction between George W. Bush's claims of moral rectitude and his indifference to the moral ramifications of his policies is striking, even breathtaking," says Balmer. Bush "trumpets his morality", yet his administration deceived the nation, discredited those who exposed the deception, and authorized the use of torture.

        Balmer asks: What would have happened, for example, if there had been a series of thoughtful follow-up questions to George W. Bush's declaration... that Jesus was his favorite philosopher? "Mr. Bush, Jesus demands in the Sermon on the Mount that his followers 'turn the other cheek.' How will that teaching guide your conduct of American foreign policy, especially in the event of, say, an attack on the United States?" Or: "Jesus, your favorite philosopher, says that we should care for 'the least of these.' How does that inform your understanding of welfare or Social Security or civil rights or the graduated income tax?" "Can you provide a specific example of how your fidelity to the Christian faith affected your policies as governor of Texas?"

        Then, once in office, a few questions like this: "Mr. President, Jesus expressed concern for the well-being of the tiniest sparrow. Do you see any relationship between that sentiment and your administration's environmental policies? " Or: "Mr. President, Jesus, the man you invoked on the campaign trail as your favorite philosopher, invited his followers to love their enemies. How does that teaching square with the invasion of Iraq or with your administration's policies on torture?"

        This book is easy to read and informative. I lived through all the presidents he covers, but I learned things from this book that I hadn't known before and was reminded of those I did but had forgotten. It is well worth reading, especially for those concerned about keeping church and state separate in this country.

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For an excerpt from GOD IN THE WHITE HOUSE and a podcast of an interview with Randall Balmer that aired on NPR's Fresh Air 8/20/08, click HERE. 

Update Feb 2009: For a video interview with the author and Jon Stewart on The Daily Show, click HERE.

Editorial reviews and reviews by readers can be found at the amazon.com link below: