au1929 wrote:Yes I will acknowledge that all people of religion are not bible thumping zealots. However, someone will have to explain how these good Evangelical Christians who believe in tolerance can be the backbone of support for our bible thumping president.
Who if he could would make a farce of the principle of separation of church and state. The friend of my enemy is my enemy.
I'll step up and try to explain. I consider myself to be "born again," but not drunk on the rush of the experience... I go to a Four Square church, which is evangelical as all get-out. I
believe Christ died on the cross and shed his blood to cover our sins. I
believe in miracles. But I am among about 33% of my peers who believe Kerry is the better candidate to support in this election. However, perhpas I have a handle on why fundamentalists like Bush so much... of course, perhaps not... This is all jmo, fwiw, but what I speculate draws them to Bush...
1) He's born-again. He was a lost soul, drinking and drugging, a failure at business, just an average sinner,
then he was transformed and saved.
2) He speaks christianese.
3) Born-again christians feel persecuted. They may even
like to feel persecuted (makes them more like Jesus, you know...
) They see Bush as being persecuted, by liberals, by the media, by the WORLD... It resonates with them and their own personal struggles...
4) There is some speculation that Bush
was called to lead (by God.) 9/11 validated that belief for those looking for validation.
Not all christians believe these things. Not all believe he was called. But we do tend to sympathize with his positions on policies. But some born-again christians argue that born-again christians are citizens of Heaven first,
not the U.S. or any nation on earth. And therefore,
should not be president. Others argue that
because of that, he has dual citizenship and is the
perfect instrument to bring God's will to our nation. That is the fanatical fringe, though, not a mainstrem belief, but one that holds some sway...