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stumbler
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By Mark Tooley
Published 5/27/2005
The Religious Right was popularly portrayed as a chief supporter for Republican efforts to curtail filibusters against President Bush’s judicial nominees. But the Religious Left was just as outspoken in supporting filibusters, even while hypocritically chastising Senate Republican leader William Frist for supposedly injecting religion into the issue.
Characteristic of the Religious Left’s vituperations was a letter of protest to Senator Frist from the presiding bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America:
“The rhetoric that some people of faith – Republicans, conservatives, or fundamentalists – ‘have it right’ and all other people of faith have it wrong not only is self righteous, but inappropriately polarizes people of faith for political purposes,” said Bishop Mark Hanson.
Hanson accused Frist of “political manipulation” for allegedly judging the faith of some based on their politics. But only a month earlier, Hanson was questioning the faith of President Bush and his supporters based on the administration’s budget proposals, which reduced the rate of increase in some social welfare programs.
“The Administration’s proposed federal budget priorities stand in contradiction to the Biblical tradition,” Hanson adamantly declared in a March 8 statement. Bush’s proposals must be condemned because of the religious obligation to “name injustice and immorality when it threatens God’s mission in the world.” There could no compromise, Hanson insisted, because “the Biblical standard is irrefutable.”
Religious Left activists have wielded often harsh religious rhetoric in their political crusades for decades, dating back to the Vietnam War, usually without much media attention, much less criticism. But even the mildest religious rhetoric from conservative activists excites dread of “theocracy,” as Religious Left activist Jim Wallis described conservative religious support for conservative judges…
Full article
Published 5/27/2005
The Religious Right was popularly portrayed as a chief supporter for Republican efforts to curtail filibusters against President Bush’s judicial nominees. But the Religious Left was just as outspoken in supporting filibusters, even while hypocritically chastising Senate Republican leader William Frist for supposedly injecting religion into the issue.
Characteristic of the Religious Left’s vituperations was a letter of protest to Senator Frist from the presiding bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America:
“The rhetoric that some people of faith – Republicans, conservatives, or fundamentalists – ‘have it right’ and all other people of faith have it wrong not only is self righteous, but inappropriately polarizes people of faith for political purposes,” said Bishop Mark Hanson.
Hanson accused Frist of “political manipulation” for allegedly judging the faith of some based on their politics. But only a month earlier, Hanson was questioning the faith of President Bush and his supporters based on the administration’s budget proposals, which reduced the rate of increase in some social welfare programs.
“The Administration’s proposed federal budget priorities stand in contradiction to the Biblical tradition,” Hanson adamantly declared in a March 8 statement. Bush’s proposals must be condemned because of the religious obligation to “name injustice and immorality when it threatens God’s mission in the world.” There could no compromise, Hanson insisted, because “the Biblical standard is irrefutable.”
Religious Left activists have wielded often harsh religious rhetoric in their political crusades for decades, dating back to the Vietnam War, usually without much media attention, much less criticism. But even the mildest religious rhetoric from conservative activists excites dread of “theocracy,” as Religious Left activist Jim Wallis described conservative religious support for conservative judges…
Full article