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Nonsense. The Founders never meant to dictate to our political leaders how to make decisions.
And once again, the characterization of "voices in their heads" is simply an attempt to demean and marginalize. People do pray and feel that God has responded, without ever having a schizophrenic episode. While you may not believe in God, may have never felt a connection to God, may think this is all utter nonsense, the fact is you cannot prove that God doesn't exist, nor can you prove that these people don't have a connection to God. You cannot prove negatives. And they cannot prove to you that God exists, or that they have a connection to God. But the majority of the people in the world do believe in some form of God, and the possibility of communicating with that God. And the fact that the majority of the people in the world have these beliefs demands respect. You don't have to believe. And your non-belief should be respected. And their belief should be respected. Because it's an integral part of who we are as individuals, and how we relate to the world. Our beliefs are the framework through which we view the world.
I disagree on all the issues you've raised.
No, I DON'T have to respect their beliefs. What I do feel obligated to respect is their right to hold those beliefs, not the beliefs themselves. Absolutely not. And I will defend their right to hold those beliefs.
But to say that this doesn't come off as ridiculous is nonsensical. Consider what we're talking about here....
The story described this as a "cabal" of congressmen. That obviously means several men.
If this had been one representative, or maybe even two, I could swallow it better (although I'd still LMAO).
So SEVERAL men prayed together (or maybe even separately), and were ALL convinced to keep Boehner by the almighty! If we're not talking about voices here, then what are we talking about. How exactly are a group of men all convinced to make the same decision? You don't find that to be hellaciously suspect? I find it to be downright frightening. Not to mention that it's basically saying that Boehner has been divinely appointed!!! Is this a theocracy, or what? God chooses our House Speaker?
Moreover, since he's choosing political appointments nowadays, did he choose Castro, Chavez, Obama, and Merkel? Or is he only concerned with America's Speaker of the House?
Saying crap like "God told us to keep Boehner" is the stuff of laughingstocks, and no one can take anyone that says something so ridiculous, seriously. It opens up a can of worms that really should remain closed. If you've come to such a decision based on something as specious as a group prayer, then they should've kept that to themselves.
BTW...proof of God isn't the issue here. There are no good reasons for people like me to disprove God's existence because we're not proselytizing, printing Bibles by the millions, sending out missionaries, exhorting people to go to church, demanding tax exemptions, or fleecing flocks to buy mansions and Bentleys. Nor are we trying to get our beliefs codified into laws in a secular nation. It's up to the people participating in these things to come up with proof of existence, and they shouldn't turn it around by saying that the onus is on the rest of us to disprove it.
Sure....you're absolutely right that most of the world believes in a deity of some kind. However, most of the world is also backwards and certainly not desirable to live in. But among First World nations, only the U.S. is anything close to being a religious nation. I can't imagine a group of political leaders in any other First World nation making such a silly proclamation that they came to a major decision like this by praying ....they'd be laughed out of the room, and rightfully so.
No, I DON'T have to respect their beliefs. What I do feel obligated to respect is their right to hold those beliefs, not the beliefs themselves. Absolutely not. And I will defend their right to hold those beliefs.
But to say that this doesn't come off as ridiculous is nonsensical. Consider what we're talking about here....
The story described this as a "cabal" of congressmen. That obviously means several men.
If this had been one representative, or maybe even two, I could swallow it better (although I'd still LMAO).
So SEVERAL men prayed together (or maybe even separately), and were ALL convinced to keep Boehner by the almighty! If we're not talking about voices here, then what are we talking about. How exactly are a group of men all convinced to make the same decision? You don't find that to be hellaciously suspect? I find it to be downright frightening. Not to mention that it's basically saying that Boehner has been divinely appointed!!! Is this a theocracy, or what? God chooses our House Speaker?
Moreover, since he's choosing political appointments nowadays, did he choose Castro, Chavez, Obama, and Merkel? Or is he only concerned with America's Speaker of the House?
Saying crap like "God told us to keep Boehner" is the stuff of laughingstocks, and no one can take anyone that says something so ridiculous, seriously. It opens up a can of worms that really should remain closed. If you've come to such a decision based on something as specious as a group prayer, then they should've kept that to themselves.
BTW...proof of God isn't the issue here. There are no good reasons for people like me to disprove God's existence because we're not proselytizing, printing Bibles by the millions, sending out missionaries, exhorting people to go to church, demanding tax exemptions, or fleecing flocks to buy mansions and Bentleys. Nor are we trying to get our beliefs codified into laws in a secular nation. It's up to the people participating in these things to come up with proof of existence, and they shouldn't turn it around by saying that the onus is on the rest of us to disprove it.
Sure....you're absolutely right that most of the world believes in a deity of some kind. However, most of the world is also backwards and certainly not desirable to live in. But among First World nations, only the U.S. is anything close to being a religious nation. I can't imagine a group of political leaders in any other First World nation making such a silly proclamation that they came to a major decision like this by praying ....they'd be laughed out of the room, and rightfully so.
Well argued. I would go further and say even the Democrats would not be foolish enough to do this. Or even Republicans of 20 years ago. This is a big wake up call to the southern-fried fundamentalist take over of the GOP. They have spent so much time purging RINOs that they seem to have lost the ability to see how loony they seem to nonfundamentalists, who are the majority of the citizens of this country. We don't want leadership selected by God. We want leaders nominated by their peers because of their superior skills and experience. That does not seem like too much to expect.
Nonsense. The Founders never meant to dictate to our political leaders how to make decisions.
Change "dictate" to "dictation", and the opinion might change. They were fully aware of the ills of bringing religion into politics and outlined a need to keep them separate for public duties.
No, I DON'T have to respect their beliefs. What I do feel obligated to respect is their right to hold those beliefs, not the beliefs themselves. Absolutely not. And I will defend their right to hold those beliefs.
But to say that this doesn't come off as ridiculous is nonsensical. Consider what we're talking about here....
The story described this as a "cabal" of congressmen. That obviously means several men.
If this had been one representative, or maybe even two, I could swallow it better (although I'd still LMAO).
So SEVERAL men prayed together (or maybe even separately), and were ALL convinced to keep Boehner by the almighty! If we're not talking about voices here, then what are we talking about. How exactly are a group of men all convinced to make the same decision? You don't find that to be hellaciously suspect? I find it to be downright frightening. Not to mention that it's basically saying that Boehner has been divinely appointed!!! Is this a theocracy, or what? God chooses our House Speaker?
Moreover, since he's choosing political appointments nowadays, did he choose Castro, Chavez, Obama, and Merkel? Or is he only concerned with America's Speaker of the House?
Saying crap like "God told us to keep Boehner" is the stuff of laughingstocks, and no one can take anyone that says something so ridiculous, seriously. It opens up a can of worms that really should remain closed. If you've come to such a decision based on something as specious as a group prayer, then they should've kept that to themselves.
BTW...proof of God isn't the issue here. There are no good reasons for people like me to disprove God's existence because we're not proselytizing, printing Bibles by the millions, sending out missionaries, exhorting people to go to church, demanding tax exemptions, or fleecing flocks to buy mansions and Bentleys. Nor are we trying to get our beliefs codified into laws in a secular nation. It's up to the people participating in these things to come up with proof of existence, and they shouldn't turn it around by saying that the onus is on the rest of us to disprove it.
Sure....you're absolutely right that most of the world believes in a deity of some kind. However, most of the world is also backwards and certainly not desirable to live in. But among First World nations, only the U.S. is anything close to being a religious nation. I can't imagine a group of political leaders in any other First World nation making such a silly proclamation that they came to a major decision like this by praying ....they'd be laughed out of the room, and rightfully so.
Don't you think the author used the word "cabal" for a reason? It's part of the entire spin. The intention was to demean and marginalize a group of people. I refuse to let myself be used that way. Whatever your beliefs, I respect you and your right to hold those beliefs. When I make fun of you for your beliefs, that is not a sign of respect for you or your right to hold beliefs that are different than my beliefs. That is disrespect. None of these men have said they heard voices. Do you even know who these men are? They prayed, and considered an issue, and felt that they were guided by God to the decision they made. Many people feel that they are guided. I have a friend who feels that her deceased grandmother is watching over her, and has guided her in some of her decisions. That doesn't mean my friend hears voices.
These men were not preaching, proselytizing, or trying to pass religions mandates. They were debating whether the man who had been leading them in the legislature was still the right man to continue to lead them.
I'm sorry, but your remarks don't sound at all like a person who respects the right of others to hold beliefs that differ from your own. They sound like someone who feels ridicule and marginalization is appropriate treatment for people who hold beliefs that differ from your own.
Change "dictate" to "dictation", and the opinion might change. They were fully aware of the ills of bringing religion into politics and outlined a need to keep them separate for public duties.
Funnily enough, some of the ills of bringing religion into politics would be in forcing politicians to be atheistic, or not religious.
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