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Patriotism and Piety

Submitted by Fred Willis, Dec 8, 2007 11:55

What I find amusing and disturbing is that there is a large proportion of America, poorly educated on both the history of this Nation and its Constitution, and poorly educated on the history of their own religion, who are so determined to have certitude in their lives that they profess a total belief and commitment to a literal interpretation of a bible that is in most of its contents twice translated from the original Hebrew or Aramaic.

Thus, what they are professing is a stoned cold belief in what another person says that the scriptures say. Yet, this gives them no pause and they are willing to burden political candidates with this test which may be based on not be what their Lord said or their Lord intended.

Scholars of the bible in its original are not agreed on what much of the text actually says because the word usage in often idiosyncratic and not repeated elsewhere. In fact, much of Talmudic scholarship and interpretation is dedicated to explaining what the Lord was saying through idiosyncratic word usage. That is, the bible was not intended for and cannot be understood by a literal reading.

Ergo, the literalists are as much barbarians as anything else because they cannot know what the bible means ipso facto yet they wish to force allegiance to their view.

Fred Willis

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Other reader comments on this article

Comment	By	Date
I think this entire discussion is a waste of effort. I disagree with most of what Mr. Romney says, but... [MORE]	John House	Dec 9, 2007 11:33
What I find amusing and disturbing is that there is a large proportion of America, poorly educated on both the...	Fred Willis	Dec 8, 2007 11:55
While Central Europe relied upon religious orthodoxy to confer legitimacy upon the reigning sovereign, the result was the unhealthy accretion... [MORE]	Claude Bogardus	Dec 8, 2007 11:19
I submit that it was Duche's mistake to loose faith in the cause of freedom, not Adam's mistake to have... [MORE]	A. Keller	Dec 7, 2007 11:32
The Constitution rules out any law making any religious belief a criterion for office. But the electorate can take into account... [MORE]	Joel Meyers	Dec 8, 2007 14:44
In referring to Samuel Adams's invocation of prayer at the first Continental Congress, Governor Mitt Romney belies his argument that... [MORE]	Bart	Dec 7, 2007 01:37
I agree with Bart's comment above. I do, unfortunately, think Mitt Romney has the same "self-serving motives" as our founding... [MORE]	Rebecca	Dec 7, 2007 11:31
Regardless of Sam Adam's motives or Jacob Duche's ultimate disgrace, the gist of what Mr. Romney said is profoundly true.... [MORE]	Dan Dismuke	Dec 7, 2007 14:50
There is nothing shameFUL in enticing, provoking, cajoling, otherwise attempting to persuade others to invoke and reflect upon their own... [MORE]	John Spencer Yantiss	Dec 7, 2007 17:47
While my religious beliefs are not in agreement with Mr. Romney's, I can at least refrain from chiding him for... [MORE]	John Spencer Yantiss	Dec 9, 2007 04:46
Your insight is a reason I deliberately read viewpoints I disagree with. You are very insightful. Thanks isn't a strong... [MORE]	John House	Dec 9, 2007 12:39

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