If you are asking about American Politics, all I can say is in 2000 when Pat Robertson asked the churches to have their congregations vote for Bush, they followed the advise.

It was the time for Christians to make the move into the Federal Government. This had been a planned move due to the expected end of days. The children had been reading a series of books called "Left Behind" which spoke of the millions of people who were not Christians would be left behind to end up in hell. I believe Bush chose his motto for educations as "no child left behind"

The religious right are heading into militia groups often out of the main big cities and are planning a Waco type move.

Since 2000, we have seen a number of prohibitions heading for the Congress and possibly for the Supreme Court. A ban on all abortions and gay marriages. Death with Dignity is a sign of heretics. Not ever Christians who are considered too liberal will make it to heaven. I attended a militia group sponsored by Larry Pratt of "Gun Owners of America" and most of the Christian groups will not survive.

Being a Humanist got me on the Heretic List.

So you are saying that the correct place for Christian leadership is in the government of this country?

you are a humanist...are you telling me what you have witnessed, or what you believe?

Dawn

Dawn. In the inception of America, it was based on individual freedoms which to me a "humanism". Our Bill of Rights protect us from the government. We had a Separation of Church and State until 2000 when a "born again" man was elected on the basis of federal grants to the churches.

I warned many about this possible break in our freedoms and it didn't take long before President Bush 43 began his assault on Islam. We had troops in Kuwait even when that war was over. Our troops were on Muslim holy ground. They warned us to move them out and Bush simply ignored the warnings. As a Christian he had to move on this because the end of days were coming and Islam must be conquered.

In August before September 11th the warnings from the CIA, the FBI and many agents abroad that Bin Laden would send planes into buildings. An FBI agent from Phoenix contacted our Secretary of State Rice and she ignored the messages. This is fact. The day after the Twin Towers were hit Bush made the announcement that America needed a Crusade to destroy the Taliban. The sonofabitch even used the word "crusade" This has all been verified in the Committee reports on 911.

Having a bunch of Christian Congress members has meant that they do not represent the voters but their personal God. Hell, a load of them are homophobes in public and gay in private. Their values are transparent.

Evangelicals have their own agenda and it is nowhere to be found in our Constitution. I went on line in 1993 and was told that the Republican Party will be a Christian Agenda and I should stay away from the GOP. I heard this in person from the Arizona State Senator Burns.

I've been involved in American politics since 1953. The change in attitude since the religious right began to vote is shocking. They are developing the new militia in America who want to take the government by force. The main problem comes from these folks in the bible belt. They have no knowledge of American politics and know only their Christian commitments to take over the entire nation. Their Ministers are at fault and believe their congregations will give them power. I wish you could see our 24/7 televangelical ministers on daily on 4 stations. Hitler didn't have this much promotion.

Sandy
I live in the bible belt and many of my friends and most of my family is christian conservative although I only know one evangelical and will accept that, from what I know of this person, THAT is a bit scary and more than a little divisive. I am more than familiar with the 24/7 broadcasts and rhetoric coming from the seriously out of whack churches and preachers.

Although I agree that the emergence of the christian right in the late eighties was disturbing, I see it as more of a back lash to the culture shock of the seventies. I understand and agree that religion has no place in government nor should religious values or morality have a seat at the governing table. This country is founded on Inalienable Laws and Rights, not Christianity, despite the fact that many or most of our founding fathers were Christians of one sort or another. Although I am a federalist republican and think that God(interpreted as the giver of Inalienable things) is important in this country, I am not eager for, nor do I support Christianity as the source of God in regards to its laws and rights.

so, we agree on that. Now I ask you,in your mind, how does this relate to modern problems in this country. Are you blaming the Christians or those who are reacting to the Christians of the eighties and early nineties?

Dawn

PS; personally, I am not christian so your responses will NOT offend me. I cannot speak for other readers or responders un fortunately.

At no time in the eighties did the religious right try to change our separation of church and state. I will admit that Robertson, Weyrich and Falwell were in and out of the white house a lot. At that time the Separation was respected to the point that Robertson lost his tax status.

Christians do not scare me until they try to pressure the government into members of the Supreme Court to repeal Roe v Wade. I had enough faith in Reagan to know he would not even discuss the subject. When he was Governor of California he was the first to sign in to allowing Roe v Wade to stand in California. I was in his office for the signing.

Bush 43 was elected as a born-again Christian and his platform was to prohibit abortions, gay marriages, stem cell research and death with dignity. When questioned, his followers quoted the bible not the Constitution.

When I was working for Goldwater in 1964, there was a suggestion that we go after the enormous number of Christians who had never voted. We were told to leave them alone as they have no interest in any laws other than from the bible. Bush won on the Christian vote and he damned near destroyed the nation. Personally I believe we need a strong two party system that balances out the left and right. But when the right plays the Jesus Card all bets are off. I never blame the Christians if they can explain exactly why they believe America would be better off as a Christian nation. They seem to want one law fits all out of the new Testament. Within 20 years America will be back in the days of the Inquisitions and back to torturing heritics to death. The GOP now has a Christian militia group formed by Rush Limbaugh and headed by Sarah Palin.

I spent a solid month asking hundreds of on-line writers to tell me why they believe they were born in sin and need to pray continually to save themselves. I asked if felt better under the care of Jesus. Not one of them had ever thought about it. It's nothing but a habit. They want my nation to support their damn habit.

Okay...again I agree with you however I don't see the christian right in leadership today. In fact, the religion in charge at the moment seems to be one of opinion based morality.

I have heard from many people that this administration is a good one because it is ensuring that "Within 20 years America will be back in the days of the Inquisitions and back to torturing heritics to death" doesn't happen.
but, have we swung the other direction?

it is ignorant to think that the only people who can send America back to the days of the inquisitions are the religious right. The inquisition WAS NOT about religion, it was about power and money.
Do you not see that the hate speech has shifted?

While there are right wingers spewing hate, there is just as much hate being spewed on the left.
Are you saying that such hatred IN DEFENSE of equality of law is okay? That as long as you want to protect the right to have an abortion, the right to gay unions, etc, that spewing hate is justified?

while you point at inquisition, should you not also point to something like the Cultural Revolution or the mass deaths associated with Stalin and the National Socialist Party's genocidal history? all of these things are on the left.

are not both extremes equally dangerous and does not the presence of declared communists in the white house point to the truth that this country is swinging towards the horrors of the far left?

Dawn

The Inquisitions were written and projected by the Popes and the base of the Catholic Church. Savonarola was a high Priest 3who organized others to round up the heretics and then torture them to death. This was done in the name of Jesus Christ. It spread all over Europe. Martin Luther showed up with a different take on Jesus Christ and he gathered up the pissed off Catholics. He started the Protestant movement and ended up with their own Inquisitors who tortured others to death.

Stalin and Mao couldn't touch the Inquisitions. This torture was done under the name of Jesus Christ. Stalin and Mao had no God.

We have no Communists in the White House, we do have a level of Socialism which is what the voters wanted. The America people voted for a man who will redestribute the wealth of all Americans. I have never voted for a Democrat but after reading the Platform of Bush 41, I never again voted for a Republican. America was formed to allow individual freedoms for all citizens. The Bill of Rights was written to control the government. Americans are not told this and the schools do not support academics so we will slip into Socialism because it would be better than what the Religious Right has planned.

I found myself in a position of anger when I saw the weak and feeble GOP try to complete with Obama. Bush 43 washed away every decent thing the GOP ever had as an agenda.

Americans are no long able to support themselves. Bush relaxed the rules over Wall Street and they robbed us blind. I have never known America as weak as it is today. Our Corporations are leaving, our small businesses can't find intelligent help and our leadership under a Republican would simply prepare us for Armageddon. Many people in science know this and the push is on to locate another planet for our species to survive. The scientists are not afraid of end of days but of the wacko religious nuts who will bring it on.

Wow, you're out there all right...so negative...how do you sleep?

I see that you are an educated person and that you consider yourself important and sane yet,you know nothing and understand even less and your anger is far from sane.

If you want your world to end, so be it. If you want to live in hate and fear, go ahead. There is nothing anybody can do to stop you.
You have the right to live and believe what ever you want to.
The problem facing the world is that so many people have chosen to believe it is a bad, hateful, hurtful place, it has become one. So many people on both ends of the spectrum believe that the world will end, it is becoming a self fulfilling prophecy.

the only thing I can say to you that might help, if you truly hear it is....you have to look with better eyes, think with better thoughts, and love with a larger heart. If you can do this, your life will get better. If enough of us do this, the world will get better.
It doesn't have to end and it can change, if WE want it too.

I think you came here to argue with Christians because you blame them for all your fear and anger. You found me, a person who believes in God's Amazing Grace. I have no argument for you, sorry. I feel bad for you. I would like to help you.Would you like help or are you happy with the anger and the fear?

What is the role of christian leadership in today's political climate Sandy? What SHOULD they be doing?

Dawn

Again my sanity is questioned. The Christians should stay the hell out of politics. Period End!! Yes. I am angry. I stand for nothing other than individual freedoms. I've been here long enough.....

Its better that having islamic 'extremests' ruling a contry. Look at aghganastan, iraq, turky, saudi arabia, and look how nice and peaceful they are. Now lets look at the contrast in the vatican. Tell me when was the last time the catholic church was in a war? About 500 years ago. There is no such thiing as an islamic extremest because there simply acting apon the basis of which they were taught. If a teacher asks his students what 1+1 was and one student raised his hand and said that it equaled 2 whould that make him a good student or an extremest? Here is a poll from the washington post... it is quite convincing...

Nearly half of Muslims in Lebanon and Jordan, and 56% in Morocco, say suicide bombings against Americans and other Westerners in Iraq are justifiable.

Anti-Jewish sentiment is endemic in the Muslim world. In Lebanon, all Muslims and 99% of Christians say they have a very unfavorable view of Jews. Similarly, 99% of Jordanians have a very unfavorable view of Jews. Large majorities of Moroccans, Indonesians, Pakistanis and six-in-ten Turks also view Jews unfavorably. . . . 76% of Indonesians, 74% of Pakistanis, and 60% of Turks have an unfavorable opinion of Jews.

Only in Jordan does a large majority (75%) say that some religions are more violence prone than others, with 98% of those holding this view pointing to Judaism as most violent.

In Pakistan, . . . a narrow majority (51%) places some measure of confidence in bin Laden, a slight increase from 45% in 2003. And in Jordan, support for the Al Qaeda leader has risen over the last two years from 55% to a current 60%, including 25% who say they have a lot of confidence in him.

Religion of peace?

Keeping the line clearly drawn that separates Church and State.

To keep the candle of Replacement Theology burning.