The Blogging Epic, Part Six: Why Does It Matter?

Continued from Part Five

To understand what all these posts are about see Part One

Now, as I continue to respond to Russ we move into more close quarter combat on the issue of why issues that matter to religious Conservatives matter.

Underlying this are three different issues. Most of the things, the left has achieved have been through an unconstitutional abuse of power in the federal courts. Now, if one concludes that the Constitution allows something, than it should be allowed regardless of the merits of the particular law. There are a lot of silly laws in our country, but being silly or outdated doesn’t make it unconstitutional. That’s why, even though I oppose drugs, I oppose federal drug laws or overturning state laws on medical marijuana. I may disagree with the policy, but its the right of the people to make their own laws.

The other point is one I addressed. If you believe God is a cancer that must be excised, a tumor that must be removed from our nation’s public life (and despite Russ’ denials, the facts speak for themselves) as if God is harmful to our nation, than by principle, I’m going to disagree with you.

Having said that, lets take these paragraphs one by one:

The Ten Commandments in courthouses? Why? The Ten Commandments aren’t laws. Cops can’t arrest me for not honoring my mother and father or having any other Gods before Him. Whether they are displayed or not doesn’t change our legal system one iota, for our laws are based on secualar, not religious, authority. What demonstrable harm can you show from not displaying the Ten Commandments?

What demonstatable harm can you show from DISPLAYING the Ten Commandments. 12 of the 13 Colonies approved the Ten Commandments verbetim into their code of laws. Our legal system is grounded in the Ten Commandments. Anyone who understand the history of common and our legal traditions understands that. If we forget who we’ve been and where we come from, how will we know where we’re going?

I know the presence of the Ten Commandments in a Courthouse is intimidating. How dare someone be so insensitive as to post, “Thou shalt not bear false witness” in a room filled everyday by lawyers. Still, its foundational to our law.

Keeping “Under God” in the Pledge of Allegiance? Why? Is an American Buddhist less less patriotic than a Christian? Can an atheist not show allegiance to country? If we don’t say “under God”, is He going to get angry and send a record number of hurricanes at us? (Whoops, bad hypothetical…) What terrible thing would happen if we didn’t say “under God”?

Same question as the last paragraph. What horrible thing do you think is going to happen if we don’t take it out? You’re giving no reason why it should be. As to your question, I won’t answer, I’ll leave that to George Washington:

Of all the dispositions and habits which lead to political prosperity, Religion and morality are indispensable supports. In vain would that man claim the tribute of Patriotism who should labour to subvert these great Pillars of human happiness, these firmest props of the duties of Men and citizens.

The mere Politician, equally with the pious man ought to respect and to cherish them. A volume could not trace all their connections with private and public felicity. Let it simply be asked where is the security for property, for reputation, for life, if the sense of religious obligation desert the oaths, which are the instruments of investigation in Courts of Justice? And let us with caution indulge the supposition that morality can be maintained without religion. Whatever may be conceded to the influence of refined education on minds of peculiar structure, reason and experience both forbid us to expect that National morality can prevail in exclusion of religious principle.

Is the Atheist or Buddhist less patriotic in general? I don’t think so. Many people who don’t believe in God still respect the traditions of the country they live in. There are people in this country who won’t stand for the national anthem. They won’t celebrate the 4th of July. They don’t think America is a good country. Are they unpatriotic?

Patriotism is defined as “Love of and devotion to one’s country.” So, maybe you could say that you guys are patriotic like Bizarro from the Superman Series is a good guy at heart. Just what he thinks is good will destroy those around him.

Fighting embryonic stem-cell research and abortion? Why? Name one American citizen that’s been harmed by either. Oh, I know, 40 million “murdered womb babies”, right? Ah, but fetuses are not American citizens. According to the Constitution, they have to have been BORN in America or naturalized to be a citizen (good thing, too, or any illegal immigrants who merely conceive on American soil would then be carrying an American citizen fetus, who’d be a citizen even if he were born back in Mexico).

The poet John Donne wrote, “any man’s death diminishes me, because I am involved in mankind.” Leaving said the unborn children, our friends at Real Choice daily tell the stories of women whose lives have been cut short by safe and legal abortion. In addition, millions of women carry scars and go through post-abortion syndrome with its physical and emotional side effects. Or are women who regret and have problems after their abortion not citizens?

In addition, the destruction of human life puts a callous on our soul. As a society, we’ve taken those who are most innocent, most fragile, and most vulnerable and destroyed them. There have been some ground-breaking stories on abortion and child abuse. What type of mother does what Amy Richards did and abort two of her three healthy triplets because she doesn’t want buy big jars of mayonaise? Or what kind of women gets an abortion so she can fit into a wedding dress.

It is the cheapening of human life. So, it is done so lightly and so easy. Its killing for convenience. And there’s a question as to why we care about it? It is a choice between remaining human or becoming ghouls. Its rotting our souls, in a similar way to slavery did. As Jefferson described it:

The whole commerce between master and slave is a perpetual exercise of the most boisterous passions, the most unremitting despotism on the one part, and degrading submission on the other. Our children see this and learn to imitate it; for man is an imitative animal. This quality is the germ of all education in him. From his cradle to his grave he is learning to do what he sees others do. If a parent could find no motive either in his philanthropy or his self-love for restraining the intemperance of passion towards his slave, it should always be a sufficient one that his child is present. But generally it is not sufficient. The parent storms, the child looks on, catches the lineaments of his wrath, puts on the same airs in the circle of smaller slaves, gives a loose rein to the worst of passions and thus nursed, educated and daily exercised in tyranny, can not but be stamped by it with odious peculiarities.

And like Jefferson I reflect “that God is just and his justice cannot sleep forever.”

Fighting gay marriage and gay rights? Why? What heterosexual’s rights or what straight marriage is negatively affected by allowing gay people the same rights?

The reason you support gay marriage is that we disagree on what government recognition of marriage is even about.

You believe government recognition of marriage is about equality and letting any group of consenting adults enter into any relationship they want.

I believe believe government recognition of marriage is honestly about preserving our society. The marriage-based two parent hetrosexual family is the foundation block of a sound society. It is utter folly to begin playing affirmative action games with it.

When marriage can mean anything, it means nothing at all. If marriage means three guys and a girl in a wedded bliss, or six guys, or an orgy, it really doesn’t mean anything at all. In fact, it just becomes a way to get a tax deduction.

Love may be part of marriage, but the state isn’t in the marriage because of love. I love my mother, I love my family. I’ve got good friends and that doesn’t need state recognition. Your personal relationships and emotional feelings don’t need the stamp of the state!

To understand what you’re saying, lets make a comparison to tax policy. Its tax deductible to make gifts to charitable organizations, even if you’re getting a Thank you present back. Lets say I decide, “Its discriminatory against people who don’t give charitably to deny them this tax deduction. People who go down to a local grocery store are funding their economy, so all purchases to grocery stores or places that employ people should be tax deductible.”

Am I being less discrimatory? Yes. But am I ignoring the reason for the tax deduction in the first place? Absolutely. In the name of non-discrimination, I’m eliminating the financial incentive for people to be charitable which is the whole purpose of that deduction.

The purpose of the state recognizing hetrosexual marriage is because hetrosexuals living together are going to have sex and sex may produce babies. Babies need healthy, stable homes which isn’t accomplished by mom shacking up with a new man every few months. Now, not every hetrosexual couple produces babies, but hetrosexual marriage ideally also produces monogamy which is very important to the stability of society.

A person whose not married is going to be more likely to get someone pregnant out of wedlock. In such a way, it harnesses sexual desire within the marriage bed and keeps it away from areas where it can lead to illegitimate children. Now, does it always work? No. No system’s perfect and marriage that involves human beings is one of those systems, but it works better than the alternative of free love and publicly accepted infidelity. Marriage in our society isn’t working the way it should because its been broken by a lot of things including loose divorce laws and the sexual revolution.

Whether Homosexuals are faithful or not, we honestly couldn’t care less. Indeed, there’s no evidence that gay marriage will lead to Monogamy. Homosexual author Dan Savage has said marriage doesn’t have to mean monogamy. In fact, according to one study those in “steady relationships” tended to have three times more sexual partners, thus increasing public health risk. Given that and that no one on the left seems to be able to draw a dividing line as to how far society will sink. (See this article from last year, and that pretty well sums up, why I oppose gay marriage.

But, what about Russ’ comments on Sweden and where our rights come from?

Don’t worry, I’ll tie up all the loose ends in part seven.

Part Seven.

Ten Commandments, Abortion, Gay Marriage