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The Fruits of Desire
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Ten Things Every Dad Should Tell His Son
Rick Perry: Is his faith the real deal?
There are a couple good reasons I am, for now, viewing born-again Christian and Texas Gov. Rick Perry with some trepidation. Nothing personal — just on painful experience.
One, the last time I voted for a politician who made his Christian faith a campaign plank was to help elect Jimmy Carter. History shows how well that turned out. (As in, it did not turn out well, at all). Then, of course, the choices (declared or potential) since have been . . . quizzica (and all self-proclaimed Christians): Sarah Palin, Rick Santorum, Herman Cain.
Oh, and let’s not forget, President Barack Obama also says he is a Christian, even a “born again” one.
Secondly, that massive, pre-presidential bid “prayer rally” in Texas that Perry presided over. I defended his right to do so, as the same right any Christian – even politicians! — have to proclaim their faith. He was careful to keep political commentary out of his prayer . . . and what’s wrong with asking people to pray for a nation with the problems we obviously have? We need it.
Still, the timing was suspect, to say the least. He may not have politicized the prayer event, but even if “coincidentally,” Perry’s mantle certainly took on the other-worldly glow of his being the evangelical Christian voter’s obvious choice. Or, I suspect, Perry’s campaign staff is doing nothing to counter such an anointing, as it were.
All that said, the recent brouhaha among my colleagues in the news media over Perry daring to say Creationism ought to be taught as an alternative idea alongside Evolution seems to ignore the fabricated, even cowardly antics of New Hampshire mother using her little boy as a political hand puppet.
Whatever my reservations about Perry, I have to applaud his handling of the manufactured “confrontation” over the Science vs. Faith battleground (a “battle,” by the way, I see as contrived and bogus; truth is truth, wherever it comes from . . . but more on that in another blog).
Though it was obviously the mom-with-an-agenda was feeding the kid questions he probably didn’t even understand, Perry answered, honestly. People may not like his answers, of course, but he answered, anyway. Take a look for yourself at this video clip.
One question I had in viewing this bit of theater- that-backfired was never answered: What do I care what a presidential candidate, or even a president-elect, thinks about the specifics of humankind’s origins? I want to know what he will do about our three wars, unemployment, immigration reform, health care, the record national debt and the environment.
OK, again: Earth how old are you?
Seems to me, the issue of where and how our species got here is, pardon the pun, evolving — both in the science, which changes frequently with new discoveries, and how people of faith find ways to embrace both truth . . . and Truth.
So, Perry’s response to the mom-kid-hand puppet ambush? Asked how old he thought the earth was, the Texan drawled out, “How old do I think the earth is? You know what, I don’t have any idea. I know it’s pretty old. So it goes back a long, long ways. I’m not sure … anybody actually knows completely and absolutely how old the earth is.”
That seems fair. After all, follow natural science’s estimates for Earth’s age over the past century, and researchers have gone from 20 million to 400 million to 1.6 billion to 3 billion and on to the latest estimate, 4.5 billion years old.
posted August 24, 2011 at 3:25 pm
Exactly.
posted August 24, 2011 at 3:19 pm
It is not so important what religion or how he/she may practice that religion, as it is how that person views their roll as leader of a nation and if they would try to isinuate that religion/worldview into their governance and laws put forth.
posted August 24, 2011 at 3:15 pm
Very good points.
posted August 24, 2011 at 3:14 pm
Nearly every president we’ve had has expressed religious belief to varying degrees, and as I pointed out, most of the presidents we’ve had in the past 50 years (well, all) identified themselves as Christians . . . and most of those as “born again” believers. Seems the Republic survived them all.
posted August 24, 2011 at 3:11 pm
I tend to look askance at nearly all who stick their faith out, as a ploy for votes. And that is exactly what I see, in many of the “conservative”, so called, candidates. Most of whom do not practice or truly support what they preach. “By their fruits….”
Science, as viewed by evolutionists, may have all the right answers and still draw the wrong conclusion. Because of a preassumed conclusion that they refuse to even attempt to question. Anyone who does question and ask for critical analysis is ridiculed and often turned out of academia, as a nut case. How sad that, in the very halls that so long espoused free thinking and open discussion, now restrict discussion and ostracize those who don’t toe the “party line”!
posted August 24, 2011 at 3:10 pm
Most Christians I know don’t accept the literal “six days” interpretation, and thus do not have a “belief” that the world is 6,000 years old. Just as science continues to “evolve” its estimate for the Earth’s age, they remain open on this. (After all, the word used from Hebrew for “day” can alternatively be interpreted as “age” and often is). Perry, or anyone else, saying simply that they don’t know is an honest answer. Taking the views of a small fraction of the world’s 2 billion Christians as representative of them all is about as “fair” as claiming all Muslims are violent jihadists. As for logic, GOP, you are resorting to the classic “Straw Man” fallacy here, using a superficially similar yet unequivalent proposition to make your point. No one falls into such easy stereotypes — believers, skeptics, scientists or any other hominid I could name.
posted August 24, 2011 at 2:39 pm
“I’m not sure … anybody actually knows completely and absolutely how old the earth is.”
That seems fair. After all, follow natural science’s estimates for Earth’s age over the past century, and researchers have gone from 20 million to 400 million to 1.6 billion to 3 billion and on to the latest estimate, 4.5 billion years old.”
No, it ISN’T “fair”. You ignore the religious ‘belief’ that the world is only 6,000 years old – which is DEMONSTRABLY untrue. Perry’s “answer” is a weasel answer.
A little logic, please.
posted August 24, 2011 at 2:36 pm
“What do I care what a presidential candidate, or even a president-elect, thinks about the specifics of humankind’s origins?”
You should care DEEPLY that a would-be POTUS believes in (as some call it) “the Sky Fairy”, and that thw country should be run based on that belief. If such a thing were to happen, it would run very close to (against) the Establishment Clause. THAT’S why. Not all citizens “believe” as Perry believes.
posted August 23, 2011 at 6:55 pm
Ah, but which of the corrections are the ultimate truth? This one? The one before? The one before that? The next one? Theories become guesswork when empirical data throws them into the dust bin. Consider quantum mechanics, for example. The equations work, but no one seems to know why they often run contrary to what, theoretically, we “know” about physics. There’s room for the Transcendent.
posted August 23, 2011 at 4:25 pm
That’s what is great about science – it corrects itself. As we learn more about the universe, science produces new theories (and the word “theory” in science does NOT mean just a guess) to explain the observations.