Recently, Mike Huckabee talked on Fox about where God was during the Sandy Hook School shootings. He argues that it is because for 50 years society has "systematically removed" God from schools and public activities. He goes on to say that "we've escorted [God] right of of our culture and marched him off the public square and then are surprised when our culture reflects what we've become. We don't have to pass a new law, there is another one around that could be used, the 10 commandments.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kADRKaliTII
Ok, this video bothers me in a multitude of ways.
First, when is this idyllic time that he is speaking of? There is not any period in any time or place that I can think of where Christian values ruled society and there was peace throughout the land. Anyone?
There will always be crazy people, always be hateful people. The whole world will never be Mother Teresa. There are people who take extreme versions of Christianity. And they are reading from the same Bible as you.
You seem to be saying that the shootings occurred because there have been lawsuits of religious symbols in public places. Does that even make sense? No one is telling you not to be Christian. No one is telling you not to lead by example, live the Christian life, show everyone what it means to be a good person. By all means do. If you want to write about how Jesus is your favorite historical person, by all means do. No one is telling you not to sing Christmas Carols or go to church. How do you feel that your religious freedom is being persecuted?
But realize that not everyone is Christian and that is not a bad thing. Do you fear for their souls? Is that why you are so vocal? Is that what makes you so worried? There are Jews, Muslims, Hindus, Buddhists, Wiccans, etc. All of these religions teach you how to be a good person. Most of these religions say that killing is generally a bad thing. What about Jihad, you ask? In its most common form, greater jihad is an inner struggle to become a better person. Even lesser Jihad does not necessarily mean killing others. You can make extreme Islam in the same way that you can make extreme Christianity. Let's not forget the darker sides of Christianity. Crusades anyone? Christianity, by definition, excludes all non-Christians in its group. So you have the insiders and the outsiders. This is an uncompromising idea. There is a lot of animosity between Christians and non-Christians. With "I am right and you are wrong" ideas, these are prime zones for conflict. Outsiders are viewed oftentimes as scary, bad people. This is silly. Oftentimes, however, non-Christians are happy being on the outside. They don't mind Christians, or maybe they even like them and their traditions, as long as they don't have to hear long winded sermons on why they need to convert. This is maybe why non-Christians aren't really that happy with a giant manger in the middle of the town square. Why are your beliefs more important than theirs? This is where the idea of FREEDOM of religion comes from.
There is nothing wrong with the 10 commandments. I'm pretty sure that they ARE taught in schools. In world religion class, in history class, in ethics class. Most religions have good things to offer in terms of the basics... don't kill, don't steal, be a good person. That is a good thing. But you don't have to be a Christian in order to see the value of those ideas and implement them into your life. Students SHOULD study religion. All religions. Students should study philosophers. Plato, Aristotle, Socrates, Kant, Descartes, Thomas Aquinas, yes, Jesus. Critical thinking goes a long way. Maybe schools COULD do a better job with that. However, it doesn't mean that Christianity needs to become the official governing body of the US for which Huckabee seems to pine.
Atheists aren't evil moral-less people. As all religious people are different, all atheists are different. There are some atheists who consider themselves humanists, which follow many similar morals as Christianity. Also, there is a difference between religion and spirituality. Atheists need to be introspective just as much as religious people, and nature, meditation, reading philosophy, etc, can help them do that.
Also, what religion was Adam Lanza? How do you know that he was not brought up with these Christian values that you speak of? None of that information has been released. You don't know. Maybe he was brought up going to church. Not of the motives have been released yet, but if his was a sick kid, who is to say that religion would have been the saving factor? I'm pretty sure that there are a bunch of murders in jail who call themselves Christian.
You don't need to say that if Christian morals were a bigger part of society, this wouldn't have happened. Rather, all anyone ever needed to know they could learn in Kindergarden! Maybe we need to have a yearly kindergarden refresher course. Maybe that would help make the world a better place. Share, care about the feelings of others, don't hit, don't take things that aren't yours....
Soo.... I'm pretty sure that integrating Christianity more into official society would NOT have prevent this tragedy. So get off your soapbox. Stop trying to make Christianity the official religion/law of the US. You CAN be a good person and not believe in God. Stop trying to convert people and make real proposals.
Thank you for letting me rant.
