Bob Waters
This blog was never intended to be a political blog, but it can’t help but being one. So many social issues of my day are related to the battle of ideas between liberal thinkers and conservative thinkers. I don’t think I’m making a judgment one way or another with that statement, because I believe that many people who label themselves as liberals genuinely want to help their fellow citizen. Same goes for most conservatives. I’ve written several times about my opinion that so-called “American Evangelicals” are not solely responsible for the re-election of George Bush as President of the United States. See Who are we? ; Clues to who we are and More clues to who we are.
Bob Waters added a post today which interests me. He ties in an article about the misconceptions of the Democratic Party on who votes conservatively and an essay on why ecumenicalism is not practicing true faith. First, he links to an article written by Michael Lind in Prospect Magazine titled Red State Sneer. Lind writes:
“Many Democrats blame the unenlightened people of red-state America for John Kerry’s defeat. But most working-class Americans remain politically centrist and a rising number simply want to live in the fast-growing suburbs of middle America. Liberals should stop sneering at the people they aspire to lead.”
Then, Bob cleverly ties in this article to the article by Mollie Ziegler, “Interfaith Is No Faith: The Missouri Synod is right to reject ecumenicalism.” written back in July of 2002 and featured on Opinion Journal. Her essay begins,
You would think that the more militant forms of Islam would be enough to worry about these days, for those inclined to anguish over religious extremism. But no.
Apparently the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod deserves our special concern. In late June, the church suspended the Rev. David Benke, the president of its Atlantic District and the pastor of a Brooklyn church, for praying with clerics who don’t share the Christian faith.
Naturally, the suspension caused all hell to break loose. From the New York Times’ editors to FoxNews’s Bill O’Reilly, pundits and commentators chided the Lutherans for their intolerance. Mr. O’Reilly, not otherwise known for theological expertise, even accused the church of “not following Jesus.” A column in Newsday said Mr. Benke’s accusers were “advocating religious isolationism.”
But what exactly had the church done wrong? What if it had a point? Read on…
Bob ties the two together by saying, “Mollie Ziegler’s point is made by this (Lind’s) article on America’s political future, which parenthetically contains this remarkably accurate description of the idolatrous religion that was practiced at Yankee Stadium- and which- the First Amendment to the contrary, is in fact the established religion of the United States, as well as being our modern, red, white and blue Baal.”
Well done, Bob! Just when I think that this subject has been over-discussed at the end (so to speak) of this political season, I find more reason to keep plugging my point. In a way, neither the Democrats or Republicans fully understand who votes which way and why.
I have been read Bob Waters’ blog more and more lately. Bob describes his blog as “Notes on politics, religion, sports, culture and mores from a politically Center Right confessional Lutheran, blogging from just outside the Beltway.”
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