God is Dead. Remember those headlines back in the 60's? The heretical concept spawned books, movies, rock music, and the ubiquitous bumper stickers. It even made the cover of Time Magazine.
Clearly, God did not die. He (She?) simply went into politics. On a recent news day, The Philadelphia Inquirer had no less than seven stories in the front section alone which involved the intermarriage of religion and politics in local, national, and international issues.
For true believers in the separation of church and state, there was something to offend everyone. Religitics . The joining of religion and politics. You can find it right in The Silent Majority dictionary.
It comes as a surprise to no one that President Bush panders to the religious right. People of Faith, as they call themselves (as if all others are either not people or lack faith). In his latest attempt to mobilize the Christian soldiers, his committee sent tens of thousands of emails to congregations around the country asking them to distribute campaign information and register voters.
Beware where you place your faith, people. The former head of the Federal Elections Commission pointed out that the IRS has revoked the tax-free status of churches for participating in political activity. And the ethics commission of the Southern Baptist Convention warned pastors to avoid this religical ploy.
Religious conservatives suffered two other setbacks on the same day. In Oregon, the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the state's assisted-suicide law, allowing doctors to prescribe lethal drugs to terminally ill patients. Religical Attorney General John Ashcroft, and right-to-life groups, had argued that life is a "gift from the Lord", and assisting in the death of another invites eternal damnation and divine retribution against all of society.
My memory sometimes fails me, but I just don't recall the phrases "eternal damnation" and "divine retribution" in any law books. No matter how you feel about suicide, it is wrong to use secular laws to enforce religious beliefs.
There are many individuals whose life decisions are not necessarily based on religion, especially on someone else's religion. In states where suicide is legal, assisting that act should not be criminalized based on someone's opinion of how their God may feel about it. If, indeed, God does disapprove, there will be plenty of time to answer for it later on.
The other setback came in Congress, where 56 senators (so far), Democrats and Republicans, have signed a letter asking President Bush to end government restrictions on stem-cell research. They have joined 206 members of the House of Representatives, from both sides of the aisle, in seeking reinstatement of federal grants for work involving stem cells, which Bush ended in 2001.
Stem cells have been identified as the key to potential break-throughs in fighting diseases, but they can only be created by destroying human embryos. This places the research squarely in the cross-hairs of the same groups that oppose abortion. And the ban has been Bush's major concession to those people. Expect this religical hot potato to stay in the oven until after November 2 nd .
In our post-911 world, Muslims have come under increased scrutiny. An FBI probe into alleged corruption in Philadelphia city government (aren't you just shocked?) focused on a religical Muslim cleric who has emerged as the central figure. Let's see...Political probe. Religious leader. What in God's name might his defense be?
We got a preview when prosecutors also named the cleric's wife in a 28-count indictment involving misuse of state funds in an adult education program she ran. And, can you believe it? The wife played the religion card! She blamed the feds for trying to "bring this Muslim organization down". She claimed to be a religical victim, while practicing religitics herself. Sweet irony. No word on what God may have done with the missing money.
And speaking of Muslims and missing money, the U.S. and Saudi Arabia are shutting down a giant religical Islamic foundation which, they claim, has been funneling as much as $50 million annually to al-Qaeda and other militant organizations. Saudi oil money has long been suspected as a major factor in worldwide terrorism, but the recent deadly al-Qaeda attacks in that country have finally forced the government to crack down. Talk about biting the hand that feeds you.
Canada's Anglican Church showed that it can play religitics with the best. Faced with the prospect of a potentially devastating split over same-sex unions, the church did what any savvy political body would do - they sent the idea back to a committee. One that won't even report until 2006, with no vote until 2007. Not exactly bold leadership, but at least no one can accuse them of making a hasty decision.
And, finally, the headlines just wouldn't be complete without revisiting the Catholic Church sex scandals. Remember Cardinal Bernard Law, who resigned as archbishop of the Boston archdiocese amidst hundreds of lawsuits against him and his priests? Law has been the recipient of enormous forgiveness from the Vatican, as the Pope offered him an administrative job in Rome.
This does not sit well with everyone, especially after the church's shocking religical announcement that communion may not be offered to those individuals whose political views strayed from Papal edicts. Joseph Timlin of Philadelphia, a Catholic, had this excellent assessment:
"The appointment (of Law to the Vatican) gives the impression that the Pope is out of touch with those he serves. Thank the Lord, though, that the church will hold our public officials accountable by using the Eucharist as a political weapon."
God is alive and well. But thanks to some religical leaders, His good name is not.