I’ll have a glass of Christian-lite with plenty of ice please
by digby
Ben Carson explains his religious intolerance on Facebook:
The first issue I want to deal with tonight is the stories today about my comments yesterday when I was asked if I would support a hypothetical Muslim candidate for President. I responded “I would not advocate for that” and I went on to say that many parts of Sharia Law are not compatible with the Constitution. I was immediately attacked by some of my Republican peers and nearly every Democrat alive. Know this, I meant exactly what I said. I could never support a candidate for President of the United States that was Muslim and had not renounced the central tenant of Islam: Sharia Law.
Those Republicans that take issue with my position are amazing. Under Islamic Law, homosexuals – men and women alike – must be killed. Women must be subservient. And people following other religions must be killed.
I know that there are many peaceful Muslims who do not adhere to these beliefs. But until these tenants are fully renounced…I cannot advocate any Muslim candidate for President.
Oh, I agree. But I also demand that Ben Carson and all Christians renounce the Christian fundamentalists like the Quiverfull movement which require hierarchy, authority and strict gender roles for men, women, boys and girls. You see, just as Carson’s campaign manager explained that he has no problem with Islam-lite I have no problem with “Christian-lite”, but I do want all the Christians to renounce this:
See, I don’t agree with that. And that’s just the beginning. Give me minute.
Oh, and Jews too. Start renouncing. There are tons of things some of your adherents believe with which I disagree.
Just don’t do it like this or someone might think this whole renouncing thing is BS.
This, nonsense, by the way, was exactly why the US Constitution specifically stipulates no establishment of religion and no religious tests for office. It really cannot be more clear. The reason is that powerful leaders and religious fanatics alike insisted that people renounce religious beliefs for centuries and a whole lot them ended up with their heads cut off. 500 years of bloody European history taught the Americans that separating politics from government was necessary for civilized nations to live in peace. Ben Carson seems to have skipped that day in history class.
Update: Here is a fascinating Think Progress post about Carson’s religious faith which is much more complex and interesting than I realized. If the conservative evangelicals were truly mostly concerned with theology rather than culture and politics, he probably wouldn’t be quite a popular with them as he is. But other than a few religious professionals, none of that is as important as the Christian Right affect — and I’d guess his comments about Muslims will reverberate among the regular folks very positively.
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