Yesterday I attended a College Democrats forum called "Faith in Politics". It was really great for me personally as I've often struggled with the conflict between being a Christian and being a liberal, especially in social policies. Not only did this discussion panel help me with that struggle, but it offered positive advice about using faith in politics without pushing the envelope of separation of church and state. They pointed out an important distinction between the way religion has been used by the conservative Right and the way it's being used by Barack Obama's campaign. For many conservatives, religion is used to divide the parties, on issues such as abortion, gay marriage, etc. In Barack Obama's campaign faith is used to unite people within common moral values and beliefs such as ending poverty, equality of man, etc. Liberals are so often associated with sinners and it's such a relief to have met so many intelligent, politically engaged, progressive followers of Christ. I was even more proud to see our Kentucky State Treasurer Jonathon Miller, an active member in the Jewish community, was on the panel to discuss his book "Compassionate Communities" and how faith can be used to unite rather than divide the parties. I've always felt that if Jesus were here today, he'd be a liberal...and after yesterday's event, I'm glad to know so many other people think so too.
MM
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2 comments:
I really appreciate this because I,also struggle with the same thing (although, I do not really consider myself a liberal--I'm more of a moderate) especially as a future social worker, in which I will have to separate my personal views from my profession's ethical standards. Perhaps you can bring your information and experience from this forum back to WKU in a similar way.
I completely agree with your post. Raised in a strong Republican household I thought that in order to keep my Christian values I had to vote Republican myself. However, Barack Obama is to be respected as a candidate and a Christian for his views and plans for our country. My favorite quote he has used is when he was being attacked for his views on abortion...he mentioned how he doesn't take one scripture from Romans more dearly than the sermon from the Mount.
I simply love Barack Obama, and will continue to keep my vote and prayers on his race for President.
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