Separation of Church and State

… it’s not just a good idea, it’s the law of the land.

Why supposedly intelligent people insist on attempting to mix politiics and religion is beyond me.  It always ends badly for someone.

Evangelist accuses Obama of ‘distorting’ Bible

(CNN) — A top U.S. evangelical leader is accusing Sen. Barack Obama of deliberately distorting the Bible and taking a “fruitcake interpretation” of the U.S. Constitution.

In comments to be aired on his radio show Tuesday, Focus on the Family founder James Dobson criticizes the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee for comments he made in a June 2006 speech to the liberal Christian group Call to Renewal.
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In the comments to be aired Tuesday, Dobson said Obama should not be referencing antiquated dietary codes and passages from the Old Testament that are no longer relevant to the teachings of the New Testament.

“I think he’s deliberately distorting the traditional understanding of the Bible to fit his own world view, his own confused theology,” Dobson said, adding that Obama is “dragging biblical understanding through the gutter.”
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Dobson also takes aim at Obama for suggesting in the speech that those motivated by religion should attempt to appeal to broader segments of the population by not just framing their arguments around religious precepts.

“Democracy demands that the religiously motivated translate their concerns into universal rather than religion-specific values,” Obama said. “It requires their proposals be subject to argument and amenable to reason.”

Dobson said the suggestion is an attempt to lead by the “lowest common denominator of morality.”

According to Wikipedia there are over 50 modern English translations of the Bible, so expecting any agreement on what is says is approaching the absurd, which is why it should not be used in politics – it doesn’t add clarity, it adds confusion.

I happen to agree with a rabbi who spoke on this about 2 millennia ago: “Render therefore unto Caesar the things which are Caesar’s; and unto God the things that are God’s.”