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Yanking the teeth from the religious right

Follow Me on Twitter     Message Bob Johnson

Many voters put credence in what the religious right says because the religious right has cloaked itself in robes of Biblical respectability. In the back of many peoples' minds, they think Pat Robertson, Ralph Reed, John Hagee, ad nauseam and the religious right in general are doing God's will. The Bible Pat and his ilk use to mesmerize the well meaning masses with is the teeth of the religious right and its source of authority over its followers and its supporters. To render the religious right harmless, it's teeth must be pulled.

There couldn't be a better tool to take the teeth out of the religious/political fanatics' jaws than Deism. For Deism not only removes the teeth, and enables everyone to see the deadly mix of revealed religion and politics for what it is, but it replaces man-made religion with a natural spiritual belief composed of sound principles that transverse both spiritual and political needs. Deism shines the light of solid logic and reality on all "revealed" religions, and empowers those with the courage and honesty to look, to see the fanatics stand on nothing but myth. At the same time the oracle of reason, which is nurtured by the Deist worldview, takes hold to open the minds of all sincere, thinking people. It soon becomes evident that you can believe in God without believing in the Bible, Koran or any other manufactured book. With a populace of free thinking Deists, who not only are not afraid to use their reason, but who routinely exercise it, the religious charlatans and political prostitutes will be hard pressed to continue their selfish manipulations and deceptions. An ambiguous man-made book will no longer be their control mechanism over the minds and actions of individuals and their lives.

As a political action group, the religious right likes to intertwine their Biblical respectability with old fashioned Americanism as is evidenced by the Tea Party. They paint a picture of our Revolutionary War leaders as religious zealots, as they themselves are. Contrary to Pat Robertson and the religious right, America is not a Judeo-Christian nation, and it never was. It is true, many of America's founders were religious, however, none of their personal religious beliefs were permitted to permeate the law due mainly to people with vision, like Thomas Jefferson, who helped insure the separation of church and state. In fact, the U.S. Constitution does not mention God at all, and the Declaration of Independence mentions God, but makes absolutely no mention of religion. The name of Jesus Christ is nowhere to be found in either document, nor is there reference made to the Bible or to Christianity. Instead, Deism is reflected in the Declaration of Independence - that is God without religion.

It is important that no punches are pulled in objectively examining the Bible and openly and honestly reporting the facts. For too long the Bible and other "holy" books have been off limits to honest criticism. By not questioning the Bible people set a precedent in not questioning political dogmas as well. This has given an upper hand in both religion and politics to charlatans like Ralph Reed and Pat Robertson.

As sincere people in the religious right see the Bible has no divine authority, that its origins are found not in God but in the Roman Emperor Constantine they will turn from the ranks of the religious right. Each time a member of the religious right is reached with the facts about the Bible having ungodly origins as well as containing ungodly teachings and that it actually paints God as a jealous insecure mass-killer, a tooth from the jaws of the religious right is being yanked out! As religious right members develop independent thought they will demand real answers and real results not just from the clergy, but also from politicians. The sacred cows of the religious/political right will be openly questioned and culled. Real natural progress will then be on the horizon and within our grasp.

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Bob Johnson is a paralegal and a freelance writer in Florida. He was raised Roman Catholic, but after reading Thomas Paine's The Age of Reason, he became a Deist. In 1993 he founded the World Union of Deists and in 1996 he launched the first web (more...)
 
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