I will take your advice.

But also – I do try – I don’t always succeed, I do have my biases but I like the idea of transparency. I know there are a few people who don’t read or comment anymore because they don’t like how I respond – but I do that at other blogs too. It’s understandable.

Anyway – thank you. I appreciate the respectfulness of your tone, most of all.

Re: Well, Theresa – you believe that “no matter what our faith is, our purpose on this earth is to serve God and serve each other.” But not even everyone who believes in God believes that our purpose on this earth is to serve God and each other. And certainly people who do not believe in God may not feel that way.

Jill,

Perhaps so, but it is the truth-whether people believe it or not. It has been so since the beginning, and it will be so in the end. Whether people believe it or not.

Best Regards-Theresa

The only time a candidate’s religion should concern us is when we are looking at the candidate’s worldview. Our religion or lack thereof informs our worldview and certainly is part of our decision making process.

My concern is when religious ideology is so firmly entrenched in a political leader that they can not make decisions that run contrary to their religious ideology. ie. Palin belongs to a Church that believes in American becoming a theocracy. God rule. That should concern every American. Can she act contrary to her religious beliefs. She MUST if she is going to represent all Americans.

God rule requires fidelity to that God’s book. DO we want an America that is governed by the 66 books of the Bible? I am a Christian and I sure don’t want that kind of state. It is dangerous and it will end up as every theocracy has ended up…….in persecuting and killing all who oppose God rule.(Afghanistan is case in point)

Bruce

Thanks for writing back. I have been reading your website for over a year. The world is very fortunate that there are people that care as much as you do about its’ welfare. Although I don’t agree with all that you write, I respect the amount of honesty and research you put into your positions and I think you give people, including me, real food for thought.

Whether you would ever vote for Palin doesn’t really matter. I can’t imagine you and she would agree on too much, so I wouldn’t expect you to vote for her. In the long run, whether Palin runs in 2012 isn’t all that important anyway. But the issue of what role faith plays in our lives and in our country-now that’s important.

I do understand about your concerns about the separation of church and state. I don’t always agree, but I do understand and it is a concern for many. And I think that for those who have been as persecuted for their faith as the Jewish people have been-this concern is especially understandable.

I think where the problem comes in on this subject is not that we may see the answers differently, but that too often both sides accuse each other of having selfish and “bad” reasons for their opinions.

For example, I can’t tell you how many times I have seen people viciously attack someone who says we ought to be able to display the Ten Commandments at a Court House. Agree or disagree, that doesn’t necessarily make that person a “tyrant”, a “dictator”… Nor does it mean they want to “convert” someone.

On the other side however, just because someone does not want it to be displayed, doesn’t mean they “hate” God or that they “hate” those of Christian faith. And yet how many times have we seen those who want the Ten Commandments removed from court houses attacked as being “anti-God” or “anti- American”?

Our country needs to find a way to discuss these issues and at the same time recognize that both sides often have good and valid reasons for their opinions, and that many on both sides of this debate love our country and care about each other.

Thanks again for doing this website. I read it several times a week and I always learn something of value.

Best Regards,

Theresa Fleming

Re: “But I reject Teresa’s assertions that Palin her co-religionists are the only ones who “truly believe in Him.” As opposed what? The rest of us who only think we believe in God? As as I’m concerned, in her personal life Palin is welcome to “simply follow her faith, and seek His will for her life.”

Response: First of all, I never said “only us”. I said those who truly believe in God will seek His will and will want to serve Him in every area of their lives. And that goes for those of both Christian and Jewish faith. Think of some of the people in the Torah: Abraham, Moses, Isaiah, Ezekiel, Daniel…They didn’t serve God part time. It was their purpose. Should Moses have said, “sorry God, leading those people to freedom is too political, can’t do it. “? And in the Torah, did not God send the Jewish people into battle? And when they listened to God, were they not victorious?

And how about the celebration of Chanukah, which I think is an amazing example of faith in action. As the story has been told to me, about 2,200 years ago one of the Greco-Syrian King’s Antiochus Epiphanes, forbade the Jewish people from “praying to their God, practicing their customs and studying their Torah”. One day, Judah Maccabee and his four brothers decided to form a group of resistance fighters. A small group of incredibly brave men who had a faith
in God that was bigger than all the Greco-Syrian armies combined, the Maccabee’s were determined to serve God. And although the odds seemed overwhelmingly against them, through sheer guts, determination and an unwavering faith in God, they fought for and successfully reclaimed the Holy Temple in Jerusalem. When they arrived at the Temple, there was only enough purified oil to light a lamp for one night, but through God’s miraculous grace, the lamp stayed lit for 8 days. And the Holy Temple once again became a place where God was worshiped and honored. And in a time when so many of us struggle to have faith in God and to believe in the power of His miraculous grace, I am grateful to be able to learn from the courageous example of these brave and faithful men.

However, what if the Maccabees lived in the world today? Would they be seen as “too political”. Would they be considered heroes, or would they be attacked and despised? What would the media write about them? And if the world cried out against them and said they were too political and that they had no right to assume God wanted them to retake the Temple, should they have given up and gone home? Or should they have gone ahead because they felt that it was God’s will for them?

Without a doubt, even those who sincerely seek God’s will for their lives will make mistakes. But the idea of seeking God’s will in all things-that’s our purpose. And it should concern us all and we ought to be able to talk about that without attacking one another.

It is a very difficult thing, trying to determine God’s will for our lives. And as one writer above said, we can do our best and we can “think” we’re on the right track, but in most cases we will probably not know until we meet God ourselves. But that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t try. Because no matter what our faith is, our purpose on this earth is to serve God and serve each other.

I don’t know – after reading all these comments, maybe Palin would say she’s hoping to see the open door to breaking the glass ceiling.

I just have never heard anyone who seeks to break the glass ceiling say it in that way.

And – yes – I find Palin’s continuous interjection of Christian faith off-putting – but I feel that way about many, many politicians and I have written about that before (including Ted Strickland and Obama). I just really like my church and state separate.

But that’s another topic.

Thanks for reading and commenting.

“I think people should open up their own world view a little to realize that there are a lot of people that think like Gov. Palin out there and that she energized millions of people. I get so tired of the elite (be they men or women) use their definition of feminism to judge.”

That was really nice of you. And you are right, there should be room for all of our views, without anyone having to be the “bad guy”.