On Religion and Politics

I know a lot of libertarian-style-conservatives who get nervous at the mention of religion. A ThreeSources author even comes to mind...

I see a connection between faith and much that I admire. Freedom, patriotism and self-sufficiency seem to come naturally to many of those who are tethered to the world by a spiritual bond.

I've long been impressed by the piety of the founders of this nation, whom I revere. Jay and Adams are extremely religious; Washington and Jefferson may be less so, but they are a far cry from atheists.

I'm not a churchgoer myself, but as a political hack, I see a natural coalition among freedom lovers, devout Christians, and committed Jews. I give President Bush a lot of credit for opening a connection to the historically Democratic group: an evangelical Christian who has been a firm and fulsome defender of Israel.

What has me opening this bleeding wound on ThreeSources? A very thoughtful post by Attila on Pillage Idiot caught my imagination today. He defends Ryan Church of the Washington Nationals, even after the outfielder said some, like, kinda insensitive things about, like, Judaism.

Many Christians believe as part of their religious doctrine that acceptance of Jesus is necessary for salvation. Pardon me if I disagree with them. I'm a very committed Jew; I don't believe that Jesus is the Messiah; and I have no expectation of ending up in Hell, if such a place should exist. Yet, and this is very important, it's totally out of line to tell these Christians that their views are based on hatred. They are not. They are based on faith and love.

Jews in America need not be so fearful of believing Christians. We are not in medieval or pre-modern Europe, where "the Jews killed Jesus" was incitement to murder. We are in the United States, where most Christians who believe we are "doomed" will figure it's just our dumb choice, and the absolute worst that will happen is that some of them will try to convert us. So what? The correct answer of an American Jew to a proposal to convert is a polite but firm "No, thank you."

Attila, and JohnGalt, and AlexC and I all share a love of liberty and belief in democracy that transcends our Jewish, atheist, Catholic and squishy-agnostic beliefs.

As a hack, I believe that politics is about addition and not subtraction and that coalitions are powerful. Personally, my Catholic upbringing and the friends I have had make me very comfortable with people of faith, and people of all faiths.

Three cheers for those, like Attila, who can bury the hatchet. As a famous felon once said, "Can't we all just get along?"

Philosophy Posted by jk at September 22, 2005 6:35 PM