Nun Sense

[Fenian_Bastard]

NOW, we'll get some action.
http://www.journalnow.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=WSJ%2FMGArticle%2FWSJ_BasicArticle&c=MGArticle&cid=1173352587402&path=!living&s=1037645509005


Give me your hands, Richard. You, too, George. Palms down.

 

[alleyallen]

I imagine there will be many people who overlook the message and focus solely on why these nuns are getting involved in politics.

 

[JR]

I imagine there will be many people who overlook the message and focus solely on why these nuns are getting involved in politics.

They're liberal nuns.

 

[Mystery_Meat]

Forgive me for what on the surface appears to be rabble-rousing, but I'd rather introduce this point politely than let someone else do it bluntly and have the entire thing turn into full-fledged bollocks.

But wouldn't there be (and hasn't there been) a cry of "separation of church and state!" should a conservative group make a similarly provocative statement? Not that I disagree with their right to express themselves, but I also think that Pat Robertson has the right to do likewise, even though in both cases I'm likely to disagree.

 

[HejiraHenry]

I can always count on Fenian to fill in the gaps between the MSM and the out-and-out fruitcakes at Democracy Now. It's useful in its way.

 

[Fenian_Bastard]

I can always count on Fenian to fill in the gaps between the MSM and the out-and-out fruitcakes at Democracy Now. It's useful in its way.

Yes, Amy Goodman, who got shot at in East Timor while covering the US-encouraged genocide there is a "fruitcake." Lovely.
As to the church-and-state thing, it's a non-issue. Any religious figure can speak on any issue of public policy. (Their opinions, absent expertise in the area, ought to carry no more or less weight than anyone else's, but that's another argument.) They cannot, however, enact those religiously based opinions through the vehicle of secular government.

 

[JR]

Yeah, like this is the first time religious figures have spoken out.

 

[Mystery_Meat]

I can always count on Fenian to fill in the gaps between the MSM and the out-and-out fruitcakes at Democracy Now. It's useful in its way.

Yes, Amy Goodman, who got shot at in East Timor while covering the US-encouraged genocide there is a "fruitcake." Lovely.
As to the church-and-state thing, it's a non-issue. Any religious figure can speak on any issue of public policy. (Their opinions, absent expertise in the area, ought to carry no more or less weight than anyone else's, but that's another argument.) They cannot, however, enact those religiously based opinions through the vehicle of secular government.

But when, say, Robertson or Ted Haggard or some other big name in the Christian conservative movement speaks out, there's this fear (at least on the board that I've seen) that they're trying to take over the government. Sure, they're trying to shape policy through their own beliefs, but that's what these nuns are doing as well.

 

[PeteyPirate]

Ted Haggard has made his beliefs known on a wide variety of issues. You could say he has a wide political stance.

 

[Mystery_Meat]

Ted Haggard has made his beliefs known on a wide variety of issues. You could say he has a wide political stance.

Bad example, but I was trying to think of one of those Colorado Springs-based movers and shakers.

 

[zeke12]

Ted Haggard vehemently denies that he's either a mover or a shaker.

 

[Fenian_Bastard]

I can always count on Fenian to fill in the gaps between the MSM and the out-and-out fruitcakes at Democracy Now. It's useful in its way.

Yes, Amy Goodman, who got shot at in East Timor while covering the US-encouraged genocide there is a "fruitcake." Lovely.
As to the church-and-state thing, it's a non-issue. Any religious figure can speak on any issue of public policy. (Their opinions, absent expertise in the area, ought to carry no more or less weight than anyone else's, but that's another argument.) They cannot, however, enact those religiously based opinions through the vehicle of secular government.

But when, say, Robertson or Ted Haggard or some other big name in the Christian conservative movement speaks out, there's this fear (at least on the board that I've seen) that they're trying to take over the government. Sure, they're trying to shape policy through their own beliefs, but that's what these nuns are doing as well.

Well, if you read the Dominionist literature -- or, for that matter, the mission statement of places like Regent University or BJU -- that's exactly what they're training their students to do. (And there are a lot of grads in this administration putting theory into practice.) I'm not seeing that same program from these nuns.