We here at Rancho LawDog are somewhat irritated — but by no means surprised — to discover that President Obama has decided to utilize sermons and the altar to give his badly damaged healthcare plan a moral boost.
On the morning of Wednesday the 19th of August, in a call conveniently left off of the White House schedule, President Obama asked about a thousand Jewish rabbis — currently preparing the sermons and messages for the High Holy Days — to include an appeal for universal health care in their homilies from the altar during this most holy of times.
This call to the rabbis — intended to be off-the-record — was Twittered by several of the attending rabbis.
Goodness.
I have to wonder — as I sit here contemplating Thomas Jefferson’s Separation of Church and State — how some folks would have reacted had other (previous) Presidents attempted to use the sermon, the pulpit, and Sunday morning church service to push their political agendas.
Especially if these other Presidents had arranged for secret, off-the-record, sub rosa phone meetings to convince religious leaders to work political goals into the preaching, lecturing, proselytizing and Religious Text Of Your Choice-banging.
I’d like to think that those Certain People who would have absolutely lost their minds in an Internet apoplectic fit had prior Presidents attempted to do this thing, would have the same reaction now that our current President has done it.
I’d like to think that, I really would — but I won’t be holding my breath.
LawDog
23 thoughts on “Ever dance with the devil in the pale moonlight?”
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This is a man who never saw a line in the Constitution he wouldn't HOPE to CHANGE.
This is a man who would like to see our Constitution rewritten to model one use by a certain, very large republic which stretched from East Germany to the Japanese Sea.
Pops
Odd. I recall reading that the IRS may revoke the tax-exempt status of any religious institution daring to use their sermons to trespass into the realm of the political. How hypocritical to attempt to have it the other way once the "progressives" are in power…
http://articles.latimes.com/2005/nov/07/local/me-allsaints7
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB120511457633523621.html
http://www.wnd.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.printable&pageId=67620
Here's one Obama supporter who is writing the White House with strong disapproval over this. Thanks for the heads-up on this one.
Nothing new here. Black preachers have been using their churches as places to shill for dimocraps for years. And the irs has turned a blind eye to it.
Oh, joy! What an opportunity!
This here (retired) pastor is going to volunteer to preach for his brothers and sisters in the cloth for the next few weeks. I have the text all worked out.
"Brothers and sisters in Christ, President Obama wants us, as ministers, to shill for socialized health care. Allow me to assure you, after such a policy is instituted, Biblical prophecy will be realized in our time – specifically, Genesis 27:11. All you sisters will be converted into hairy men, and all you brothers into smooth men!"
😉
Word verification: WHOOK. Must be short for 'Whookie' – goes with the hair bit!
Hypocrisy, thy name is politics. (I'm sick of this kind of stuff from all of the parties.)
PopsPhotos-
This isn't a man, this is a monster.
LM
Oh, of course this is wrong. I mean, a Conservative Republican would *never* use religion to push his agenda. That would be such a heavy violation of the first amendment, it would probably get him impeached! But when a Obama does it, oh no, it's just him being true to his culture as an African-American in the US…
To make the whole thing even more surreal, the hold music while they were waiting for The One…"Deutchland Uber Alles"
To be fair, the company that did the actual technical setting up of the call picked the music, not anyone associated with the White House…
Exactly which Republican and in what specific instance was the rite of religion used?
Pay attention to the semantics when answering.
Somehow, I think the MSM will manage to miss this. And I hope the rabbis were not cooperative.
I especially dislike that he tried to slip it in "under the radar" by leaving it off the schedule.
Some part of me would not be surprised if he sent an e-mail to Bishop Jefferts-Schori and I suddenly had to listen–again–to my priest speaking of Obama during the sermon. It will be interesting to hear what they've got to say the next few Sundays.
Sabra, If I might suggest:
Go to your minister and tell him you know how busy he is dooing all he has to do in limited time. Volunteer to take one painful task off his hands for him. You will handle reporting his preaching political action from the pulpit to the IRS, because "confession is good for the soul."
(Yes, I do have a bit of a twisted mind. 😀 )
Pops
Churches, synagogues, temples, mosques maintain their tax-free status by observing the separation of church and state.
Either Obama doesn't know this, or he is interpreting 'church' as 'Christian' and thinks synagogues are exempt.
So now you've done it.
My berserker heritage tends to come to the fore when religion interferes with politics and vice versa.
Have at you, varlet!
LawMom
As a Preacher myself I cannot and will not stand by while our POTUS attempts to use God to push his political agenda.
It is beyond deplorable, beyond sick, and any man of God who would pander to this nonsense should be stripped of any credentials they may have.
No true Bible believing Christian would stand for this in the House of God. Abomination.
sputter…… The nerve of the man. If this had been the prior administration, there would be howls for impeachment already.
One of our deacons in training (leader of my Monday night group in fact) is our bishop's health care advisor. Lord knows the current system is broke beyond belief.
But not seeing a huge government program as a good answer, thanxbi.
I am sure he will get a "pass" again from the media. If my church preaches it, I will stand up and walk out, using the center isle.
Where is the ACLU when this is going on? Trying to kick a manger scene off the courthouse lawn??
Oh. Right. Sorry.
As a former religio-phobic atheist (but not former atheist), I can testify that nearly all the same organizations that reacted with screaming frothing alarm to bush are *asleep* for Obama, no matter what he does. Those that aren't asleep are anesthetized and register only minor complaint when he does something they can't ignore.
And yes, I am deeply pissed about this.
You guys act like this is NEW? I can't POSSIBLY laugh any harder. Bush dragged God into politics all the time, he just didn't actually quote the bible. As has virtually every president since teh inception of Democracy in the United States of America.
Good thing you didn't hold your breath.
http://ars.userfriendly.org/cartoons/read.cgi?id=20090826&tid=3205634
George Bush is a genuinely Christian man. He "dragged God into politics" because he's a politician and because he's a Christian. He did not ask anyone to shill for him. He may not be admirable for many things, but he's certainly admirable in his faith.
I don't believe any of that applies to Obama.
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