Michelle Bachmann freely admits that she has conversations with God. God tells her things. Rick Perry seems to allude to the same thing. George W. Bush also said he would speak to God and get messages in return. Now, I do understand the desire for many people to hold a personal belief in something intangible. Provided that their faith makes them better people (and that seems to be the case for the silent majority of the faithful) I have no issues with that.*
However, I do draw the line at candidates professing this level of devotion. This is mainly because history has shown us so many times how devotion to something that can’t be proven, can be used to manipulate people into perpetrating evil. But in the case of presidential candidates there is a much more fundamental reason for my outrage. And that goes back to a doctrine that was in place in Europe during the colonization of America- the doctrine of Divine Right.
For those that didn’t pay attention in high school, Divine Right is the notion that monarchs of countries were chosen by God, by sheer nature of their birth, to rule. They were told from a young age that they and they alone could talk directly to God since they were chosen by Him and therefore, the messages they would receive were divine. They had the same authority over life and death as God.
Most of the people who fled to the colonies did so to escape religious persecution. And the antithesis of this idea truly is the foundation of the Constitution.
When people like Michelle Bachmann or Rick Perry tout their “conversations” with God, they are employing a manipulative marketing technique to get people to vote for them. They’re not saying, “I talk to God the same way you do.” They’re saying, “I talk to God and He responds back to me.” In other words, God had chosen him/her to be His messenger and spokesperson.
That’s fine if they are a minister or a reverend. But as a political leader, it’s setting the stage for the next step of “you voted for me because God told you to, which means that God must have sent me. Therefore, I’m not stepping down just because I was voted out or my term is up.” Or worse, “God gave me the authority to execute anyone who disagrees with me.”
Now I’m not saying that Bachmann or Perry would take it this far, but if we as a people vote for them, then the marketing technique they are employing will have proven to work. The next thing we know, everyone will start using it. Sooner or later a despotic type of person will be able to fool the public with his/her religious rhetoric and get elected. That’s what we need to be on guard for, and as the old adage says, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. Personally, I like democracy and don't want to have to cure what we would have instead. Vote responsibly.
*When it comes to “conversations” with God, I am assuming that the person doing the “hearing” is actually feeling or thinking things and not really hearing a voice from outside their body. I think it's safe to say that anyone hearing voices is most likely mentally ill and probably wouldn't make the best presidential candidate.
However, I do draw the line at candidates professing this level of devotion. This is mainly because history has shown us so many times how devotion to something that can’t be proven, can be used to manipulate people into perpetrating evil. But in the case of presidential candidates there is a much more fundamental reason for my outrage. And that goes back to a doctrine that was in place in Europe during the colonization of America- the doctrine of Divine Right.
For those that didn’t pay attention in high school, Divine Right is the notion that monarchs of countries were chosen by God, by sheer nature of their birth, to rule. They were told from a young age that they and they alone could talk directly to God since they were chosen by Him and therefore, the messages they would receive were divine. They had the same authority over life and death as God.
Most of the people who fled to the colonies did so to escape religious persecution. And the antithesis of this idea truly is the foundation of the Constitution.
When people like Michelle Bachmann or Rick Perry tout their “conversations” with God, they are employing a manipulative marketing technique to get people to vote for them. They’re not saying, “I talk to God the same way you do.” They’re saying, “I talk to God and He responds back to me.” In other words, God had chosen him/her to be His messenger and spokesperson.
That’s fine if they are a minister or a reverend. But as a political leader, it’s setting the stage for the next step of “you voted for me because God told you to, which means that God must have sent me. Therefore, I’m not stepping down just because I was voted out or my term is up.” Or worse, “God gave me the authority to execute anyone who disagrees with me.”
Now I’m not saying that Bachmann or Perry would take it this far, but if we as a people vote for them, then the marketing technique they are employing will have proven to work. The next thing we know, everyone will start using it. Sooner or later a despotic type of person will be able to fool the public with his/her religious rhetoric and get elected. That’s what we need to be on guard for, and as the old adage says, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. Personally, I like democracy and don't want to have to cure what we would have instead. Vote responsibly.
*When it comes to “conversations” with God, I am assuming that the person doing the “hearing” is actually feeling or thinking things and not really hearing a voice from outside their body. I think it's safe to say that anyone hearing voices is most likely mentally ill and probably wouldn't make the best presidential candidate.
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