There is a
terrific guest editorial in the local fishwrap that I urge people to go have a look at. Though tempted to copy it wholecloth I'll just clip this tasty bit:
Recently Bush said, "It is fitting that we have a National Prayer Breakfast. It is the right thing to do, because this is a nation of prayer. I know, from firsthand knowledge, that this is a nation of prayer." But Jesus said, "Don't pray like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners, that they may be seen. ... But pray in secret, shut your door and be private."
More below...
I think author Algie Abrams has done a great job with this piece. Contrary to (she's a m)Ann Coulter's crazy blathering, Democrats are not godless. And I say this not because some Democrats have a vague sense of the numinous or practice roll-your-own spirituality (not that there's anything wrong with that). They are card-carrying members of mainstream Christian churches -- in fact droves of them are!
So there is no reason to shy away from referring to religious texts to hoist Bible-quoting Republicans on their own scriptural petards. A Biblically-literate critique of right-wing rhetoric is effective on multiple levels. Firstly it defuses rhetoric like Coulter's that suggests the GOP is God's party (and therefore Democrats must belong to...the other guy). Secondly, it reaches an audience long left out of serious conversations by Democrats: moderate and liberal Christians.
The meme that must be pushed is the notion of Republican theocrats as modern-day Pharisees...the religious leaders with whom Jesus clashes repeatedly in the Gospels. These victim-blaming, elitist hypocrites were known for following the word, but not the spirit of Mosaic scripture. This is a perfect analog to the manner in which mean-spirited, racist, poor-hating Republicans quote the Gospel to help them enact policies Jesus would abhor.
Way to go, guest-columnist Algie Abrams!