Philosophy
Guestpost today from YKW:
There are few people I truly hate (politically) more than would-be demagogues like James Dobson. He?s the second coming of Henry Ford, minus the cars.
In the speech, Obama suggested that it would be impractical to govern based solely on the word of the Bible, noting that some passages suggest slavery is permissible and eating shellfish is disgraceful.
Dobson sticks his foot directly in his own mouth of course, and shows why the evangelical movement he heads is so offensive to so many, when he starts by saying that Obama shouldn?t be referring to antiquated dietary codes and passages from the Old Testament that are no longer ?relevant? to the teachings of the New Testament.
Hello? There are several million people, voters the last time I looked, who if they don?t actually follow the dietary codes of the Old Testament, at least give them a measure of respect in their daily lives. We?re called ?Jewish People.? If you read the Bible, James, you?d see us referred to as the ?Chosen People.? By God. Obama?s point is that running public policy by a Bible that few people follow or can even agree on is a bit unwieldy, and probably not the way we?re supposed to compromise in a democracy, to say the least. And Dobson up and proves it by offending all of the Old Testamentary Jews in one broad swoop.
- Hmmmm
So, how many houses will the Democratic VP pick have? Does Obama announce his pick today or let the eight house story run as far as it can? UPDATE: Note to blogosphere: mentioning that John McCain spends over a quarter of a million dollars a year on household...
- Corrupting The Youth, Sorta
Great story from Hanno: OK, so I teach a course on Political Philosophy, and in part of that course we read Marx's Communist Manifesto (not related to the Comedist Manifesto). And I have a student taking this course who happens to be a Christian,...
- My Apology To Santorum, Dobson, And Cornyn
I was wrong, they were right. In my post Countering the Slippery Slope Nonsense: Why Gay Marriage Doesn't Lead to Box Turtle Nuptials, I made light of the frightening possibility that opening the gates to gay marriage might lead down the slippery...
- Don Cuppit On Jesus As Philosopher
When thinking about the relationship between the Old and New Testaments one could argue, on the one hand, that Jesus represents a radical departure from, and rejection of, conventional Jewish doctrine; or, on the other hand, that the two Testaments are...
- John Dobson...sidewalk Astronomer...still Around At 98
Original Dobson Telescope John Dobson [Wikipedia] Dobsonian telescope [Wikipedia]...
Philosophy
Fruitcakes?
Guestpost today from YKW:
There are few people I truly hate (politically) more than would-be demagogues like James Dobson. He?s the second coming of Henry Ford, minus the cars.
(CNN) -- A top U.S. evangelical leader is accusing Sen. Barack Obama of deliberately distorting the Bible and taking a "fruitcake interpretation" of the U.S. Constitution.In comments to be aired on his radio show Tuesday, Focus on the Family founder James Dobson criticizes the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee for comments he made in a June 2006 speech to the liberal Christian group Call to Renewal.
In the speech, Obama suggested that it would be impractical to govern based solely on the word of the Bible, noting that some passages suggest slavery is permissible and eating shellfish is disgraceful.
Dobson sticks his foot directly in his own mouth of course, and shows why the evangelical movement he heads is so offensive to so many, when he starts by saying that Obama shouldn?t be referring to antiquated dietary codes and passages from the Old Testament that are no longer ?relevant? to the teachings of the New Testament.
Hello? There are several million people, voters the last time I looked, who if they don?t actually follow the dietary codes of the Old Testament, at least give them a measure of respect in their daily lives. We?re called ?Jewish People.? If you read the Bible, James, you?d see us referred to as the ?Chosen People.? By God. Obama?s point is that running public policy by a Bible that few people follow or can even agree on is a bit unwieldy, and probably not the way we?re supposed to compromise in a democracy, to say the least. And Dobson up and proves it by offending all of the Old Testamentary Jews in one broad swoop.
- Hmmmm
So, how many houses will the Democratic VP pick have? Does Obama announce his pick today or let the eight house story run as far as it can? UPDATE: Note to blogosphere: mentioning that John McCain spends over a quarter of a million dollars a year on household...
- Corrupting The Youth, Sorta
Great story from Hanno: OK, so I teach a course on Political Philosophy, and in part of that course we read Marx's Communist Manifesto (not related to the Comedist Manifesto). And I have a student taking this course who happens to be a Christian,...
- My Apology To Santorum, Dobson, And Cornyn
I was wrong, they were right. In my post Countering the Slippery Slope Nonsense: Why Gay Marriage Doesn't Lead to Box Turtle Nuptials, I made light of the frightening possibility that opening the gates to gay marriage might lead down the slippery...
- Don Cuppit On Jesus As Philosopher
When thinking about the relationship between the Old and New Testaments one could argue, on the one hand, that Jesus represents a radical departure from, and rejection of, conventional Jewish doctrine; or, on the other hand, that the two Testaments are...
- John Dobson...sidewalk Astronomer...still Around At 98
Original Dobson Telescope John Dobson [Wikipedia] Dobsonian telescope [Wikipedia]...