Comments on: The Christian Life and Character of the Civil Institutions of the United States

By: Pierce R. Butler

Pierce R. Butler — Thu, 01 Apr 2010 10:40:17 +0000

Highlighting irony in the 21st-century US right wing goes beyond shooting barrels stuffed with fish.It’s more like looking for pebbles in a stream bed – the art lies in spotting the prettiest ones and holding ’em up to the light. This un’s a nice specimen, but it was your finding and replicating the free copy that put the polish on it.

By: Greg Laden

Greg Laden — Thu, 01 Apr 2010 01:31:59 +0000

Pierce, good, but the iron I was going for was the one about the book having been published two centuries back.

By: Pierce R. Butler

Pierce R. Butler — Wed, 31 Mar 2010 22:20:09 +0000

Recently, the Right Wing of the United States discovered this book …For a fairly liberal value of “Recently” – the earliest offer (using the same ACLU debate blurb) found in my email archive dates from September ’07, sent by American Vision.Human Events claims TCLaCotCIotUS was “our best-selling book in 2007”, according to an ’08 email from them (otherwise devoted to Newt Gingrich pushing a coastal-oil-drilling plan that someBHOdy else seems to have adopted).

By: Medicine Woman

Medicine Woman — Wed, 31 Mar 2010 21:54:35 +0000

The only people who have the right to claim that a certain way of worship be respected on this land are the Native Americans. Everyone else is a visitor and should respect the Native Ways.

By: DuWayne

DuWayne — Wed, 31 Mar 2010 17:49:58 +0000

Wow Tom, you have gone on quite the little tirade there buddy. My paternal genetic line has a very long history here, as I am given to understand that I have French ancestors who decided they really liked it here after they helped the British colonists (you know, the ones who came from those British subjects who settled here to worship in the various ways they saw fit) win independence from their Brit overlords.I have paid some attention to the history of the British colonies that were settled here and more to the birth of the United States. It may just be your lack of coherence, but I get the impression you are conflating the settlement of the British colonies, with the birth of our nation. Please be advised, these were two separate events.

By: Stephanie Z

Stephanie Z — Wed, 31 Mar 2010 17:16:30 +0000

Actually, Tom, I think you’re completely incoherent. I have no idea what you’re trying to say. By the way, were your people part of the church that kicked people out of the colony of Massachutsets for being the wrong kind of baptist or the ones who had to leave?

By: Tom

Tom — Wed, 31 Mar 2010 16:04:44 +0000

This isn’t the only book out there that goes back to the Massachusettes Colony and the Pilgrims who came her to escape the Church of England and to Worship God the way He should be worshipped. However, I don’t expect any of the Leftouts to understand where we came from. Read and search and you will see. But I expect you to call me a right wingnut so be it. I am what I am and You are what You are. Weigh the facts before you throw things in anyones face.

By: Tom

Tom — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 20:05:26 +0000

TouchÃ©! Okay, I looked it up, and I may just be one of those sentient beings you are referring to…gotta love Google. And, uh, anywho, you cannot take away my guns, religion, and antipathy toward those who are not like me just because you know better words. There, take that! (Hold on a second, I have to catch my breath). The god, the one with the big G, is intent on revealing himself to sentient beings, at least, I suppose, those of the human order. I know, call me crazy, but I think very soon someone writing or reading here may become a believer in Jesus as the son of God. Sounds ridiculous, even as I write it. I mean, gosh, I went to college, even studied science for Peteâ??s sake, and I still find an irresistible urge to think there is an omnipotent creator who designed, among other things, the genome of living creaturesâ?¦or at least the mechanism of replication.Well, Iâ??ve got to go. My brain is all tired and full for the day. All this thinking is doing me inâ?¦whew! Hard work, refuting you people. It is a dirty job. Somebody call Mike Roe.Anyway FOX News is about to startâ?¦catch you later.

By: Greg Laden

Greg Laden — Sun, 22 Mar 2009 13:48:10 +0000

aratina: well said.

By: aratina

aratina — Sun, 22 Mar 2009 13:41:40 +0000

It amuses me that so many develop a delusion that the presuppositions and methods of our endeavors are solidly grounded on absolute and irrefutable ideas…so much so that we are now able to state without equivocation that there is no God and no universal moral truth. How refreshing and productive. Hope that works out well for you.

While you are waiting for the next breath of hot air from your favorite deity to hit your sails, Tom, you might want to consider replacing the word “God” with “fairy.” The delusion is all yours. Now, as to there being or not being a universal morality, there actually could be a universal morality based on shared life experiences of sentient beings that we can currently observe here on Earth such as pain, hunger, jealousy, love, etc. That is, universal morality could be an emergent property of the facts of life, but that doesn’t mean it is impossible to diverge from it on a whim.