Wednesday, January 16, 2008

Walk Humbly, Mike Huckabee


"I believe it's a lot easier to change the Constitution than it would be to change the word of the living God. And that's what we need to do is to amend the Constitution so it's in God's standards rather than try to change God's standards so it lines with some contemporary view of how we treat each other and how we treat the family."



There are so many things wrong with this statement that I hardly know where to start. In case it somehow missed you, he's talking about constitutional amendments banning abortion and defining marriage.


I'll leave it to my friends at Americans United and the Interfaith Alliance to explain to Mr. Huckabee what the First Amendment means.


But, what I want to know is how Mr. Huckabee thinks he speaks for all Americans in his understandings of God's standards. Maybe Mr. Huckabee doesn't know that the Bible doesn't explicitly address abortion at all, and that religions (and people of faith) differ on the question of when human life begins. Maybe Mr. Huckabee doesn't know that the Bible doesn't speak to adult same sex committed consensual relationships as we understand them today.


Maybe Mr. Huckabee has forgotten that Jesus said that "Love your Neighbor as Yourself" is the second Great Comandment.


Maybe Mr. Huckabee has forgotten that no political party, no religion, no person has a monopoly on the right to seek the truth about God's wishes for us all (or the right to decide whether or not to believe in God at all.)


Perhaps Mr. Huckabee needs a reminder that the Bible teaches us to "walk humbly with your God."

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

His truth claims are the most troubling aspect. He basically says "I know what God's standards are, and it is appropriate for this knowledge to reshape America's foundational text." There is something disturbing about such certainty and such willingness to impose it upon others.

Dan

amy said...

In the same vein, this article, I think, is well-written: "A Plea to Evangelicals from an Evangelical." http://news.yahoo.com/s/usatoday/20080114/cm_usatoday/apleatoevangelicals8212fromanevangelical