How NOT to do it, Lesson 2

From Slate.com

Rule of Lord
The Republican plan to nullify the courts and establish Christian theocracy.

By William Saletan
Posted Monday, Nov. 21, 2011

Rick Santorum, Newt Gingrich, and Michele Bachmann.

Photograph by Robyn Beck/AFP/Getty Images.

Is the United States sliding toward theocracy? That’s what Republican presidential candidates have told us for more than a year. Radical Islam, they’ve argued, is on the verge of taking over our country through Sharia law. But this weekend, at an Iowa forum sparsely covered by the press, the candidates made clear that they don’t mind theocracy—in fact, they’d like to impose it—as long as it’s Christian.

You can find video of Saturday’s “Thanksgiving Family Forum” on the Web sites of two organizations that sponsored it: CitizenLink and the Family Leader. Here are highlights of the candidates’ remarks.
 

1. Religious Americans must fight back against nonbelievers. To quote Herman Cain:

"What we are seeing is a wider gap between people of faith and people of nonfaith. … Those of us that are people of faith and strong faith have allowed the nonfaith element to intimidate us into not fighting back. I believe we’ve been too passive. We have maybe pushed back, but as people of faith, we have not fought back."

2. The religious values we must fight for are Judeo-Christian. Rick Perry warned:

"Somebody’s values are going to decide what the Congress votes on or what the president of the United States is going to deal with. And the question is: Whose values? And let me tell you, it needs to be our values—values and virtues that this country was based upon in Judeo-Christian founding fathers."

3. Our laws and our national identity are Judeo-Christian. Michele Bachmann explained:

"American exceptionalism is grounded on the Judeo-Christian ethic, which is really based upon the 10 Commandments. The 10 Commandments were the foundation for our law. That’s what Blackstone said—the English jurist—and our founders looked to Blackstone for the foundation of our law. That’s our law."

4. No religion but Christianity will suffice. Perry declared,

“In every person’s heart, in every person’s soul, there is a hole that can only be filled by the Lord Jesus Christ.”

5. God created our government. Bachmann told the audience:

"I have a biblical worldview. And I think, going back to the Declaration of Independence, the fact that it’s God who created us—if He created us, He created government. And the government is on His shoulders, as the book of Isaiah says."

I won't include the full text of the rest, but I'll list the remaining talking points to entice you to look at the full article - if you thought the first 5 were cause for concern, wait 'til you read the rest !

6. U.S. law should follow God’s law.

7. Anything that’s immoral by religious standards should be outlawed.

8. The federal government should impose this morality on the states.

9. Congress should erase the judiciary’s power to review moral laws.

10. Courts that get in the way should be abolished.

11. The purge of judges should be based on public opinion.

12. Freedom means obeying morality. 

Read what these leaders had to say on these topics by clicking on the "Full Article" link below. The video of the event is also available. 


Full article:   http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/human_nature/2011/11/christian_theocracy_how_newt_gingrich_and_the_gop_would_abolish_courts_and_legislate_morality_.html

Understanding the common human drive

From The Sydney Morning Herald

Religion, ethics may be in new curriculum

By Barney Zwartz
November 21, 2011

Calling the shots ... Professor Barry McGaw. Photo: Eddie Jim

RELIGION and ethics taught from a secular perspective might be included in the new national curriculum, says Barry McGaw, the head of the board responsible for the curriculum.

Professor McGaw, the chairman of the Australian Curriculum Assessment and Reporting Authority, said religion and ethics would be included in a discussion paper early next year for the civics and citizenship course.

A Macquarie University PhD student, Cathy Byrne, told a forum hosted by the curriculum board in Sydney last week that the approach to religion and ethics in Australian schools was decades behind other leading developed nations.


She told the Herald that Sweden began compulsory core social science teaching on religion and ethics in 1962, while England began in 1988.

Canada introduced it in 2007 with no opt-out provision, a measure upheld by Canada's highest court, she said. When Ireland introduced planned changes next year, it would leave ''only Australia and New Zealand doing 19th-century religious education'', Ms Byrne said.


She said such courses taught the top five or six religions, humanism, nature, religion and indigenous spiritualities, and secular ideologies such as atheism.

 They were particularly valuable in helping children understand their pluralistic world, social inclusion, cohesion, stability and security. They helped children develop critical thinking and understand the search for purpose and meaning, as a common human - not just religious - drive.

Source:   http://www.smh.com.au/national/education/religion-ethics-may-be-in-new-curriculum-20111120-1npdz.html

Just change the name... she'll be right, mate !

Submitted by Ralph

From the  Secular Public Education Lobby

Why Julia Gillard's born-again NSCP is a shameful sham


Saturday, 19th November, 2011

Video narrated by Ron Williams