Constitutional Law, Politics, Religion, Society

Gingrich: You Cannot Trust Politicians Who Do Not Pray

Recently, I wrote a column in the Washington Post about the increasing use of faith as an issue in the 2012 presidential campaign. In the Western Republican Presidential Debate, the candidates appeared to double down on the use of politicized piety. Rick Santorum reaffirmed that a candidate’s faith was essential to his qualifications. Newt Gingrich, however, used the opportunity to again attack agnostics, atheists, and secularists – saying that you cannot trust any leader who does not pray.

Gingrich demonstrated vividly how leaders in this country and other countries have portrayed secularists and atheists as the new scourge and threat to world stability. Gingrich has just defended Romney and said that we should not attack people for how they pray or who they pray to. He then quickly took that uplifting message and turned it around to attack those who do not pray – or use religion to guide their policies. It was the perfect “don’t attack Mormons . . . attack secularists” moment.

In the debate (look around the 72 minute marker), Gingrich said religion was a “central part” of a candidate’s qualifications and then asked “how can you have judgment if you don’t have faith and how can I trust you with power if you don’t pray?”

The audience responded with rapturous applause to the attack.

In a speech in March, he promised to protect America from atheists, secularists and, incongruously, Muslims: “I am convinced that if we do not decisively win the struggle over the nature of America, [my grandchildren] will be in a secular atheist country, potentially one dominated by radical Islamists and with no understanding of what it once meant to be an American.”

Of course, terrorists pray. They just pray for the wrong thing and then kill people. Nevertheless, people like Tony Blair think that atheists may be a bigger threat than terrorists to the future of the world. Religious and political leaders around the world also opened up attacks on secularists as a growing evil.

It has become not just politically correct but politically popular to hate secularists, atheists, and agnostics. It reflects a deep insecurity among political leaders that faith-based politics could be challenged if people begin to evaluate their candidates solely on their performance and their credentials. For Gingrich, this means a type of prayer test — proof that you pray to God and will be guided by religious values in carrying out public duties. “Non-believers” have become the Willie Hortons of the 2012 presidential campaign and the implications of this new theme among the candidates is a dangerous form of demagoguery in a country dedicated to separation principles.

47 thoughts on “Gingrich: You Cannot Trust Politicians Who Do Not Pray”

  2. Gingrich is one of the prime examples of hypocrisy. If you look up the definitions of hupocrisy and adultery in the Dictionary, Newt’s picture is in both sections.

  5. you can’t trust politicians who hypocritically point fingers at actions in others that they themselves are engaged in.

  7. the more a politician talks in relig-o-babble of any sort, the more tightly I hold onto my wallet.

  9. You cannot trust politicians who do not pray.

    You cannot trust most all politicians who pray.

    You cannot trust all politicians who endorse killing.

    The Great Hypocrisy of America – The Truth about God and Jesus Christ

    “God’s Commandment is “Thou shalt not kill.” Anything contrary to this is a lie. America sanctions killing and blasphemes God. Jesus said, “Love your enemies.” (Matt. 5:44), (Luke 6:27) Killing someone is not loving them. America sanctions killing its enemies which is Antichrist / Satanism. True Christianity is nonviolent.”

    “America’s politicians, corporations, media, governments, churches and universities are deceiving our people. America is lost in hypocrisy and evil. Hold our leaders and other officials up to the following litmus test and they will prove to be hypocrites and liars. They swear vows of lies on the Bible to God. The Truth is not in them.”

    http://www.BuenaVistaMall.com/Truth.htm

  10. These yahoos’ prayers remind me of the guilt ridden King Claudius as he prayed to get away with murdering his brother: “My words fly up, my thoughts remain below: Words without thoughts never to heaven go.”
    Hamlet (III, iii, 100-103).

  11. “Religion is regarded by the common people as true, by the wise as false, and by rulers as useful” \

    ~Seneca the Younger

    Wonder which one ol’ eye of Newt is?

  12. Dredd makes a very good point. There is a perfectly reasonable way to judge any person in/running for office–their actions.

    As the US becomes an increasingly open totalitarian nation, the govt. must create enemies, both foreign and domestic. As I see things, political parties have subsumed religion so that now, people associate one type of religion with one party and another type with another party. This is scary. A totalitarian govt. cannot brook institutions which they do not control so they are successfully bringing religion under the elite’s control. Political parties appear to be the mechanism for successfully corralling people’s thoughts, to include their spirituality–channeling them to benefit the ruling elite.

    Using religion to whip people into hatred against whomever the ruling elite wants people to hate is a very old technique. But I believe it is being perfected at this time. All a right winger has to hear is “leftist” and they will hate them. All a left winger has to hear is “rightist” and they will hate them. This hatred is easily linked to religious ideology where even the most mild mannered Unitarian will hate on cue as soon as the words “right wing” enters their mind.

    If you look at the people running the elite’s wars of empire, you will see a group who believes their’s is a Christian crusade against Muslims. (Read Jeremy Scahill on that.) While few Democrats will come out and openly say what Newt did, they already order the crusades (Obama) and already fund them, (in Congress). Thus we can see there is an essential harmony of thought/action in the elites and their political minions of all stripes.

    The ability to turn people against each other, people who should instead be working together for the common good, is invaluable to totalitarianism. Having foot soldiers who will turn on the elite’s created “enemy” keeps the elites in control. It is imperative to break out of this created hatred and to think for ourselves.

    Not coincidentally, atheists advocate forming conclusions not by appeals to authority (religious, political party etc.) but by thinking things through. Atheism leads to anti-authoritarianism and I am certain that is a major reason the elites target them.

  14. Uh oh. I’d hate to be Gingrich on Judgment day. First wife his biology teacher in HS. He reportedly served her with divorce papers in the hospital when she was suffering from cancer. Now as lawyers we know this is incorrect, he probably gave her some settlement or other thing to sign. Marrianne,who he was fooling around with when he was married to No. 1 was dumped for the current one when he found Marrianne had multiple sclerosis. (A lesson for all woman who are fooling around with married men…if he is screwing around with his current wife, he will with you.)

    The current one is younger than his children. Callista certainly hit the ball out of the park. She better start monthly botox treatments or he will find another wife number 4.

    The idea that this man is giving anyone instructions in Christian morality is mind boggling. I don’t understand how he could be accepted into the Catholic church being twice divorced. I guess like the Kennedys it’s easy to get dispensations with a large donation.

  15. Kind of trust worthy like the Bishop of Kansas and those he hid??? No I get it, pray that one is not afflicted with the cognitive dissonance that results from living a lie….

  16. “Non-believers” have become the Willy Hortons of the 2012 presidential campaign and the implications of this new theme among the candidates is a dangerous form of demagoguery in a country dedicated to separation principles.”

    ****************

    Typically tone-deaf, these Republicans insult the fastest growing segments of the population namely those who list “no religion” as their religion and muslims.

    http://nymag.com/news/features/46214/

  18. Neither can you trust politicians who do pray.

    Our government is not based on trust, it is more based on performance in the direction of what the people want and need at a given time.

    Like peace and prosperity. You don’t need trust to determine if they are doing that or not doing that. You need eyes, ears, and honest appraisal.

  19. I guess he follows the logic of “You shall have no other God besides me” just saying…..

  20. There are religious groups who believe it’s their job to help usher in “the end times” and Gingrich says you cannot trust an atheists? I’d rather have an atheist not influenced by dogma than someone influenced to get in to politics by their misguided religious dogma.

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