Katherine Harris: Christian Politician
Permalink Posted on 08-28-2006 at 11:27:08 pm by Justin, 651 words, 4346 views  

The blogosphere is a'buzz about House Representative Katherine Harris' remarks to the Florida Baptist Witness. Most bloggers are gabbing about Harris' calling the separation of church and state a "lie" (How dare she blaspheme the Holy Constitution!). Here's Harris in the interview:

We have to have the faithful in government and over time, that lie we have been told, the separation of church and state, people have internalized . . .

She's right, though. The doctrine of separation of church and state is a lie. That said, it is all a lie. Or did you not realize that the Constitution is of no authority?

Putting aside the church-and-state-is-a-lie issue, I'd like to point out what I found as the real hilarity of Harris' comments. Harris finishes the above statement as follows (emphasis mine):

God is the one who chooses our rulers. And if we are the ones not actively involved in electing those godly men and women and if people aren’t involved in helping godly men in getting elected than we’re going to have a nation of secular laws. That’s not what our founding fathers intended and that’s certainly isn’t what God intended.

Wait a second. If God is the one choosing the rulers, isn't it God's fault if we have rulers who create secular laws? If God is choosing the rulers, how are the laws U.S. "rulers" create not what God intended? Come again?

Katherine Harris is a Republican House Representative from Florida. Her existence as an elected ruler over you and me is the inevitable outcome of democracy. How do intelligent people defend democracy when it so blatantly allows crazy religious whackos the opportunity to coerce other human beings? This Representative can't even complete two sentences without completely contradicting herself!

Other Reasons to be Afraid of America Under Harris:

Here are a few other gems from Katherine's interview:

Civil rights have to do with individual rights and I don’t think they apply to the gay issues. I have not supported gay marriage and I do not support any civil rights actions with regard to homosexuality.

Note how she starts strong talking about individual rights only to end up, I think, referring to homosexual individuals as simply "gay issues." Do you feel the Christian love?

Florida Baptist Witness: Is there something wrong with Florida and federal statutes when a severely brain-damaged woman who’s not in the process of dying can be starved and dehydrated to death by her husband with the assistance of the courts?

Katherine Harris: It’s unconscionable. Having a feeding tube and being hydrated are not life-sustaining. If that were the case then you’d have to take a look at prisoners. I mean, we provide them food and hydration. It is unconscionable. That is normal living. That is what we require to live and to allow that kind of death was truly devastating.

Seriously, just take a look at prisoners, and it'll all make sense.

A few parting thoughts from Rep. Harris:

But the real issue is why should Baptists care, why should people care? If you are not electing Christians, tried and true, under public scrutiny and pressure, if you’re not electing Christians then in essence you are going to legislate sin. They can legislate sin. They can say that abortion is alright. They can vote to sustain gay marriage. And that will take western civilization, indeed other nations because people look to our country as one nation as under God and whenever we legislate sin and we say abortion is permissible and we say gay unions are permissible, then average citizens who are not Christians, because they don’t know better, we are leading them astray and it’s wrong. ...

I'm just glad that, as a non-Christian, I don't know any better. My ignorance lets me off the hook! Could I have a few more sinful laws, please?

Comments, Pingbacks:

Comment from: T/ether [Member] Email
what a complete and total nutjob! no surprise though, as people all over the country believe that what she just said actually makes logical sense! the omnipotent God is just a crappy theology no matter how you slice it. oh, and i also love how that line of thought leads directly to divine right of kings, theocracy, and wait for it...a fundamentalist religious state. hmmm...sounds a lot like Iran to me! but hey, Jesus said it was ok.
PermalinkPermalink 08-29-2006 @ 00:50
Comment from: Aaron [Member] Email
Heh, I'm sure Christians never legislate sin, and electing Christians guarantees the impeccability of government. If you believe that, I've got a great voting machine to sell you...

It really annoys me to see these theocrats bandy about the fiction that the US was somehow founded on "Christian principles". The founders were largely secular humanists, attempting to take Enlightenment ideas to their logical extent in the new government. Previously it was always assumed that God vested in the state the divine rights of the Leviathan; a notion that was discarded in the US.

Unfortunately, this mindset seems to be returning to vogue, what with the effective canonization of Bush and a general failure to defend individuals against the absolute power of government.
PermalinkPermalink 08-29-2006 @ 15:42
Comment from: js290 [Visitor] Email
A concise and well written essay on the country being founded on Christian principles:

http://www.theology.edu/journal/volume2/ushistor.htm

I've always said the Southern Baptists are the American version of the Taliban. Women should be barefooted, pregant, and in the kitchen...
PermalinkPermalink 08-29-2006 @ 16:26
Comment from: halve [Visitor] Email
that lady is an absolute idiot. always sucks when you have people that relate to you in some capacity (in this case says she's a christian) who are morons. oh well.

oh and to aaron and js290, I don't necesarily think it was founded on christianity but the principles taught in Chrstianity are a huge part of this country's foundation if that makes any sense.

many things such as having one wife etc. became a no no after christianity became more prevalent. we use these correct? well, except for the boys from St. Lake.

time to go home from work; no time to do research so i'm sure i'll see all sorts of stuff backed up by who knows what tomorrow
PermalinkPermalink 08-29-2006 @ 17:18
Comment from: Justin [Member]
Though I wouldn't argue with the founding fathers not exactly espousing Christian values, it's all a moot point as far as I'm concerned. The whole founding fathers argument is merely an appeal to authority and tradition so commonly used by conservatives that I've coined a new logical fallacy about it: the appeal to the founding fathers.
PermalinkPermalink 08-29-2006 @ 17:20
Comment from: js290 [Visitor] Email
Neal: The point may be moot, but it's also inaccurate. Just more ammo for the counter argument. ;-)

Halve: I don't think anybody is arguing that Christianity hasn't influenced the country. The argument is whether seperation of church and state was a lie, never intended by the founding fathers. It should be clear to any half lucid person that both church and state, in the formative years of this country, wanted to remain seperate. More so the church for fear of corrupting influences from the state.

I think what it all boils down to is secondary education sucks in this country by design.
PermalinkPermalink 08-29-2006 @ 22:18
Comment from: mandrill [Visitor] Email · http://keithneilson.co.uk
This woman is exactly why the rest of the world points at the US and laughs. Its not her who's the problem. Its the idiots who elected her.
Liberty and justice for all eh? If it means becoming like the US, you can keep it.
PermalinkPermalink 09-01-2006 @ 06:48
Comment from: togakangaroo [Visitor] Email
Old news, but the easiest argument that throws one of the biggest wrenches is here: http://www.sullivan-county.com/news/ffnc/

THE FOUNDING FATHERS WEREN'T EVEN CLOSE TO CHRISTIANS. Katherine Harris may have just confessed a complete ignorance of anything that they ever wrote.
PermalinkPermalink 09-01-2006 @ 20:57
Comment from: Founding Fathers Info [Visitor] · http://anon.com
And the remark about the intent of the founding fathers for this to be a religious state is ridiculous. Very few if any of the founding fathers were Christians, they were unitarians, and the like. Also, didn't they come up with the whole separation of church and state? Seems like they would have left that bit out had their "intentions" been to be freedom bashing idiots like some of our current politicians.
PermalinkPermalink 09-01-2006 @ 21:24
Comment from: Old European [Visitor]
It seems that the US has completely lost the plot. Criminals running the show, being supported by religious nutcases that were elected(?) by morons.
Quo vadis USA?

Bill Maher got it right, when he says:
"Christians and others who are religious suffer from a neurological disorder that stops people from thinking."

I contend that we are both atheists. I just believe in one fewer god than you do. When you understand why you dismiss all the other possible gods, you will understand why I dismiss yours - Stephen Roberts
PermalinkPermalink 09-02-2006 @ 11:48
Comment from: ME [Visitor] Email
I think a lot of people just don't understand what the founding fathers wanted by seperation of church and state. IMNSHO they meant that the government would not take orders from the church. and that you were free to pick and practice any religion. they did not mean you had freedom from ever being whitness to religion. If they had any idea years later the ACLU would be sueing people for having crosses in their own yard, they would have clarified a bit more.
PermalinkPermalink 09-22-2006 @ 13:04
Comment from: Florida Believer [Visitor] Email
It may surprise many of you to know that not all evangelical Christians believe that God is a Republican. I believe that the Chuch is being corrupted more by the Religious Right than the government is being reformed. By aligning itself with the Republican Party and its propensity for materialistic greed, the Evangelicals have allowed the money changers into the Temple. Anyone who knows the Bible well knows that Jesus on two occaisions drove the money changers out of the Temple and denounced them for turning God's holy place of worship into a den of thieves.
PermalinkPermalink 10-11-2006 @ 19:32

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