Month: July 2010

With mere days before the primary election and with early voting underway, Lt. Gov. Ron Ramsey is making controversial remarks about Islam.

One could argue that he doesn’t have a large Muslim constituency to offend, but that should not excuse a current public official from making degrading comments of questionable validity.

Ramsey was quoted by Talking Points Memo as having said, “Now, you could even argue whether being a Muslim is actually a religion, or is it a nationality, way of life, cult whatever you want to call it.” He continued with, “I’m all about freedom of religion. I value the First Amendment as much as I value the Second Amendment as much as I value the Tenth Amendment and on and on and on. But you cross the line when they try to start bringing Sharia Law here to the state of Tennessee — to the United States. We live under our Constitution and they live under our Constitution.”

Ron Ramsey has a problem with other cultures bringing their religious tradition into our established legal system (and I agree that Sharia Law is outrageous), yet he seems to have no problem advocating the amendment of our state constitution to include banning abortion (based on his faith), banning gay couples from adopting (based on his faith), and teaching “intelligent design” in publicly funded classrooms (based on his faith). Ramsey opposes Islamic legal tradition being included in Tennessee law ONLY because it doesn’t originate from his religion. He has no qualms about legislating Christian ideals into the lives of every Tennessean regardless of their beliefs.

It would also be wise for Ramsey to not be so quick to write Islam off as a cult. Webster’s defines cult as “a system of religious beliefs and ritual” and ” great devotion to a person, idea, object, movement, or work.” He would be wise to remember that his own rigid adherence to his belief system could just as easily be called a cult by others.

If you dislike that your elected lieutenant governor is making inflammatory statements about the religious beliefs of others without critical review of his own beliefs, please contact his office.

A new website sponsored by the Tennessee Newspaper Network makes easy work of comparing the current gubernatorial candidates’ positions on various issues. Each candidate presents a different opinion on the subject which is a welcome departure from the typical party-lines talking points that tend to dominate discussion.

Sadly, the debate between evolution and intelligent design is often marred with misinformation. With that in mind, I would like to clear a few misconceptions up first thing. Evolution attempts to describe the diversity of life on our planet and determine common ancestry among related species today. Evolution is not concerned with the beginning or inception of life. That is the subject of abiogenesis. Also, evolution is a scientific theory, meaning that it can change based on the current knowledge base. Since this knowledge base continues to expand with new findings, it should come as no surprise that the theory is often refined as new discoveries are made. The theory of intelligent design is not based in science, but rather religious writings. Since the claims on which the theory rests are not verifiable by experimentation, they cannot be considered science.

With this in mind, both presumptive Democratic nominee Mike McWherter and Knoxville Mayor Bill Haslam express support of teaching children the foundations of biology in public schools. Both are quick to point out that their religious faith is compatible with their wishes that children be tought a comprehensive science curriculum. There are those in the creationism/intelligent design camp that disagree with their egalitarian handling of these seemingly incompatible viewpoints. Australian science professor David Oldroyd said in a 1993 interview with The Weekend Review, “People seem to think that Christianity and evolution do or can go together. But I suggest this is only possible for the intellectually schizophrenic. Biological theory does not require or allow any sort of divine guidance for the evolutionary process.” To the likes of Oldroyd, there can be no middle ground.

Lt. Gov. Ron Ramsey sees things a little more in black and white. “I believe intelligent design and evolution should both be taught in public schools. To choose one or the other would ignore the beliefs of large numbers of Tennesseans. Our young people are smart enough to come to their own conclusions if both sides are presented fairly.” Seems fair enough, right? Teach both sides, and let the impressionable youth which are entrusted with few other legal abilities decide best which method brought about our diversity of species. Ramsey, like many other evangelicals, fails to see the importance of keeping religion and government separate, for the good of both institutions. He would have religious ideas taught in state-funded classrooms in a heartbeat, but he would probably not be on board if the state mandated that evolution be taught alongside creationism in Sunday school classrooms.

Last, but not least, Rep. Zach Wamp says, “I believe that God created the world we live in and crafted human beings in his own image, and I also believe in the scientific evolution of other species. However, most decisions on local school curriculum are best left to local school boards, educators and parents to debate and decide. [emphasis added]” Note first that Wamp does not believe in the evolution of mankind, only other species, as that would be contrary to his literal interpretation of Genesis in which God made Adam out of soil and Eve from a vivisected rib. Also of note in Wamp’s quote is that he believes curriculum is best left to localities to decide. This thinking could result in the educations of students mere counties apart being drastically different in quality. Instead of allowing local elected officials the power to inject religion into school curricula as they see fit, why not just stick to teaching what has been tested, verified, and peer-reviewed sufficiently to make it into textbooks (Texas textbooks excluded)?

Knoxville Mayor Bill Haslam has a group of political confidants with which he meets every Friday morning. This isn’t particularly strange in that many politicians have advisors and trusted friends from whom they seek counsel on a variety of issues. What is worrisome is that his group of advisors appear to be religious in nature.

In a video interview with David Fowler of the Family Action Council of Tennessee, an organization whose mission is “to promote and defend a culture that values the traditional family, for the sake of the common good”, Haslam is asked whose opinion he will most cherish after making a tough political decision. His answer names no one person but a group with whom he meets weekly; a group that knows “almost everything” about him.

Jeff Woods of Nashville Scene emailed the Haslam campaign for more information on his weekly Friday meetups only to receive the brief answer, “Bible study.” No subsequent requests for clarification were answered by the campaign.

If Haslam becomes the next governor of Tennessee and he is faced with legislation that will limit or restrict the liberties of secular Tennesseans, to whom will Haslam feel he most accountable, the citizens of Tennessee or his group of religious advisors?

The true enigma is that while conservatives traditionally believe in less government interference with private citizens and more emphasis on personal responsibility, this mindset does not seem to apply to so-called “vice laws.” If it violates Biblical precedent, then it must be legislated as authority for all, regardless of personal religious background. Let us hope that Haslam keeps that in mind should he be elected.

Rep. Zach Wamp made his message clear with few words: If you are not a Christian, you lack the moral fiber necessary to defend your freedoms. In a gubernatorial election that has seen many references to scripture and appeals to religion, Wamp furthered the tone of religious exclusivity with his July 4 visit to Higher Ground Baptist Church in Kingsport, TN.

In what was clearly a campaign stop to help capture the Southern Baptist vote, Wamp begins by informing those in attendance on his personal Baptist background. He strokes their egos by saying, “This is as good a choir and talent and feel and spirit as you’re gonna find anywhere, not just in this state, but in this world. I’ve been around the world. You should be pleased. You should be grateful.” At this point, most of the congregation should have experienced high levels of activity on their BS-meters, but since he was saying things that they agreed with, they let him continue.

Wamp referenced the Founding Fathers and concluded that “There’s so much freedom given to the people that unless they adhere to a moral and a religious code, and they were talking about the Bible, the Holy Bible, it wouldn’t work.” Wamp stated that without a Christian revival in this nation, our liberty would not be preserved. Apparently, for one to appreciate and defend their freedoms, they must fear the threat of eternal damnation first.

Since he was speaking on Independence Day, he of course mentioned our men and women in uniform fighting for freedom and linked their struggle to Christian message of Jesus dying to make mankind free from sin.

He ended on the scariest note of all. With brimstone flowing, he stated resolutely that no man or woman should hold elected office unless their lives are guided by god, and that religion should be present in the formation of every policy. Not wanting to do his words a disservice, I quote that piece of his mini-sermon.

When anybody says to you that they want to be in politics or government or elected office instead of asking them the first question, ‘Are you pro-life?’, ‘Do you believe that a man and a woman should be married to each other?’, and those are important questions, ask those second and third. Ask them this one first: ‘What is your worldview?’ and just wait for an answer. Because if they can’t tell you that my worldview is that God is the center of the universe – not man, He made us to serve Him and to serve each other, that the Bible is inerrant, every single word of it is true, it is the foundation, it is the beginning and the end, and it is the only thing that will stand the test of time. And that every policy should stand on those truths. Praise Him.

View his entire speech below: