If we legislate laws in U.S. based on the Bible . . .

[molly bloom]

I think its apt on this day to wonder what if Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. thought God had no place in our democracy?

Whose god ?

Whose definition of what kind of god ?

Given that English Protestants couldn't even agree on how to worship the same god (thus leading to the founding of Massachusetts & Rhode Island), better to leave god out of the equation.

You don't need to believe in a god in order to be moral or just.

[Wezil]

But how will they know what is right and what is wrong without someone to tell them?

[Imran Siddiqui]

Whose god ?

I think he did quite fine following the Christian God in an African-American Baptist point of view.

[molly bloom]

I think he did quite fine following the Christian God in an African-American Baptist point of view.

I think Thomas Jefferson did quite well too:

Say nothing of my religion. It is known to my god and myself alone.

January 1817, writing to John Adams

I deem the essential principles of our government.... Equal and exact justice to all men, of whatever state or persuasion, religious or political; ... freedom of religion, freedom of the press, and freedom of person under the protection of the habeas corpus, and trial by juries impartially selected.

Jefferson's first inaugural address.

To my mind, freedom of religion means also freedom from any prescription of religion-

...state support of an established religion tends to make the clergy unresponsive to their own people, and leads to corruption within religion itself.

Jefferson writing to the Virginia Baptists.

[Felch]

You realize that Jefferson had nothing to do with writing the Constitution, right? And that the Constitution stops Congress from making laws respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof. It does not prohibit laws that take religion into account.

[Kidlicious]

It IS the same reasoning. You pick Biblical passages that prescribe certain morals and think they ought to be legislated into law today.

That's not what I do. I take the Bible as a whole part. That's just common sense. No one votes for stoning people you idiot.

[Felch]

Which is it, a whole or a bunch of parts?

[Imran Siddiqui]

I think Thomas Jefferson did quite well too:

That's great and all, but if you are going to be denigrating Martin Luther King, Jr. because he brought God into the public conversation, as an integral part of his non-violent movement for civil rights, then you are just being silly.

[Felch]

Molly Bloom's argument against MLK relies on quoting a slave owner.

Stay classy, London

[Imran Siddiqui]

That occured to me as well, but I more wanted to deal with wth does Jefferson not wanting to bring up God in public has to do with MLK bringing up God in public as the basis for his activism?

[Kidlicious]

Which is it, a whole or a bunch of parts?

No book is just parts.

[MrFun]

That's not what I do. I take the Bible as a whole part. That's just common sense. No one votes for stoning people you idiot.

You're the one being the idiot, because you still do not understand what I'm talking about.

[Ogie Oglethorpe]

...Furthermore, an analysis by The Washington Times of the scope of such activities as time spent in debate, number of conference reports produced and votes taken on the House and Senate floors found that Congress set a record for legislative futility by accomplishing less in 2011 than any other year in history.

The Senate’s record was weakest by a huge margin, according to the futility index, and the House had its 10th-worst session on record.

Of the bills the 112th Congress did pass, the majority were housekeeping measures, such as naming post office buildings or extending existing laws. Sometimes, it was too difficult for the two chambers to hammer out agreements. More often, the Senate failed to reach agreement within the chamber.

So to be clear this is an indictment on GOP obstructionism, where one chamber has a majority GOP and the other chamber is majority Dem. The Senate (run by Dems) has by far and away the worst record of legislative achievement.

Prior to this session the Dems held both chambers and were unable to pass key signatory legislation such as card check and cap and trade and barely got health care through, let alone the real constitutional responsibility of congress to establish an annual budget.

I suspect the real issue is not obstructionism but Harry Reid incompetence.

[Jon Miller]

Why can't it be both?

JM

[Ogie Oglethorpe]

It likely is.