Religion & Politics-Good Bedfellows?
The Issue
Jerry Falwell
The Moral Majority was an organization made up of conservative Christian political action committees which campaigned on issues its personnel believed were important to maintaining its Christian conception of moral law, a conception they believed represented the opinions of the majority of Americans (hence the movement's name). With a membership of millions, the Moral Majority was one of the largest conservative lobby groups in the United States and at its height, the Moral Majority claimed over four million members and over two million donors.[9] These members were spread out over about twenty state organizations, of which Washington State was the largest. The Moral Majority was incorporated into the Liberty Federation in 1985, remaining a distinct entity but falling under the Liberty Federation’s larger jurisdiction. By 1987, Falwell retired as the formal head of the Moral Majority, although he maintained an active and visible role within the organization. –Wikipedia
Ayatollah Ali Khamenei
Khamenei's era as supreme leader has differed from that of his predecessor Khomeini. He has continued Khomeini's policy of "balancing one group against another, making sure that no single side gains too much power."[11][24] But lacking Khomeini's charisma and clerical standing, he has developed networks, first inside the armed forces, and then among the clerics administering the major religious foundations (or bonyads), and seminaries of Qom and Mashhad.[24] According to Vali Nasr, he has brought many of the powers of the presidency with him into the office, turning it into an "omnipotent overseer of Iran's political scene". Officials under Khamenei influence the country's various powerful, and sometimes bickering, institutions, including "the parliament, the presidency, the judiciary, the Revolutionary Guards, the military, the intelligence services, the police agencies, the clerical elite, the Friday prayer leaders and much of the media", as well as various "nongovernmental foundations, organizations, councils, seminaries and business groups".[11] Under him, the government is said to resemble "a clerical oligarchy more than an autocracy." -Wikipedia
My Issue
The other day on CNN, a guest was asked to compare Ayatollah Ali Khamenei to a political leader here in the U.S. His immediate response, Jerry Falwell.
I remember well when Jerry Falwell formed the Moral Majority, an ultra conservative movement by which moral law (rule) in America was its primary goal. Had Falwell and his movement succeeded the probability of supreme law (rule) would have become American’s way of life. Thankfully, it did not succeed. But it did have an influence on American politics.
Throughout history religious rule included persecution and the killing of millions. Even today, religious rule is murdering those who do not conform to its edicts. Closer to home, as American’s we are under a death sentence as ordered by a ridiculous supreme law. Though religion has its positive side, you cannot ignore its dark side and those who have manipulate it for their own agenda and purpose, much like Falwell and others have and will continue to do.
Religion and Politics do not make good bedfellows! This is not to say that we shouldn’t have laws to maintain a civil society. However, had groups like the Moral Majority gained control of our political system it would have mirrored that of the Ayatollah’s. Religion MUST remain neutral in world affairs. It must restrain itself to those who desire it. Once religion intrudes or imposes itself then it becomes a nuisance in society and its positiveness becomes ineffective. Any power hungry religious individual(s) is a danger to a civil society.
In today’s world, no one individual should have absolute power (rule) either spiritually or politically. Thankfully, here in America we have learned how to balance our laws and powers so as not to be either extremely left or right. We also have the right to challenge our laws, our leaders and our government. Though it is becoming more and more difficult to challenge the powers that be, it is our duty to see that the checks and balances within our own political system remain in place which makes us truly a unique people and country. If we don't, America will no longer be the land of the free.
By the way, if you put Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s and Jerry Falwell’s pictures side by side, the two certainly mirror each other. And as for who I believe would compare to today’s wanna be spiritual leader, Ayatollah Rush Limbaugh.
The Issue
Jerry Falwell
The Moral Majority was an organization made up of conservative Christian political action committees which campaigned on issues its personnel believed were important to maintaining its Christian conception of moral law, a conception they believed represented the opinions of the majority of Americans (hence the movement's name). With a membership of millions, the Moral Majority was one of the largest conservative lobby groups in the United States and at its height, the Moral Majority claimed over four million members and over two million donors.[9] These members were spread out over about twenty state organizations, of which Washington State was the largest. The Moral Majority was incorporated into the Liberty Federation in 1985, remaining a distinct entity but falling under the Liberty Federation’s larger jurisdiction. By 1987, Falwell retired as the formal head of the Moral Majority, although he maintained an active and visible role within the organization. –Wikipedia
Ayatollah Ali Khamenei
Khamenei's era as supreme leader has differed from that of his predecessor Khomeini. He has continued Khomeini's policy of "balancing one group against another, making sure that no single side gains too much power."[11][24] But lacking Khomeini's charisma and clerical standing, he has developed networks, first inside the armed forces, and then among the clerics administering the major religious foundations (or bonyads), and seminaries of Qom and Mashhad.[24] According to Vali Nasr, he has brought many of the powers of the presidency with him into the office, turning it into an "omnipotent overseer of Iran's political scene". Officials under Khamenei influence the country's various powerful, and sometimes bickering, institutions, including "the parliament, the presidency, the judiciary, the Revolutionary Guards, the military, the intelligence services, the police agencies, the clerical elite, the Friday prayer leaders and much of the media", as well as various "nongovernmental foundations, organizations, councils, seminaries and business groups".[11] Under him, the government is said to resemble "a clerical oligarchy more than an autocracy." -Wikipedia
My Issue
The other day on CNN, a guest was asked to compare Ayatollah Ali Khamenei to a political leader here in the U.S. His immediate response, Jerry Falwell.
I remember well when Jerry Falwell formed the Moral Majority, an ultra conservative movement by which moral law (rule) in America was its primary goal. Had Falwell and his movement succeeded the probability of supreme law (rule) would have become American’s way of life. Thankfully, it did not succeed. But it did have an influence on American politics.
Throughout history religious rule included persecution and the killing of millions. Even today, religious rule is murdering those who do not conform to its edicts. Closer to home, as American’s we are under a death sentence as ordered by a ridiculous supreme law. Though religion has its positive side, you cannot ignore its dark side and those who have manipulate it for their own agenda and purpose, much like Falwell and others have and will continue to do.
Religion and Politics do not make good bedfellows! This is not to say that we shouldn’t have laws to maintain a civil society. However, had groups like the Moral Majority gained control of our political system it would have mirrored that of the Ayatollah’s. Religion MUST remain neutral in world affairs. It must restrain itself to those who desire it. Once religion intrudes or imposes itself then it becomes a nuisance in society and its positiveness becomes ineffective. Any power hungry religious individual(s) is a danger to a civil society.
In today’s world, no one individual should have absolute power (rule) either spiritually or politically. Thankfully, here in America we have learned how to balance our laws and powers so as not to be either extremely left or right. We also have the right to challenge our laws, our leaders and our government. Though it is becoming more and more difficult to challenge the powers that be, it is our duty to see that the checks and balances within our own political system remain in place which makes us truly a unique people and country. If we don't, America will no longer be the land of the free.
By the way, if you put Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s and Jerry Falwell’s pictures side by side, the two certainly mirror each other. And as for who I believe would compare to today’s wanna be spiritual leader, Ayatollah Rush Limbaugh.
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