God on welfare

[Yahzi]

I do not mean to be either cavalier or sacrilegious, but it occurs to me that the God so often discussed nowadays seems as dependent on the government as a welfare mother. For some reason, the Almighty needs government assistance to make his presence known. Either the schools must have prayer or government buildings must have a religious reminder -- say, the Ten Commandments -- or else, somehow, he will be banished from our lives or our consciousness.

(snip)

Religious minorities in this country fiercely hold to their beliefs with no help whatever from the government, save constitutional protections.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A12210-2003Sep1.html

This is a damn fine question. If the Quakers and the Jehovah's Witnesses can soldier on with nary a government grant, if Islam and Buddhism can persevere even in the face of active hostility, why in the heck does Christianity - the one true religion - need help?

As I recall, the apostles persevered in the face of persecution and death. Why do some Christians keep moaning about government indifference or even (as one put it) a "subtle bias?"

[Dancing David]

Because it's lame and can't heal itself, and I thought the post was that god woulld get welfare.

[Gulliamo]

Because almost every source out there states that the Catholic Church is loosing members at an alarming (to them) rate.

[arcticpenguin]

Originally posted by Gulliamo
Because almost every source out there states that the Catholic Church is loosing members at an alarming (to them) rate.
:confused: The Catholics are not the worst offenders for trying to entangle religion with government. I know that Moore is not Catholic.

[Brown]

A harmonious opinion from Bob Schieffer of CBS News: (http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2003/09/01/opinion/schieffer/main571000.shtml)Someone once said that any religion that needs the help of the state is not a very powerful religion. To suggest that these great religions, which have survived for thousands of years, somehow need or require the state government of Alabama to promote them is not only questionable, it borders on the blasphemous. It seems odd that so many people complain that govenrment intrudes too much into their lives, but these same people are outraged when the government does not intrude into their lives on matters of religious belief (as long as they agree with the religious belief that the government seeks to promote, of course).

[Nyarlathotep]

Originally posted by Yahzi


As I recall, the apostles persevered in the face of persecution and death. Why do some Christians keep moaning about government indifference or even (as one put it) a "subtle bias?"

I think those complaints come from people whose agenda is as much political as it is religious (many, many people intertwine the two such that they become indistinguishable in their minds). It is much easier to get their agenda pushed through if they appear as victims than itis if they appear as a group that wants something. No one likes a "special interest group" many people want to help the underdog.