A Republican Candidate has got to have a position on God, Guns and Gays. Here is mine on God.
I believe in God, but I do not go to church. I was raised a Protestant, going to a variety of churches as my military family moved around the country.
I believe in God because of the order of the universe and the miracle of creation. I believe in the Big Bang and in evolution. I believe that God worked a 5 billion year plan to get us to today. I do not believe that this guidance can be proved, it is a matter of faith, and trying to prove this guidance is a waste of time. Warping the developing understanding due to science, to try to prove some other time line for the development of the earth, in a few thousand years, is a foolish waste of time that destroys credibility. Insisting that the earth and all plants and animals were created in 7 calendar days amounts to thinking that creation was just a spectacular magic trick. What is more miraculous, a 5 Billion year plan or a magic trick?
The Judeo – Christian teachings of the bible are the basis for our society’s laws and respect for the rights of individuals. The success of the United States and Western Europe in providing the best places for humans to live is to me sufficient proof that these teachings are the best foundations for a decent society.
Religion in the public square
First amendment to our Constitution:
“Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.”
Nothing in the First Amendment tells me that there is no place for acknowledging religion in the public square, meaning publicly owned buildings and facilities. Prayer should be allowed, not required, in public schools, and other public facilities according to the desires of the people present to pray and acknowledge God. Nothing in the First Amendment tells me that religious symbols cannot be allowed on public property as part of memorials whether they be publicly or privately funded. This is the way I would vote at every opportunity.
Religion and Immigration
I respect any sincerely held religious belief as long the teachings of that religion do not include teachings that people of other faiths are less worthy of life, liberty and property while on this earth.
I am not a student of the world’s religions, but as I understand it, the tenants of Islam, as taught in large segments of the Islamic world, give license to Muslims to subjugate their women to male authority, and abuse people of other faiths, and they do just that, every day in many countries around the world. Also, none of the world’s societies dominated by Islam could be called a free and open society with equal rights for all citizens. So, I don’t respect Islam. We have to put up with home grown Muslims, due to the First Amendment. But we don’t have to allow large numbers of Muslims to immigrate. The Western Europe experience is that after some level of Muslim immigrants is reached, they then refuse to accommodate to the generous host society, then make demands for accommodations for their religious beliefs and customs. This is importing a problem that we don’t need and is exactly what has been done in Great Britain, Scandinavia and parts of Western Europe. We should make no more accommodation for Islam than we do for Judaism. If that is not good enough for Muslims, then let them stay in the nasty countries their religion and culture created.
I would severely restrict immigration from Muslim countries. Let them stew in the juice created by their culture, till they fix it, rather than let them escape to societies with a decent way of life, where they demand accommodation for the culture that created the society they fled.