Surrounded by pagans, God still favors USA, GOP

June 8, 11:48 AMPortland Humanist ExaminerMicha J. Stone

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Even though we are surrounded by pagans, Republicans made the case that God favors the USA and the GOP last Friday. At a "Rediscovering God in America" forum at a church in Virginia Beach, Va. Republicans argued that Christians need to get involved in politics to preserve religion in American life. Speakers, including Newt Gingrich and former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, pointed to the availability of abortion, the spread of gay rights, and attempts to remove religion from school history books as threats to Christian values.

Newt Gingrich claimed "I am not a citizen of the world. I am a citizen of the United States because only in the United States does citizenship start with our creator." (No doubt our founding fathers as well as the Constitution, would beg to differ). Newt went on to claim: "We are living in a period where we are surrounded by paganism."

Mike Huckabee, the former governor of Arkansas, Baptist preacher, 2008 presidential candidate and FOX news on air personality, told the audience at the Virginia Beach forum that he was disturbed to hear Obama in Egypt suggesting that one nation shouldn't be exalted over another.
"The notion that we are just one of many among equals is nonsense," Huckabee said. The United States is a "blessed" nation, he said, calling the American revolutionary defeat of the British empire "a miracle from God's hand."

Huckabee went on to claim the same sort of miracle-working was at hand in the defeat of California's gay marriage amendment. Huckabee suggested voters "did it because some things are right and some things are wrong and they had to make a stand.''

The Republican claim is that good Americans are Christian, that God loves the USA more than any other country, that God had a "hand" in the American Revolution, and that the denial of civil rights to gays in California is somehow God's will.

Much of this is simply silly. Newt Gingrich, hypocrite, womanizer, married three times, having an affair while leading the prosecution of President Clinton, is sleazy scum, who sees political advantage in speaking out for family values. Huckabee is delusional, he believes that God talks to him and is actively involved in political affairs.

Yet while the whole thing seems clownish, there is nevertheless the omnipresent danger of the evil and intolerant Christian faith. Christian homophobia and Christian intolerance of non-Christians is a real danger. More than this, the attitude is simply un-American. Christianity is a disease we must overcome as a nation. The ignorance, superstition and hate Christianity represents would make Jesus weep.