Do you believe Christian law, such as those regarding marriage, homosexuality, the sanctity of life, and abortion, should be the law of the land in America?
Depends on what you believe Christian law to be. The Koran and sharia law is much more monolithic than the variety of interpretation that is lumped under the term "Christianity."
Do you believe that compliance with the Bible should be a factor in how life is lived in America? For example, for Christians seeking abortions? For non-Christians seeing abortions?
Christian believers in the Bible should be permitted to practice their faith and this is absolutely guaranteed by the American Constitution. I do not believe the Bible, which is, in fact, a collection of works by many authors seeking to present moral lessons, should be the law of the land. It is not ever presented as such and I challenge you to find a Christian theocracy anywhere other than the Papal State that occupies a neighborhood in Rome. Unlike the Koran, which is primarily a treatise on how to conquer and then to govern. And we both know that many Islamic states are, in fact, totalitarian theocracies.
Do you believe a parallel system of the morality laid out in the Bible should exist in the United States, side by side with American constitutional law?
It does and it contributes to the greatness of the country.
Do you live a life bound by the words of Jesus Christ, above and beyond the laws of the United States?
While I am nominally a Christian and find great wisdom in Christianity, I cannot claim to fully live a life bound by the words of Jesus Christ.
Do you believe that faithful Christians have a right, or an obligation, to live lives bound by the words of Jesus above or instead of American constitutional law?
Yes.
Do you advocate in your community that this "right" to live by the teachings of Jesus is an actual obligation if you are Christian?
I am only nominally of this community but I believe those who consider themselves true Christians are obligated to live by the teachings of Jesus Christ.
How do you treat someone who only accepts part of Christianity and speaks out that the part that they reject is anti-American?
As an independent thinker and a fellow American that has every right to choose a life that is bound by the obligations of citizenship and faith.
How do you treat someone who is Christian but rejects some of the Bible's teachings entirely for other rules and standards for a good life?
As an independent thinker and a fellow American that has every right to choose a life that is bound by the obligations of citizenship and faith. Which makes that person likely in the majority of us who claim Christianity but do not fully embrace the totality of Christian doctrine.
Should a faithful Christian fall in love and marry a polytheist, will you accept the spouse as an equal in your Christian community?
I would and the Christian communities that I am familiar with do as well, without exception. Though prior to a marriage of that type occurring there is normally a counseling process to encourage both parties to embrace Christianity and to understand the issues that have to be faced, ie parenting, in a "mixed" family.
Will you welcome a homosexual couple, married under the liberalized laws of New York or the US, as Christians, with all the benefits and privileges of being Christians, in your Catholic Church?
No. I will accept that a homosexual couple will be joined in a contract or union under civil law, if that in fact is permitted, but faiths that have a different standard may choose not to recognize them as married under their own standard. My personal opinion is that marriage is a contract between a man and a woman and it exists as a time proven means to achieve an effective family structure in which to have and raise kids. All variations from this are experimental, maybe dangerously so, where the consequences are not fully understood. To me, the potential psychological, sociological and even physical risks to kids preclude my buy in to the proselytizing, especially that which is made by people who have little or no background as parents or possibly even as successful partners in long term relationships. I am generally critical of those who engage in social engineering for self-serving reasons rather than the good of society.
If America rejects the word of Jesus, formally and officially, wherever and whenever it rises, will you be loyal to America or to Christianity?
“Render unto Caesar the things which are Caesar’s, and unto God the things that are God’s.” (“
Ἀπόδοτε οὖν τὰ Καίσαρος Καίσαρι καὶ τὰ τοῦ Θεοῦ τῷ Θεῷ”
In the case of Christianity, loyalty to both faith and nation are not mutually exclusive. They are for Muslims as Islam is actually a call for totalitarian theocracy.
Does answering any of these questions in favor of your beliefs and faith make you any less of a Christian, or any less of an American? Can your answer be easily twisted to cast you or your faith in a negative light?
Not at all as I am an honest man and have done my best to answer with simplicity and clarity. You might do your best to twist my words and reflect your own viewpoint but they will remain my own thoughts and beliefs and those who are also honest men will read them and not mistake them for yours.
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