Tempting Faith

“Tempting Faith” is the name of the book written by David Kuo who worked for the Bush Administration as the number 2 man in the Faith Based Initiatives office. Kuo claims that the faith based office was never funded to the level promised and used taxpayer funds to hold events to rally Evangelical Christian support for Republican candidates.

Kuo blames a lack of commitment on the part of the administration in funding the planned charity work. In other words Bush and company “used” the Evangelical Christian community for political ends. DUH, no kidding, could this guy be that naïve?

I saw Mr. Kuo on 60 minutes and have since been reading some of his articles on the internet. I really have no intention of reading his book since I believe him. As a matter of fact it doesn’t surprise me at all.

While I sympathize with his disappointment that more wasn't done for the poor, allow me to suggest that the entire "Faith Based Initiatives" program is a really bad idea. It’s in violation of the principle of the separation of Church and State and should never have been funded at all. Mr. Kuo’s own observation that grant requests from non-Christian groups tended to be ignored underscores why. Whether, as Kuo claims, Al Gore proposed something similar is really sort of irrelevant.

In one article Mr. Kuo couldn’t understand why Liberal organizations got "upset" when Executive Orders are “issued permitting an organization to simply display a cross” using public funds. Allow me to explain, they, and I, get upset because that is using tax dollars to push a religious agenda.

Not all of us believe that Christianity is a good thing so we’re not at all happy about public tax dollars being used for its benefit.

There are two problems with this Faith-based initiatives nonsense. The first is that there is no evidence that so-called Faith-based charities do a better job than secular charities and the second is that often public dollars end up being allocated for religious purposes such as prayer sessions and Bible study. I find this totally unacceptable. Christianity is not a universally recognized benefit. As a matter of fact I could make an argument that it has been the source of more human pain and misery throughout history than all other causes combined.

I did find it amusing that Kuo claims, with indignation, that prominent religious leaders such as Robertson, Falwell and Dobson were dismissed behind their backs and described as “ridiculous,” “out of control,” and just plain ‘goofy.”

Well, maybe that’s because they are “ridiculous,” “out of control” and just plain “goofy.” Have you even listened to what these guys say? This is one of the few things that I and the Bush Administration agree on. Unfortunately they’re dangerous as well and using public funds to enhance their position just makes them more dangerous.

I’m sorry that you were disappointed Mr. Kuo as I do get the feeling that you honestly hoped that this program would do some good. Unfortunately you now know that hope was misplaced from the beginning.