What Should Influence our Laws More?

How does one relate to a group of people whose philosophy runs counter to the principles of the country?

Correct me if I’m wrong, but the last time I looked, the government of the United States was to be driven by the will of the people. This is the fundamental principle of Western Democracy, the will of the people, as long as it doesn’t stomp on the rights of the minority, trumps all.

How then do we account for a segment of the population that disagrees with this principle? In a recent Pew Forum poll the question was asked “Which should be the more important influence on the laws of the United States? Should it be the Bible or should it be the will of the American people, even when it conflicts with the Bible?”

The overwhelming majority of Americans understand that the twin principles of government by the people and religious freedom dictate that the answer to this question must be “the will of the American people” and they answered this way by a margin of 63%-32%.

Are you concerned that 32% of the country thinks the Bible should trump the will of the people especially considering that the majority of these morons probably don’t even know what the Bible says? It certainly bothers me. Do you suppose any demographic group would be ignorant enough that a majority voted that the Bible should have more influence? It would be a real shock wouldn’t it? Well, guess what, the group known as Evangelical Christians voted that way by an almost reverse margin of 60%-34%. Get it, 60% of Evangelical Christians think that the Bible should have more influence than the will of the American People when it comes to the laws of these United States.

This is why I consider Evangelical Christianity the single biggest danger to Western Democracy that exists today. They are like a fifth column intent on destroying the principles upon which the country is founded and replacing them with their own distorted views. And I’m supposed to respect this opinion and not identify it for the stupidity that it is simply because it has a religious foundation? I wouldn’t hold my breath on that one!

Yes, everyone is entitled to their opinion, but that doesn’t mean I have to afford that opinion any degree of approval. Sometimes someone’s opinion stinks like last week’s garbage and this is one of those cases.

Blacks, by a margin of 50% to 48%, believe the Bible should have a greater influence while Whites, by a margin of 65%-35%, understand that it should be the will of the people.

Half the Blacks in this country believe that a book that accepts slavery and advocates a philosophy of the exclusion of those who are different, which is the foundation of racism, should have more influence on our laws than the will of the people. I find that really sad. I’d like to ask that 50% whether we should have all just accepted Genesis 9:27 as a justification for segregation and left Jim Crow in place.

Then again, education, as usual, looks like a possible cure here as those with a college degree understood it should be the will of the people by a margin of 75%-20%, those with some college by a margin of 66%-30% and, those with at least a High School diploma, by a margin of 58%-38%. Only those that didn’t even make it through High School split almost evenly, but still gave a small edge to the will of the people, by a margin 0f 47%-46%.

Those who take the Bible literally, 65%, and those who attend church services at least weekly, 52%, were more likely to say the Bible should have more influence. One encouraging point was that younger folks, by a margin of 74%-22%, understood that it should be the will of the people.

Like I said before, it’s quite likely that many of these idiots that are saying the Bible should have more influence on our laws don’t even know what the Bible says. Oh, I’m sure they’ve read selected “feel good” stories or had them read to them from the pulpit. There is no lack of admirable wisdom in the Bible. But I’ll bet you most of them would be stunned to learn of the myriad “hard passages” also contained in the Bible.

I think it was Isaac Asimov that said the Bible was the greatest argument for atheism he had ever encountered. I’ll make the observation that no intelligent person, that reads the Bible objectively, could conceivably come to the conclusion that it’s the word of God.