2012-02-19

Rick Santorum Can't Possibly Be As Ignorant As He Sounds

I have work I need to do; but I keep thinking about how ignorant Rick Santorum sounds when he makes any statement about theology or the Bible.

Surely he's just telling lies, because he cannot believe that his "biblical" theology is any different than the president's "biblical" theology. Both of them are based in their views of the Bible; and both of them are somewhat based in a "pick and choose" theological framework.

Santorum likely does not believe in the Biblical prescription for stoning adulterers or he'd have to stone his current wife if stories are true about her previous relationship(s) and this in light of the Bible's story about God telling Hosea to marry a prostitute (whore). Which one does Santorum actually believe is biblical?

I doubt if Santorum has realized that, when we talk about the Biblical foundation for so-called biblical creationism that there are TWO stories of the creation in those first few chapters of the Bible, that at least some of those stories in the first 11 chapters of Genesis are found in other societies with sometimes vastly different details, that Jesus (since Santorum is a so-called Christian himself) never said one word about homosexuality, gay relationships, or much of Santorum's ignorant platform but instead spoke strongly against divorce. (There are too many divorced people for Santorum to pick on them, I suppose; and, besides that, he is technically, from the First Testament's description of marriage, married to a divorced woman.)

There are literally hundreds of other biblical "commandments" that Santorum ignores because this isn't a pre-Jesus world, or a pre-science world either. Like literally everyone he takes the words in the Bible and THEOLOGIZES about them. I believe his theology is stupid theology; but I don't even believe he believes what he says when theologizing. In the midst of his claim to be a Christian while attempting to live outside the New Testament Gospels for the most part, we have just two lines in the Bible that should be among those he should quote:

"Love one another as I have loved you." "This is my commandment, that you love one another." (Just in case you don't know, these, according to the scriptures, were things Jesus said.)

Now you can THEOLOGIZE about what those two sentences mean; but it isn't biblical theology any more than Santorum's concept that birth control is sin nor than that the instant sperm and egg unite we have a complete human being, nor that the Bible even defines marriage as it occurs today.

I am sick of hate filled people like Santorum, who probably has a lot of self loathing going on that he is trying to overcome, speaking for the Christian Church.

For now, though, I had to get this out. My brothers and sisters whose skin color is and was dark had the Bible used against them for literally centuries from the very same perspective of biblical theology Santorum uses. Women were seen as chattel for centuries based on the very same biblical theology Santorum uses. I cannot let my gay, bisexual, or transgendered brothers and sisters continue to be treated as not quite citizens without speaking out. I cannot let his inconsistencies of theology go unchallenged.

For him to claim that Obama is not a Christian while acting hateful toward his own President
(1 Peter 2:13-15) "Submit yourselves for the Lord’s sake to every human institution, whether to a king as the one in authority, or to governors as sent by him for the punishment of evildoers and the praise of those who do right. For such is the will of God that by doing right you may silence the ignorance of foolish men."

Jesus deferred to authorities when asked about a coin. Santorum acts as though he believes his ignorant theology is better than Jesus', apparently.

There are Facebook friends of mine who are much more able to write eloquently about the general topic I have written about above: (D. Miller or A. Gibson or N. Kemper, are you reading this?) I'll post their responses should they respond.

For now, though, I cannot let Santorum or anyone else act as though his style of theology isn't what helped to keep my dark-skinned brothers and sisters enslaved and considered to be less than human for hundreds of years in this country. I cannot pretend that Santorum's style of theology helped to keep my sisters of every race held as chattel for thousands of years, that his "biblical" theology is any more than, well, theology.

And, finally, this: "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion."

Santorum can claim what he wants to claim; but the truth is that he wants to establish a particular type of religious doctrine on the people of the United States. The rules may be different in Islam; but it is no different from those who claim that Muslims would force us to live under Sharia Law.

If Santorum were to become president of the United States I would have little choice but to try to find a way to move to a different country where the people live in the 21st century, not the 13th century.