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It’s nice of Howard to be so accommodating with his authority, isn’t it? Dean reportedly said:
In another statement likely to stir debate among the evangelical Christians his party is urgently trying to court, Dean also asserted “there are no bars to heaven for anybody”
Although that’s certainly true, there is one little problem that faithful Christians will have with that statement, namely John 14:6:
Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”
There are no barriers of race, color, or ideology. But there is a standard, according to the Christian religion. Somehow I don’t think that Dean will win many of our votes with his analysis.
More from Dean:
“This country is not a theocracy,” Dean said, according to JTA. “There are fundamental differences between the Republican Party and the Democratic Party. The Democratic Party believes that everybody in this room ought to be comfortable being an American Jew, not just an American; that there are no bars to heaven for anybody; that we are not a one-religion nation; and that no child or member of a football team ought to be able to cringe at the last line of a prayer before going onto the field.”
Theocracy defined:
a form of government in which God or a deity is recognized as the supreme civil ruler, the God’s or deity’s laws being interpreted by the ecclesiastical authorities.
It’s quite a stretch to say that directing a football team’s prayers toward the individual most Americans recognize as their Savior makes the country a theocracy. Perhaps when a high school football coach is elected president Dean’s statement will carry more weight. No more, “Win one for the Gipper!” for the nation if that comes to pass!
It sounds to me like Dean is trying to make sure Dems hold on to the Jewish vote, a bloc that has been solidly, illogically in the Democratic camp for the last century.
The DNC, however, felt the need to do a bit of damage control afterward:
A DNC official said the chairman was saying that “Democrats, unlike the Republicans, are an inclusive party, respectful of all people, and he said that prayer in public settings should reflect that.” The official said Dean’s comment about prayer was “not that you can or can’t use Jesus’ name – he was not that specific at all.”
So Dean’s statement was about nothing, then? Very Dean-like, somehow.
And yet, the question of whether Jesus Christ was who Christians believe him to be is perhaps the most important question of our – or any – time. You either believe or you do not, and there is no room for equivocation.
Prayer without a purpose is just hot air, which is also very like Howard Dean. Why bother?
