Keep Religion out of Politics

Catholic priests, bishops and cardinals should follow the teachings of Jesus and stay out of politics. This goes too for the so called Religious Right. When Christians try to jam down their beliefs, rules and laws into politics, they are going against the teachings of Jesus.Jesus never told Rome what to do. He didn't lead protests against the laws or norms of Rome. He confined his attacks to the leaders of Jewish religion, chiding them for claiming to be pillars of morality while being corrupt on the inside. For this and because of the fact he preferred the company of so called sinners over so called saints, as well as preaching it was important to forgive and love rather than condemn and hate, he was executed as a common criminal.Yes, I was born and raised a Roman Catholic, and continue to attend Mass and receive Communion on a regular basis. It is for this reason and because all I was taught in 12 years of Catholic schooling that I become angry with the Church Hierarchy when they interfere with politics, as was recently done when some bishops and cardinals preached that those who voted for Barack Obama were committing a Mortal Sin because Obama is Pro-Choice.I would love to discuss theology with these learned men. I would love to argue with their position. It might be fun to tell them I believe the number one abortionist of all time is none other than God himself who has performed an uncountable number of abortions. I would tell them a rose by any other name is still a rose, and the only difference between an abortion and a miscarriage is the name of the abortionist.But that would be irrelevant. God's ways are not our ways and God's thoughts are not our thoughts. What is relevant is Jesus, the first religious leader who taught the separation of Church and State, and the need to keep them separate so religion is not used to oppress people, as is commonly done by the extreme right of all religions, be they Christian, Muslim or Jew.Listen to Pete being interviewed by Dave Ewen at http://www.blogtalkradio.com/Circle-Of-Seven/2008/11/15/Readers-Entertainment-Radio-with-guest-Pete-Klein-1 and Fran Siverman at http://www.blogtalkradio.com/Francine-Silverman/2008/11/11/The-Radio-Host-Show-For more info, read his books: "Adirondack Hikes in Hamilton County" the hiking guidebook and the vampire novels "The Vampire Valkyrie" and "The Dancing Valkyrie," now available at http://www.lulu.com/ravenwolfpublishPete talks with writers about their books on Saturday evenings, 6:30 pm EST, by going to http://www.blogtalkradio.com/The-Dancing-Valkyrie

Christians don't follow Jesus

I've recently read several op/ed pieces where several authors continue to harp on the abortion issue. One area of attack their attacts focuses in on Catholic politicians who don't toe the line as Bishops and the Pope would have them do. These columnists who take the Pro Life position point to Bishops who ask priests not to give Communion to Catholic politicians who are Pro Choice.
To me, these Bishops and the Pope himself are not following in the footsteps of Jesus.
Why do I say this?
Look at the Gospels. No where in any of the Gospels is it recorded that Jesus went after secular rulers and secular law. One could say Jesus was the first advocate for the separation of Church and State. Not even when John the Baptist was imprisoned and then beheaded did Jesus protest. But Jesus did go after the religious leaders of his day, especially singling out those who made a big show of how moral they claimed to be.
It was because he went after the religious leaders of his day that they went after him and used secular law to have him crucified.
This is why I say all so called leaders of all the World Religions who strive to prove how holy they are in the political arena are not following in the footsteps of Jesus.

Abortion by any other name

Here are my thoughts on abortion - original as far as I know.
While I am and have been a Catholic for over 65 years of my 65 years of life, I don't agree with the Church nor do I agree with its efforts to make abortion illegal.
As far as abortion is concerned, I regard it as something which results from bad choices. No need to list all the bad choices made to result in a woman wondering if she should or should not have an abortion.
But what I would like to point out is how a rose by any other name is still a rose. Same with abortion. Call it an abortion when a woman decides to have an abortion or call it a miscarriage if God is the abortionist if you want - but the result is the same.
In my view, a human does not come into existence until it has both a heart beat and is breathing. In other words, it is not human until it is born and takes its first breath.
Looking at it from a legal standpoint, if we were to decide a human exists at the point of conception as John McCain believes, then we need to do several things.
One: the woman and those performing the abortion should be arrested and tried for murder, then executed or face life in prison, depending on the laws concerning murder.
Two: we would need to eliminate birthday parties and start having conception parties. Kids would like this because they could drive and drink at an earlier age by nine months, and adults would be able to have sex with them at 17 years and three months after their birthday. Conceptual Day would always be a guess.
What's my point? I am sick of people who try to show how moral they claim to be by being against abortion.
Afterthought. Jesus had little use for the "good" people of his day.