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lll - Our constitutional star is also theologically expert Given Obama's repudiation of the politics of the cleric who recruited him to Christianity, some folks wanted to know how that effected him theologically. The 3/27 Christian Post relates how, "while answering a question about his Christian faith" in North Carolina, he "said he believes that Jesus Christ died for his sins and through God's grace and mercy he could have 'everlasting life'.... But he also believes Jews and Muslims and non-believers who live moral lives are as much 'children of God' as he is ... he spoke about his late mother who was 'not a believer'... 'she was the kindest, most decent, generous person that I have ever known' .... 'I'm sure she is in heaven, even though she may not have subscribed to everything that I subscribe to.'" As an atheist, this concerns me personally. If she is in heaven, I can go there even though I insist that it doesn't exist. But before I go anywhere, I ask what the weather is like, what will I do there, etc. So readers, atheist or pious, must be Christlike and forgive me for closing this article with some questions for Obama. I'll send it to him. Naturally I don't expect an answer. He is busy. But maybe I'm wrong? After all, can't a guy who's up-to-date on the detailed demography of today's paradise perform other miracles? *** Hi Barrack, According to the 3/27 Christian Post, [Obama Suggests Jesus Christ Not the Only Way to Heaven] you told a North Carolina audience that you believe that "non-believers who live moral lives are as much 'children of God' as you are. You said that your "late mother who was 'not a believer ... was the kindest, most decent, generous person that I have ever known .... I'm sure she is in heaven, even though she may not have subscribed to everything that I subscribe to.'" This will please 44% of Americans. In 1999, they, mostly believers, told Gallup that nice atheists go there. As you, like them, are expert on such matters, I take the liberty of asking some questions. 1. - You said on 3/18 that Reverend Jeremiah Wright used "incendiary language ... that denigrate both the greatness and the goodness of our nation." You claim he "sees the conflicts in the Middle East as rooted primarily in the actions of stalwart allies like Israel, instead of emanating from the perverse and hateful ideologies of radical Islam." Is he is banned from heaven? 2. - In North Carolina, you declared "Muslims" as much "children of God" as yourself, eligible for heavenly residence. But on 3/18 you denounced "perverse and hateful ideologies of radical Islam" which attack "stalwart allies like Israel." Does this mean that God, or whoever sells apartments in heaven, won't admit Hamas followers and other Muslims opposed to Israel's "actions"? 3. You opine that "Jews" are likewise welcomed. But thousands of Orthodox Jews live in Israel, categorically opposed to its existence. They claim that only God can recreate a genuine Jewish kingdom, if the Jews repent their sins. Are they also forbidden entry? 4. - What does your mom say re winding up in a place she didn't believe in? Can she leave on vacation or permanently? 5. - Tell us atheists if we -- and pious believers like yourself -- can bring our pets? A 2006 Washington Post survey found 43% of Americans believing pets go to heaven. Ninety-three percent of these philosophers insist that they can go, "even if their owners do not." Please think before you answer. We're talking about the swing vote in Pennsylvania's crucial primary. 6. - Global warming means heat rising high into the sky. So is heaven getting as hot as hell? I'll need to know what to wear if I go there. 7. - Speaking of hell, a 2/25/03 Gallup poll announced that 67% of all Democrats and 79% of Republicans believe in the Devil. The Gallup organization is noted for its piety, but this troubled them: "Over the centuries, science has been able to explain many phenomena that once seemed supernatural. Bad weather, ill health, and heretical opinions may not be the work of the infernal after all. With the advent of evolutionary theory and modern psychology, these days we're more likely to think of people who do terrible things as broken human beings, rather than agents of the netherworld. Furthermore, religion has ceded its civil authority, and religiosity has declined somewhat in American society. So we might expect belief in the devil to have largely evaporated. It hasn't. Regardless of political belief, religious inclination, education, or region, most Americans believe that the devil exists." As an atheist, I argue that the poll really gives us the gut-basic difference between typical Democrats and Republicans. The average Democrat has a nit-sized brain, ordinary Republicans have nat-sized brains. Does this sound right to you? Or do you think its the other way around? Stay well, give 'em hell, Lenni Brenner is the author of The Lesser Evil, a history of the Democratic Party, and editor of Jefferson & Madison On Separation of Church and State: Writings on Religion and Secularism. He blogs at: www.smithbowen.net/linfame/brenner
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