John McCain is merciless and punishing whomever fails to respect him as a measure for psychological strenght. He is judging about the souls, and people are welcoming his conclusions. He and George Bush are putting themselves into the position of the public accusers of Americans and of the rest of the world. However the Bible tells us that in the spiritual the accuser is also the devil.
The Biblical idea is that the power of God is fulfilled only in weakness.

The Tao-Te-King the sacred book of Taoism rightly declares:"All creatures and plants are delicate and weak when they are born, but when they perish, they are strong and powerful. What is strong and powerful is destroyed, and what is weak and delicate begins to live. For this reason a strong army does not conquer, but is destroyed like a strong tree. That which is strong and powerful does not have the same advantage as that which is weak and delicate."

Interviewer: Mr. McCain, what is the gravest long-term threat facing our economy?

McCain: Its Radical Islamic Extremism, Stupid

Well this wasn't the precise quote... but it sums it quite well. To quote then in the spirit of completeness:

Hi friends, I'm writing to let you know that I'm stepping down from the Religion and Politics News Roundup, which I've been writing on Thursdays. It's been a great experience; I've enjoyed searching for and writing about the stories, and reading your responses. Thanks for all the encouraging and thoughtful comments. Have a wonderful summer!

...and more important for our purposes, politics. From the press release:

Politics and religion in the United States are intertwined, and religion is highly relevant to understanding politics in the U.S. Yet while the diversity of religious affiliation, belief and practice translates into important differences on many social and political issues, differences on other issues are less pronounced.

Religion is closely linked to political ideology. The survey shows that Mormons are among the most politically conservative groups in the population. Jews, Buddhists and Hindus, by contrast, are among the most likely to describe their ideology as liberal.

People who regularly attend worship services and say religion is important in their lives are much more likely to identify as conservative, and this pattern extends to many religious traditions. For example, within the evangelical, mainline Protestant, historically black Protestant, Catholic, Mormon and Orthodox Christian traditions, those who attend church weekly are significantly more likely than those who attend less often to describe themselves as political conservatives.  And among Jews, those who say religion is very important to them or pray every day are more likely than others to be politically conservative.

The connection between religious engagement and political attitudes appears to be especially strong when it comes to hot button social issues such as abortion or homosexuality. For instance, about six-in-ten Americans who attend religious services at least once a week say abortion should be illegal in most or all cases, while only three-in-ten who attend less often share this view. This pattern holds across several religious traditions.

On other topics covered in the survey, such as views on the role and size of government and foreign policy attitudes, the role of religion is less clear and there appears to be greater consensus across and within religious traditions. For instance, a majority of nearly every religious group supports stricter environmental regulations and believes the government should do more to help Americans in need. Similarly, most Americans, including majorities of most faiths, say it is more important to focus on problems here at home than to be active in world affairs.

This is the main reason President Bush led our country to war. I'm guessing it's also a major reason that John McCain wants American troops to stay there indefinitely.

From the New York Times:

Four Western oil companies are in the final stages of negotiations this month on contracts that will return them to Iraq, 36 years after losing their oil concession to nationalization as Saddam Hussein rose to power.

Exxon Mobil, Shell, Total and BP — the original partners in the Iraq Petroleum Company — along with Chevron and a number of smaller oil companies, are in talks with Iraq’s Oil Ministry for no-bid contracts to service Iraq’s largest fields, according to ministry officials, oil company officials and an American diplomat...

(Continued below the fold)

For I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me.

Not content to leave the above warning where the Book of Deuteronomy does, certain Roman Catholic clergymen have taken it upon themselves to extend it, punishing supporters for the sins of their candidates.

Consider the case of Douglas Kmiec, a supporter of Barack Obama’s presidential run who was denied Communion in April by a priest who takes exception to Obama’s pro-choice views.

Today's topics:

The Washington Post and the New York Times ran articles contrasting America's approach to the regulation of hazardous chemicals and to free speech respectively, with other countries.

McCain says it's "not too important" when American troops come home from Iraq, so long as casualties are reduced.

Barack Obama is dominating the news coverage of the presidential election. He also met earlier this week with T.D. Jakes, Franklin Graham and other religious figures.

The Christian Science Monitor has a video and article based on their meeting with Howard Dean this week (in case you're wondering what the DNC talking points are these days); he says it's better that Democrats be nervous about the election than complacent.

It's not usually worth scolding local columnists, but this just seems too damn convenient for words:

After a 25-year love affair between religion and politics, who would've thought it would come to this? In Election 2008, to the surprise of many pundits, religious leaders and politicians appear to be going their separate ways.


Frankly, it's about time. America has too many brands of spiritual beliefs for religion to play a leading role in its politics.


This intertwining of the two was never a match made in heaven. As marriages of convenience go, however, it was a beauty.


From Ronald Reagan to George W. Bush, religious conservatives have been able to influence national elections in their and the Republicans' favor, while at the same time forcing the Democratic Party to reassess its core values and change the way it attracts voters.

...

I say good riddance to this failing marriage and also to pastors who preach hatred and bigotry, whether it's the Rev. Jeremiah Wright invoking God's damnation on America or the Rev. John Hagee dredging up the old "whore of Babylon" moniker for the Catholic Church.

Isn't that nice? Digby likes to talk about how once Democrats take full control of the government, we'll hear a sudden rush of calls for "civility" and "putting all that nasty partisanship behind us." I'm inclined to think this is thread from the same reel. We're going to be treated to eight years of sanctimonious lectures about the evils of mixing faith and politics, and never you mind the differences between a hateful toad like John Hagee and a tough, occasionally over-the-top advocate for justice like Jeremiah Wright.

To which somebody will no doubt respond in the comments, "But there is no difference!"

And to which I will respond, "People, please! Do the analysis of the power differential before you make half-assed statements!"

Goes for local columnists, too.

Anybody who's ever spent time in the church world knows that, in the immortal words of one of my colleagues, "there are some churches you can't keep going on life support, and there are some you can't beat to death with a stick."

Today's topics...

I'll make it short and (bitter)sweet: Obama's win is celebrated around the world, and Clinton's team has announced that she will suspend her campaign and endorse Obama on Saturday. But the road ahead is rocky -- polls show the race between Obama and McCain is surprisingly close. In other news, after failing to effectively disguise creationism as "intelligent design," creationists are trying on a new cloak (the language of evolution's "strengths and weaknesses"), but will any amount of "reframing" disguise the movement's true nature? (haha, get it?)

Clinton Ready to Step Down, Endorse Obama

From CNN:

Sen. Hillary Clinton on Saturday will officially suspend her campaign for the presidency and "express her support for Senator Obama and party unity," her campaign said Wednesday.

An earlier diary urged those of us who are preachers to preach on anything but politics this Sunday (understandably, given yet more stories about controversial preachers in the news). This post got me thinking about political preaching. Political preaching is risky business. The preacher who tackles politics from the pulpit risks, at the very least, losing his or her audience, which may tune him or her out. Worse, the political preacher may end up with a divided congregation and fewer members (after people leave in protest); or this preacher may end up without a job (I have experienced the first two of these things, and almost the third). As if these risks were not enough, the current political season has made it clear that political preaching can also unintentionally hurt a preacher's cause or candidate.

For the Christian political mind to genuinely capture the political implications of the Gospel, I believe we have to internalize (and then teach) a historical-narrative approach to theology.  What follows after the fold is my argument for the greater use of narrative theology in eschatalogical discussions and particularly in the realm of politics.  More...