New Alabama Govenor shows the intolerance of religion

        The new Alabama Gov. Robert Bentley made headlines today for making some remarkably insensitive commentss concerning his personal beliefs and how they effect his world view. Speaking at the Dexter Avenue Baptist Church made famous by Dr. Martin Luther King, who once served as a Pastor, the Gov is making more than a few headlines with his statement that those who had not accepted Christ as their personal savior are not his brothers and sisters, shocking many non Christians.


         His exact comments were "Anybody here today who has not accepted Jesus Christ as their savior, I'm telling you, you're not my brother and you're not my sister," Bentley said Monday, during his inauguration day, as reported by The Birmingham News. He went on to say, "If the Holy Spirit lives in you that makes you my brothers and sisters. Anyone who has not accepted Jesus, I want to be your brothers and sisters, too,".  The Anti- Defamation League were up in arms about the comments. The regional director for the Anti-Defamation League, Bill Nigut said "His comments are not only offensive, but also raise serious questions as to whether non-Christians can expect to receive equal treatment during his tenure as governor,"   He added,  "It sounded like Bentley was using the office of governor to advocate for Christian conversion. If he does so, he is dancing dangerously close to a violation of the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, which forbids government from promoting the establishment of any religion," 


       As the uproar began to from confusion to outrage, the Governors office released the following statement saying "he is the governor of all of Alabama."


"The governor clearly stated that he will be the governor of all Alabamians” Democrat, Republican and Independent, young, old, black and white, rich and poor. As stated in his (inaugural) address, Gov. Bentley believes his job is to make everyones lives better," the statement read.


      Ashfaq Taufique, president of the Birmingham Islamic Society, didn't seem so sure about the new Governors motives. "Does it mean that those who according to him are not saved are less important than those who are saved?" Taufique said. "Does he want those of us who do not belong to the Christian faith to adopt his faith? That should be toned down. That's not what we need. If he means that, I hope he changes it. We don't want evangelical politicians. They can be whatever in their private life." 

      David Silverman, president of American Atheists, the country's oldest atheist civil rights group said about the matter, "We live in a country that is hugely diverse. The governor basically said: 'If you're not like me, you're second class.' This is a man who puts the Bible above the Constitution and his preacher above the president. His words are disgusting and bigoted and reinforce Alabama's reputation for being backward."


         In closing, I think it is time we analyzed whether religious fanaticism exhibited by our public officials should ever be tolerated by voters. Intolerance simply should not be tolerated. My reason for being systematically turned away from organized religion has been the inability of the participants to live up to the precepts stated in their respective creeds. Christians, Jews, and Muslims all claim some special connection to the creator or creative force to the exclusion of those outside of their line of thought. The presumption that I am right and you are wrong is written in the very nature of their scriptures and holy writings. With that being said, how will we ever have peace?

         It seems like all sides are willing to accept perpetual conflict with other points of view no matter the cost. Religion remains one of the most obvious barriers to world unity. This is being shown to be evident by the behavior of those we vote into office. This is the real danger of religion. It drastically alters your world view in everything you do. For instance, to a Muslim a Christian is an infidel who must accept Islam or face the consequences. For a Christian accept Jesus as your savior or as in the words of the "good" Governor, "We are not brothers" unless you do so.

       And it goes on.... How does a Mormon really feel about Black people if Joseph Smith wrote in their holy book that Africans were cursed by god? How can Mormons like Glen Beck or Mitt Romney act as if their religion that they profess is from god does not impair views toward Black people in general, let alone their views toward President Obama? How about the Hindu who perpetuate the caste system that has the Black Dravidian's labeled untouchable? Gandhi, despite how he is often portrayed, was a peaceful man who hated Black people as much as any Klan member.

       So we cannot deny that religious views have an overwhelming impact on the way we see the world and each other. The perilous condition of the world we live in was created by our thought processes. We created the bed of nails we now sleep on! Jesus said it best perhaps when he said you can tell if a tree is good by its fruit. Well then what have these last few thousand years taught us? We can pretend that holding on to these ancient belief systems that divide us are mandates from God, but really who are we fooling except ourselves?