Rick Perry just had to keep his mouth shut to win the governor race in Texas. And on Sunday, he proved he could not do that simple thing.

First he attends a megachurch where the preacher says all those who are non-christian have a nonstop ticket to hell (makes one wonder if maybe he's doing drugs with a male prostitute).

Then when asked about the comment later by a reporter, Gov. Rick Perry claims that anyone who does not accept Jesus Christ as their personal savior will go to hell. So much for the Jewish, muslim, buddhist, hindu, etc. votes.

As one candidate for Governor put it, "surely Rick Perry can make better use of his time than deciding on who gets to heaven and who goes to hell."

This sillieness is exactly what happens when you forget what your Mother taught you: never mix religion and politics.

I am a Texan with a wide swath of political affiliations as both co-workers and friends. There seems to be a general belief that:
1) Perry is a poor governor.
2) He will win the election.

I don't know of anyone who thinks he is a great governor including conservatives. Maybe 12th Man or JP5 would disagree. I would be curious to know.

Ixtellor - A Texan for 28 years now.

So you prefer candidates that dodge questions? He was answered a specific question and he answered it directly. Maybe not politically expedient but honest. Good for him.

"He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life" - 1 John 5:12

My perspective as a resident of the Gulf Coast may be different than yours. Perry managed to evacuate pretty much the entire Gulf Coast when Rita was on the way. The plan was carried out and where the need for improvement was seen, the plan (for next time) changed. I think he was helped by the picture in LA of what not to do.

That's just one thing I know, but what issue do you think he failed on?

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Do you know what it's like to fall in the mud and get kicked... in the head... with an iron boot? Of course you don't, no one does. It never happens. It's a dumb question... skip it.

"Judge not less ye be judged"
Matthew 7:1-5

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"In individuals, insanity is rare; but in groups, parties, nations and epochs, it is the rule." - Nietzsche

So are you judging Perry? Do you judge the Democratic/Republican parties?

Actually that is the most misquoted verse in the Bible - you aren't the first. It is talking here about hypocritical judgements. Jesus also said:

"Judge righteous judgment." - John 7:24

He also told a man:

"Thou hast rightly judged." - Luke 7:43

One more from Paul:

"He that is spiritual judgeth all things" - 1 Col 2:15


All Perry did was to repeat that which Jesus had already said:

"I am the way the truth and the life; no man comes to the Father except through Me." John 14:16

This is another case of a stupid reporter putting words into a candidates mouth. Christianity is Perry's religion. He condemned no one, but the utter hypocrisy of those who disparage Perry's religion is astounding.

Notice the quotation marks. "In my faith, that's what it says, and I'm a believer of that," the governor said.

See how that works? Quotation marks serve a purpose here.

And, here's what Perry said later at a campaign stop. "I don't know that there's any human being that has the ability to interpret what God and his final decision-making is going to be," Mr. Perry said. "That's what the faith says. I understand, and my caveat there is that an all-knowing God certainly transcends my personal ability to make that judgment black and white."

He added: "Before we get into Buddha and all the others, I get a little confused there. But the fact is that we live in a pluralistic world but our faith is real personal. And my Christian faith teaches that the way is through Jesus Christ."

Strayhorn: "There are many ways to heaven. We're all sinners, and we're all God's children. God's a uniter." Ooooh Puhleeeeease.

Mr. Bell declined to say whether he agrees that only followers of Jesus can go to heaven. "I'm a Christian," he said. "Rick Perry certainly is entitled to his beliefs, but when you're in public office, you need to respect people of all faiths and denominations." So now it's disrespectful to answer a question about your own religious beliefs. It's like saying it's OK to believe something but don't say it out loud when you're running for office.

Friedman: "He doesn't think very differently from the Taliban, does he?" Good job comparing Christians to terrorists!


It would seem that many candidates are prepared to lie about their own religious beliefs in order to sling a little mud at the frontrunner. Up until they did that, I thought they all probably pretty decent people.

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Do you know what it's like to fall in the mud and get kicked... in the head... with an iron boot? Of course you don't, no one does. It never happens. It's a dumb question... skip it.

Uh, sorry---but Rick Perry doesn't get to decide who goes to heaven or hell. Those are YOUR words; he never made such a claim.

I'm a 5th generation Texan and I think Perry is a good Governor. Better than many we've had. My real estate taxes are about $1500 less this year because of Rick Perry. He's not as personable as our last Governor was----Gov. George W. Bush. But then you can't have everything!!

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"This is a time for a national imperative not to fail in Iraq." Condoleeza Rice, January 11, 2007

I don't think that it is misquoted at all; Jesus said "judge not less ye be judged" and later went on to say "let ye who hath not sinned cast the first stone"...they said that god in heaven judges man, and that is why we live through faith in his guidance. Because mankind can never be led astray once they realize God, neither death nor pain can hurt a faithful person. With "he that is spiritual judeth all things", in my opinion it can be translated to mean that a spiritual person must judge for themselves the ethical climate of the material world in order to live in accordance with their morality. You must judge whether it is ethical to enter a brothel, steal from a friend, etc etc...It is a wholly different judging than to judge God's worth of another person, and decide that you understand the mystery of divine justice, and furthermore are willing to pass out sentences in the earthly realm.

As for the "fire and brimstone" preachers, the bible says not to add or subtract. This means that they are inventing non-biblical rhetoric to frighten people. What does the bible say about hell? It says that it is better to cut your eye out, or cut your hand off than to go to hell. It says that hell is the absence of god. And in revelations there is much mysterious and esoteric imagery that could be interpreted in a variety of ways.

Do I judge Perry? Not really, I just disagree with his interpretation of the holy bible.

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"In individuals, insanity is rare; but in groups, parties, nations and epochs, it is the rule." - Nietzsche