if being a strong christian means his country comes second to his faith, then there is a serious conflict of interest. what if there was a hindu, islamic or buddhist candidate that said, "I don't separate my faith from my personal and professional lives." would you see nothing wrong?

remember when that one guy was sworn in on the koran? remember the outcry? all the talk of christian roots and tradition. what about the big deal some made about obama possibly being muslim? those criticisms were primarily, appeals to christian bigotry in this country. people who have the usa as their #2 priority have no business being president.

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Generally I agree with JMS' post on personal attitude: annoying but somehow touching.
Beats the hell out of the kind of fundamentalists who just hate you.

On the other hand I think it's overall harmful. Evangelical religions place their belief in "saving souls" over real world concerns. With all their zeal, the opportunity cost is amazing.

Of course I come to this conclusion by the belief that the religious convictions are false.
So it's a mixed feeling. They get points for their conviction and their effort...
But I just think that they make the world a worse place.

Some religions do charity for the purpose of doing good and helping others. That is positive.
The most extremely evangelical religions seem to do it just to gain converts... and that really alters the way in which they do it.
They're like a pyramid scheme.

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"It's never over... BOY!"
The Tall Man, Phantasm III

Well then you would have a problem with most Christians. Because most Christians believe that faith is above all other aspects of life, including their country. I, myself, believe this. The reality is that Christianity is different from other religions and would not be harmful at all to America. Some people believe that Mike Huckabee will include the ten commandments in the constitution and force people believe in Christianity. This is simply incorrect. Since Mike Huckabee claims he is a Biblical Christian, he should be for freedom of religion. The Bible is for the freedom to choose to believe.

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“Good leaders abhor wrongdoing of all kinds; sound leadership has a moral foundation.”

-Proverbs 16:12

its okay if christians value their faith over everything else, but when you cant separate something that personal from your professional life, youre going to make decisions that arent in the best interest of the country youre trying to run. the bible is for the freedom to choose to believe? i dont know about that one. i heard you can be denied life for not believing, even tortured for all eternity. i wonder where i got that from...

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I find solicitiation/evangalization irritating because it presumes that their belief system is superior to mine, and the door-knockers intrude upon my privacy.

But tactics matter a lot. If they're polite, not pushy, and leave when I tell them I'm not interested, no biggie.

Still, I think believers would do themselves (and the world) a big favor if, instead of actively evangelizing, they simply lived their beliefs and let their lives and actions speak for themselves. Sure, discuss their faith with anyone that asks; be available for seekers and people who are in tough moments in their religious life. But mostly, just live well and do well.

If more believers did that, I think they'd have far more success in conversions.

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Scarred survivor of the April 2008 Mod War.

Certainly not the Bible. In fact in the Bible, Jesus dislikes the pharasees, who are theocratic "church" officials, for being corrupt. The Bible also talks about choosing to believe. I don't know exactly where you are hearing this, but it is incorrect.

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“Good leaders abhor wrongdoing of all kinds; sound leadership has a moral foundation.”

-Proverbs 16:12

so youre telling me that theres really no hell you go to for not believing? wow, i think a lot of people are confused about that one then. im pretty sure thats the impression most people have.

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I never said that. How did I imply that?

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“Good leaders abhor wrongdoing of all kinds; sound leadership has a moral foundation.”

-Proverbs 16:12

perhaps i wasnt clear. when i said, "denied life for not believing, even tortured for all eternity," i was talking about not getting to live forever in heaven/suffering to hell.

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God has given mankind a second chance, anyone who chooses can accept it.

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“Good leaders abhor wrongdoing of all kinds; sound leadership has a moral foundation.”

-Proverbs 16:12