Bill Keller's Questions on Religion

With a picture of people with up-reaching arms, Mr Bill Keller published an article on the religious faith of some of the candidates for President of these United States.  The article can be found here, where it appeared with a 25 August dateline, but for the 28 August print issue of The New York Times Magazine.

The actual questions appeared in a blog, here.  They came out with a August 25, 2011, 3:37 PM, dateline and "Tougher Questions for the Candidates" as the headline.

In my latest column, I wrote about asking our presidential candidates more questions regarding their religious beliefs.  Here’s the general questionnaire I sent to the candidates:

And thus follows the questions and my responses.  I provide my responses now, in case come April I find myself on City Life, and overwhelmed by a sense of angst concerning the Republican field, I shout into the microphone, "I've had it.  Drop the others and take me!"  (If the Democrats find themselves in the same position, as I expect they will, they should feel free to use my responses.)

1. Is it fair to question presidential candidates about details of their faith?
CRK:  If one is asking like a Sunday School teacher, no.  Otherwise, yes, everything is fair, especially if the reporter is taking a partisan stand.  However, ignorance on the part of the candidate with regard to the question or doctrinal issue should not be taken as acceptance by the candidate of the reporter's view of the doctrinal point.

2. Is it fair to question candidates about controversial remarks made by their pastors, mentors, close associates or thinkers whose books they recommend?
CRK:  Absolutely.  On the other hand, just because I recommend On War doesn't mean I agree with everything that Dead Karl has said, or everything others have said he said.

3. (a) Do you agree with those religious leaders who say that America is a “Christian nation” or “Judeo-Christian nation?”
CRK:  By and large.

3. (b) What does that mean in practice?
CRK:  In practice it means less than it would appear.  Part of who we are comes from our Judeo-Christian background, just as it also comes from Greek and Roman roots, and an Anglo-Saxon understanding of Common Law and the Rights of Englishmen.  It is sad that our citizens don't have more of an appreciation for these roots, which played such a strong roll in forming us into the nation we are.

4. (a) If you encounter a conflict between your faith and the Constitution and laws of the United States, how would you resolve it?
CRK:  Scripture says to render unto Caeser's what is Caeser's and to God what is God's.

4. (b) Has that happened, in your experience?
CRK:  No, not in my personal experience.  The real question to ask is if one can cite past situations where this happened and how it was resolves, and how it should have been resolved.  Perhaps one might cite Claus von Stauffenberg or General Robert E Lee.  Maybe Robert E Lee is a bad example.  What about Thomas More?

5. (a) Would you have any hesitation about appointing a Muslim to the federal bench?
CRK:  Who is this person?  No one comes to the nomination process without a background, without a record.  Where does he or she see the US Constitution standing vis-a-vie Sharia?  A position that would see Sharia as being the law for some or all Muslims in the US would be a negative for me.  On the other hand, a thirst for justice for all, nourished by studying Sharia might be a positive.

5. (b) What about an atheist?
CRK:  What is this atheist's stand on the First Amendment?

6. (a) Are Mormons Christians, in your view?
CRK:  No, but so what?  The US military groups Mormon Chaplains as Christians and that seems to work just fine.

6 (b) Should the fact that Mitt Romney and Jon Huntsman are Mormons influence how we think of them as candidates?
CRK:  Absolutely not.

7. What do you think of  the evangelical Christian movement known as Dominionism and the idea that Christians, and only Christians, should hold dominion over the secular institutions of the earth?
CRK:  I think that this idea is mistaken.  At some level it is an idea that many groups appropriate.  For example, Mohammad Badei, the Muslim Brotherhood's Supreme Leader, has asserted that only Muslims should lead a state.  There are those who think only the educated elite from the Ivy League should lead the United States.  All such ideas are mistaken.  Wherever this kind of idea is present it should be rejected by those who believe in Democracy and the unalienable rights of each individual.

8. (a) What is your attitude toward the theory of evolution?
CRK:  It is what the evidence shows.

8. (b) Do you believe it should be taught in public schools?
CRK:  Why not?  It is what the scientific evidence shows.  Is not the real question whether "Creationism", in some form, should also be taught in schools, and the fear of that on the part of some?

9. Do you believe it is proper for teachers to lead students in prayer in public schools?
CRK:  No.  On the other hand, I am not against invocations at graduations or valedictorians giving God, or even Jesus (or even Mohammed) credit for their success.

Here endeth the lesson from Mr Keller.

Regards  —  Cliff