Jimmy Carter: "Losing my religion for equality"

[Strong Atheist]

http://www.theage.com.au/opinion/losing-my-religion-for-equality-20090714-dk0v.html

[hiley]

1. excellent

he deserves some respect

[callous taoboy]

2. Powerful statement.

[RufusTFirefly]

3. K & R for our greatest ex President!

What an honorable man.

[OneBlueSky]

4. I've always liked and respected Jimmy Carter . . .

this article reinforces my affection and admiration for the man . . . all around good guy, imo . . .

[Raster]

5. Jimmy Carter: A decent, good man and outstanding example of what a Christian should be.

[Jester Messiah]

6. Nothing excuses bigotry, sexism, and hate like religion! [nt]

[ZombieHorde]

7. K&R&nt

[Strong Atheist]

8. .

:hi:

[JerseygirlCT]

9. Oh bless him.

This ought to be shouted from the rooftops.

[Strong Atheist]

10. It is, at least here. Someone saw my posts early on, and posted it

in GDP...

[JerseygirlCT]

11. The more, the better, as far as I'm concerned!

Thank you for this.

[Strong Atheist]

12. You are welcome! nt.

[ShadesOfGrey]

13. Viva La Carter! Love you Jimmy! k&r

[ShadesOfGrey]

14. Why did this go to the religion dungeon. Jimmy was a former Pres.

Grrr... Whatever! This atheist LOVES Jimmy Carter!

[Strong Atheist]

15. "Why did this go to the religion dungeon" - because, that is where I

posted it. However, it was seen and re-posted in GDP by BlooInBloo...

[Betty Karlson]

16. Parting ways with a church

(Just for the record: I am in no way passing judgement or even comparison on anyone in this reply.)

Sometimes, even at advanced ages, people may find that their churches have parted ways with their beliefs.

The explanation for this comes in various ways:
* churches, for many reasons, can become less inclusive than they used to be. Or - in my case - too liberal (and exclusively so) in its theology, forcing another kind of painfull split.
* churches may undergo ritual change or doctrinal change (or a superficialization of ritual and/ or doctrine) that estranges the more intellectual members of the church (liberals as well as conservatives)
* Sometimes, churches take more time than the individual to make a move in matters of .

These are only a few reasons for parting ways with a church. We may applaud the courage it takes to make such a step, as long as we don't fail to acknowledge the pain and sorrow that make the step so courageous.

I would like to add that above-average intelligent people are more likely to "lose their religion" than those with average or below-average I.Q.'s. This is because their faith styles (remind me to explain Fowler's theories on that at some later point) change a few more times (on average) than those of others. Losing your religion is not a sign of intelligence, or a virtue. Challenging your religion is.

We should appreciate that when we say "losing my religion" we really mean "losing my church". Equating the two is a concept most people lose before losing either the church or the religion.

[Strong Atheist]

17. Welcome to DU!

:toast:

[kwassa]

18. but he is not losing his religion, he is just leaving a church

The article title is not substantiated by what he says in the article.

Headlines are often written by editors, and this seems to be a reference to the well-known R.E.M. song.

[charlie]

19. Certainly an editor's headline

The essay appears elsewhere under various titles, more often than not, "The words of God do not justify cruelty to women."

[onager]

20. Misunderstood Southern slang

I think you're right that the editor was just trying to be Tragically Hip in quoting the R.E.M. song.

But R.E.M., like Jimmy Carter, hail from Georgia (Athens).

In the song, they are using the phrase "losing my religion" as Southerners have used it for eons. It simply means "making me very angry." In other parts of the country, people might say, "That would p*ss off the Pope."

It doesn't really refer to religion and is not be taken literally as such, IMHO. Not that I've ever asked Michael Stipe or anything...:-)

Just an example of that wonderful Southern hyperbole. Exactly like when my Mom (in South Carolina) says, "Oh, I just hate and despise that stupid sister of mine!" Translation: she's mildly annoyed at her sister and they'll be getting along famously again in about 30 minutes.