self delete

[Horse with no Name]

and apologies if I offended.

[Skinner]

1. I don't understand what this has to do with separation of church and state

It's an auto accident. Why does this news story inspire you to post about the need for separation of church and state?

Please explain.

[qanda]

2. I'm not sure

But it may have something to do with the pastor's wife being very active in the Republican party. :shrug:

[Horse with no Name]

3. In this part of the country

Most preacher's and pastor's wives are involved in their churches and communities.
If this man's wife was that involved in Republican politics--then undoubtedly her husband is preaching the Republican agenda from the pulpit.
For example--I personally would not go to a church where the either was extremely active in Republican politics, because there isn't any doubt that it crosses the line.
I don't understand why it would be mentioned. It struck me as odd that in the volatile political field today, that a church would take the chance on alienating a Democratic member (and there are a few Democrats in that area).
That was my point. Maybe it is more of a local point, and there was certainly no disrespect intended. Had I found the story and she was alive, it would have the same relevance.

[qanda]

4. I understand what you are saying, but...

There are many black churches that are very involved in the Democratic party. Here in Maryland, I went to a revival service at a black Baptist church, the day after Ehrlich won and it was more like a funeral. People were standing up testifying about how we, as Democrats, will overcome the evil Republicans. Of course, I was right there with them but there were probably some who felt a little uncomfortable.

[Horse with no Name]

5. Although "I" would absolutely love that

That isn't right either.
Church should be a respite from the outside world.
A place to gather your faith and fuel your energies, meet and have fellowship with your neighbors--despite their political stripes.
A place to worship the Lord--not a place to discuss politics (Democratic or Republican).
Unless of course they want to start paying taxes and become the Democratic Church of Christ or the Republican Church of Christ.

[Maddy McCall]

6. And there are many black churches being wooed by the Repub party.

NPR did a feature on Thursday on this...

Black "progressive" preachers are now taking hand-outs from the Bush administration, to run "programs" in their churches. The NPR article painted the minister of a church who refused Bush handouts as "a sixties-type liberal."

The minister who refused Bush handouts criticized the other minister in his hometown who does accept Bush handouts as "unable to speak with a bone in his mouth. You give a dog a bone, and he's going to chew on it, and that keeps him from saying what he needs to say."

The NPR correspondent said that the Republican party has no hope of conventing all black voters to Democrats, but just to peel enough away to win elections. In Ohio, over 16% of black voters supported Bush, which gave him the Ohio victory, according to NPR.

It was a really interesting interview with the two pastors.

Now, as far as white churches go, I can tell you for a fact that they are every bit as guilty of preaching Republican virtues from the pulpit as black churches are of preaching Democratic virtues. Yet it's always whites who complain that black churches are "too political."

[Horse with no Name]

10. I can only speak for my part of the country

My daughter worked at a local restaurant--and the manager is actively involved in Republican politics AND Church.
One of the girls that my daughter works and goes to school with(as was my daughter) was invited to go to their church.
As long as they went (which my daughter went once, this other girl went a few more times), she had Wednesday and Sunday off.
However, she decided she wanted to go back to her own church which was a black church and he refused to give her Wednesday and Sunday off.
I don't doubt for a minute that white churches are wayyyy more political than black churches.

[Maddy McCall]

12. I'm in Mississippi...I know what you mean, hon.

I see it here, all the time.

I wish you wouldn't have deleted your article and your opinion.

I used to live next door to the Baptist church in which I was raised--it's now on its way to being a mega-church. I no longer attended (and I will tell you now that the worst neighbor you can have is a church, but I'll save that for another post). I had a Ronnie Musgrove (Dem. Gov candidate--he won) sign in my yard, and you would have thought I was proponing Satanism.

I had long ago quit attending church, but people attempted to be a tiny bit cordial to me because my father was a senior deacon of the church. At any rate, two of the young deacons approached me and told me that they didn't appreciate me putting up a "libruhl" political sign so close to "church grounds" and that I should remove it.

I told them in no uncertain terms that as long as I paid taxes on MY property, I'd damn well put up whatever political sign I want and that they would never bully me into doing otherwise.

Bud, they tangled with a woman who doesn't adhere to the biblical "women should submit" tenet. And they were speechless.

So what did the pussies do? They went to my dad and asked him to talk me into donating my house and property to the church, so that they could build a parking lot on it. Then they waged an intimidation campaign against me the likes of which you cannot imagine, and which had nothing to do with Christ's teachings. I won't provide the details, because I don't want to relive that terrible time--but suffice it to say, they made my life and my son's life miserable.

After about four years of it, they finally got their offer right (money-wise) and I accepted it and sold them my old house. We took the money and built the home where I am now, in the middle of the woods on a creek, with no neighbors--and I could not be happier.

So, yeah, I've seen how Republican churches wage war against people who don't share their political ideology. I've seen how they exclude people who don't share their political ideology.

We won't even go into racism i

[qanda]

14. I don't think you should have deleted your original post

I think is certainly a topic worth discussing. I hope my post didn't make you think I was attacking you or anything, I was just trying to say that church and politics are on both sides.

[Skinner]

7. We don't actually know what he preaches from the pulpit.

I think it is fairly normal to include some information about people involved when writing about an accident, particularly if they are considered prominent in the community like the wife of a church pastor.

I guess I just find it very strange that someone would post a story about a car crash and use it as a means to comment about the need for greater separation between church and state.

[Horse with no Name]

8. No offense meant

I will delete the story.
However, just a sidenote that this is my Texas hometown and I know how these things work--although it is probably not this way in the rest of the world.
My apologies.

[Skinner]

11. No offense taken.

And, for the record, you didn't need to apologize or delete your OP.

[QC]

9. What a bizarre thread! n/t

[Maddy McCall]

13. Why?

What's bizarre about it, other than that Skinner posted in it and the OP deleted her post (which I think she shouldn't have, because it did open up an interesting conversation)?