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Links on R&P from around the web
Mitt’s Bid: Would His Loss Crush Mormon Backers?
posted on October 31, 2012At The Salt Lake Tribune, Thomas Burr profiles a group of devout Mormons who believe that Mitt Romney’s presidential bid signifies more than politics. Burr reports that Candace Salima, a Republican and Mormon, “says a Romney loss would be painful for more than just Mormons, but notes the sting may hurt most for the faithful who believe the U.S. Constitution is divinely inspired.” Burr also writes that some Mormons believe that Mitt Romney’s presidency could help to fufill the belief that Mormons will play a major role in saving the world.
Fear the Almighty Wrath: Five Natural Disasters “Caused” by Gays
posted on October 31, 2012At Salon, Mark Gaurino reports on a statement by John McTernan, a self-appointed biblical scholar of the Defend and Proclaim the Faith ministries in Pennsylvania, who wrote in his blog that Hurricane Sandy is “a huge bucket of vomit in America’s face during the election,” forcing Americans to choose between “a pro-homosexual Mormon along with a pro-abortion/homosexual, Muslim Brotherhood promoter, Hard Left Fascist.” This is not the first time that a religious leader has blamed a natural disaster on gays, as similar statements were made by religious leaders after Hurricane Katrina and Hurricane Isaac.
Catholic Reflections on the Endgame of 2012
posted on October 31, 2012At The National Review, George Weigel attacks Vice President Biden and other liberal Catholics for failing to take a stand against the HHS contraceptive mandate. Weigel believes that the precedent that the mandate sets could empower the government “to ‘mandate’ any number of other ‘services’ that would jeopardize the integrity of Catholic institutions and the consciences of private-sector Catholic employers.” Weigel continues, “the abandonment of the religious-freedom issue by far too much of the Catholic Left in 2012 was a further indicator of what Francis Cardinal George announced years ago: the death of liberal Catholicism from what had become, in the post–Vatican II decades, its spiraling intellectual implausibility.”
Massachusetts Vote May Change how the Nation Dies
posted on October 30, 2012At Slate, Lewis Cohen discusses the impact that the Death With Dignity Act, which will appear on the ballot in Massachusetts this Election Day, could have on physician-assisted suicide in America. Both the states of Oregon and Washington have passed similar laws. However, the ballot question in Massachusetts has the potential to heavily impact the American attitude regarding physician-assisted suicide because Massachusetts is home to four major medical schools and America’s leading medical publication. Cohen asserts that Americans should keep open minds about this potential change: “it is time we became pro-choice at the end of life.”
Mormon Church is Conspicuously Absent in Maryland Same-Sex Marriage Referendum
posted on October 30, 2012Michelle Boorstein reports for The Washington Post about the small role that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is playing in the debate over the same-sex Marriage referendum in Maryland. In 2008, Mormons were very active in advocating for Proposition 8 in California, which defined marriage as “between a man and a woman.” Mormons are cautious because of Mitt Romney’s campaign and “the danger of their strongly evangelical faith becoming too closely associated with one party,” writes Boorstein.
Why the IRS Has Stopped Auditing Churches – Even One that Calls President Obama a Muslim
posted on October 30, 2012At Christianity Today, Sarah Zyistra writes that the IRS has officially stopped auditing churches that espouse political views until it can clarify which of its high level employees has the power to initiate audits. “This is absolutely the worst time for the IRS to be taking a step back,” says Rob Boston, senior policy analyst for Americans United for the Separation of Church and State. “The agency needs to resolve this matter and move forward with enforcement. If they fail to do that, we’re only going to see more flagrant violations of the law.”
The Mormon Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism
posted on October 30, 2012At The New Republic, Jackson Lears analyzes the relationship between Mormonism and capitalism. Lears suggests that Mormons have never had a problem being involved in capitalistic enterprise. “The Mormon ethic merges easily with the spirit of capitalism,” writes Lears. However, Lears studies Mitt Romney’s past business practices, and claims that “[Romney] may use the rhetoric of productivity to reconcile his faith with his economic practice, but the rest of us have reason to fear that we are back in Joseph Smith’s world of confidence men—of smiling scoundrels, earnest frauds, and Nauvoo bogus.”
In Obama’s First Term, an Evolving Christian Faith and a More Evangelical Style
posted on October 30, 2012CNN’s Dan Gilgoff analyzes President Obama’s evolving Christian faith. Gilgoff reports Obama’s faith has grown during his first term, and he has created a new group of spiritual advisors with whom he speaks frequently on the campaign trail. “There is a deepening development in his relationship with God,” says Joel Hunter, a Florida-based pastor who has been in touch with Obama nearly every week since he took office. “He chooses to stay faithful in daily habits of study and prayer and consistent times of interchange with spiritual leaders.”
Mitt Romney Offers a Fresh Economic Vision
posted on October 30, 2012The Des Moines Register has endorsed Mitt Romney for President. The Register‘s editorial board asserts that Romney’s economic plan is superior to that of President Obama, and Mitt Romney will be better able to forge compromise in Congress. “Voters should give Mitt Romney a chance to correct the nation’s fiscal course and to implode the partisan gridlock that has shackled Washington and the rest of America—with the understanding that he would face the same assessment [as the President] in four years if he does not succeed.”
Read at The Des Moines Register
Obama Endorses Gay Marriage Measure on Washington Ballot
posted on October 30, 2012At The Oregonian, Jeff Mapes reports that, through a reelection press aide, President Obma has expressed support for the same-sex marriage ballot measure in Washington State. “While the president does not weigh in on every single ballot measure in every state, the president believes in treating everyone fairly and equally, with dignity and respect. Washington’s same-sex marriage law would treat all Washington couples equally, and that is why the President supports a vote approving Referendum 74,” said Paul Bell. Zach Silk, the campaign manager for the pro-referendum movement, said that the endorsement from President Obama “puts an extra gust of wind in our sails.”