Religious Right

I wanted to lay out some of the key points of common ground that I think all of us share as followers of Christ, whether we lean towards conservative/literal interpretation of the Bible or a liberal/metaphoric interpretation. I believe that these common points are also foundational components of progressive politics. I don't intend to unpack each of these extensively here, but rather I want to put them on the table for discussion and for everyone's consideration.

1. Reciprocity as derived from the Golden Rule and the command to love our neighbors. The idea of reciprocity is a foundational principle for most secular formulations of liberalism. Jesus says of the command to do unto others as we would have them do to us, "...this sums up the law and the prophets" Mt 7:12. It is a command that directly dictates the manner in which we are to relate to others. The laws that we support and advocate through our political involvement effect our neighbors and so this command is perhaps the most relevant in the Bible to the way in which we ought to formulate our political agendas.

Over the next ten days or so I shall be posting a multi-part series on why Hillary Clinton is my choice for President.

I know that many of you will greet these postings with responses that range from doubt to open hostility. As unwarranted as I believe such reactions to be, that is your right. I too have my doubts about some of her past positions, not many, but some (the flag burning legislation for example). But overall, I will outline the case for her nomination and election. And while Senator Obama and former Senator Edwards talk about change, Hillary has been actively engaged in making it happen—often in the face of fierce Right-wing hostility. All I ask is that you give me the courtesy of stating my peace and then for you to reflect upon what I offer as proof.

This was originally posted at Talk to Action.

This past week it was reported that stem cell researchers may have uncovered a technique that would create embryonic stem cells without the use of embryos or Somatic Cell Nuclear Transfer Research. Thus it is no surprise that in the Washington Posts's November 23, 2007 edition, Michael Gerson hails the recent discovery in stem cell research as "a vindication" of President George W, Bush's policy of obstructing the pursuit of sound science.

But Gerson is hardly objective.

This originally appeared at