On Religion and Family

As I noted yesterday, my brother Eric makes a passionate defense of practically anything President Bush and his fellow conservatives do. However, I also showed how the policies of those conservatives will harm Eric’s family more than nearly any other income level in the country. Today, I will focus on the religious aspects of my brother’s politics and how the administration doesn’t live up to the same ideals as Eric.

Our shared religious history is a fascinating study of how fanatical belief systems can impact one’s life and the lives of those around. Eric and I were born into a dogmatic sect of Christianity known as the Pilgrim Holiness Church, in Anderson Indiana. The sect was strictly authoritarian and exerted tremendous power on all aspects, public and private, of members’ lives. Women, in particular, were subjected in their appearance and conduct with regard to their husbands. There were no short sleeves or jewelry allowed save for a simple wedding band. Women could not cut their hair, wear slacks or pants, and were discouraged against wearing make-up. Men had to keep their hair short and were discouraged against wearing facial hair.

Members could not own televisions, visit movie theaters, or patronize restaurants which served alcohol. Nearly all secular music was forbidden and children were given daily instruction on what was good and bad in the world, with the latter far outweighing the former. In short, this sect was the epitome of the Pharisees of the New Testament.

Time and education eventually prompted both mine and my brother’s departure from that sect. I moved further still away from it and remain unconvinced of the truth of any religion to this day. Eric, on the other hand has been a self-proclaimed Christian on and off throughout his entire life. He even recently sought to become an ordained minister in the church he had been attending.

It is no surprise therefore that he would stick by George W. Bush given the president’s unabashed embracing of faith and religious values. What is interesting to note, though, is how Bush’s religious values don’t measure up to the rhetoric of his faith.

The primary lessons of Jesus Christ, the original liberal hippy, were those of love, peace, and charity. Even a quick perusal of Bush’s policies and actions in government show he distinctly lacks these qualities in his governance of our nation. Since his ascension to the presidency, Bush has dramatically decreased funding for charitable programs benefitting the poor even as he has increased our nation’s expenditures on the newest Christian Crusade against Islam. Eric has an interesting post on his blog along those very lines which I will be debunking in my next article.