c. 2007 Religion News Service
Dobson: `I Cannot, and Will Not, Vote for Rudy Giuliani’
(RNS) Focus on the Family founder James Dobson, writing his personal views in an online commentary, has declared that he will not vote for former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani in a presidential election.
“Speaking as a private citizen and not on behalf of any organization or party, I cannot, and will not, vote for Rudy Giuliani in 2008,” he declared in a column for WorldNetDaily. “It is an irrevocable decision.”
Dobson cited numerous reasons why he had come to that conclusion, most notably Giuliani’s stance on abortion.
“How could Giuliani say with a straight face that he `hates’ abortion,’ while also seeking public funding for it?” Dobson asked. “Those beliefs are philosophically and morally incompatible. What kind of man would even try to reconcile them?”
Dobson said Giuliani’s recent speech at Houston Baptist University, in which he stated his support for abortion rights, means “the jig is up” and Giuliani is “an unapologetic supporter of abortion on demand.”
The conservative Christian leader accused Giuliani of “tap dancing” on the issue of marriage, both in his policy perspectives and personal life. The Republican frontrunner has said he doesn’t see a current need for a constitutional amendment banning gay marriage. Dobson also called Giuliani’s three marriages and two divorces “troubling.”
The Christian radio psychologist ended his commentary with a vow to vote for an “also-ran” or not vote in the presidential election “for the first time in my adult life” if his choice is between Giuliani and either Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y., or Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill.
Dobson has also said that he would not vote for Republican candidate Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., “under any circumstances” and has wondered aloud whether potential candidate Fred Thompson is a “Christian.”
_ Adelle M. Banks
Methodist Official Questions Display of U.S. Flag in Churches
WASHINGTON (RNS) Displaying a U.S. flag during United Methodist worship services is “inappropriate and unwise” because the flag may become an object of worship and could imply an endorsement of the government’s policies, according to a member of the denomination’s public policy arm.
“In a worship setting nothing should come before the center of our faith in whose presence we have gathered to worship, the Triune God,” said the Rev. Clayton Childers, director of annual conference relations for the United Methodist Church’s General Board of Church and Society.
Writing in the May 10 edition of the board’s newsletter, Faith in Action, Childers also argues that “the presence of a national flag in worship can imply endorsement of national policies which often run counter to the teachings of Jesus Christ and our Christian faith.”
President Bush is a member of the United Methodist Church, as are 61 members of Congress, including 2008 Democratic presidential frontrunner Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, D-N.Y.
Childers was sharply criticized for a “lack of patriotism” by the Institute on Religion & Democracy, a conservative watchdog group that is often critical of mainline Protestant churches.
“Religious Left figures, like (Childers), are hardly concerned about idolatry when their politically correct, rainbow paraphernalia and peace banners are woven into church worship services,” said Mark Tooley of the IRD. “They oppose the United States Flag because they are contemptuous of our country, its history, its institutions, its culture. … ”
Childers wrote that he addressed the “treacherous terrain” of the flag’s presence at worship services after discussions arose about churches placing it “in the sanctuary, by the altar … or at another prominent location on the church grounds.”
The tradition of placing a U.S. flag in the sanctuary began during the Civil War, when churches used it to promote the Union’s cause, according to Childers. He said there is no official United Methodist policy on the issue.
_ Daniel Burke
Gay Marriage Rate Drops in Massachusetts
BOSTON (RNS) As Massachusetts marked the third anniversary of legalized same-sex marriage Thursday (May 17), the state released statistics showing the number of gay marriages has dropped sharply since 2004.
According to the state Department of Public Health, 6,121 gay couples married in the first seven months after gay marriage became legal on May 17, 2004.
In 2005, 2,060 gay couples married, and in 2006, the number declined to 1,427, down 31 percent from 2005.
During this year through April 26, only 87 gay couples have tied the knot.
Patricia S. Griffin, of Belchertown, Mass., a retired professor from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst who married her longtime partner on July 10, 2004, said it makes sense that most gay people would marry in the first year. When a right is denied and then suddenly granted, people tend to take advantage of it, she said.
“People are now getting married at a more normal rate,” said Griffin, who is married to Kathleen Neal, a public school teacher in Amherst. “It’s kind of settled down.”
The statistics also show that 9,695 gay couples have married in this state. Of that total, 6,209 marriages, or 64 percent, consist of women.
Kristian M. Mineau, president of the Massachusetts Family Institute in Newton, said that if there’s such a great need for same-sex marriage, then the number of married gay couples should be increasing.
“The numbers are relatively small and dwindling rapidly,” Mineau said. “The actual institution of marriage is not being sought after by the gay community.”
Hundreds of supporters celebrated the third anniversary Thursday night at a party in Boston.
“It’s an historical marker,” said Marc Solomon, campaign director of MassEquality, which hosted last night’s party. “We’ve come a long way in a few years. More than 9,000 couples are married. It’s been important for them, their kids and their families.”
Gov. Deval Patrick opposes a move to put a question on the 2008 statewide ballot that, if approved by voters, would ban future gay marriages. Legislators are scheduled to vote June 14 on whether to place that measure on the 2008 ballot.
_ Dan Ring
School Faces Suit for Distributing Free Bibles
AMITE, La. (RNS) The Tangipahoa Parish School Board is facing another federal lawsuit, this time from a parent claiming that the district permitted the distribution of Bibles to students on school property during class.
The suit, backed by the American Civil Liberties Union, was filed Thursday (May 17) in U.S. District Court in New Orleans. In addition to the nine School Board members, the suit names the schools superintendent and a middle school principal as defendants.
It marks the fifth ACLU-sponsored case involving religion against the Tangipahoa school system in 13 years.
“They’re habitual offenders when it comes to promoting religion in schools,” said Joe Cook, executive director of Louisiana’s branch of the ACLU. “In this case, they teamed up with someone else.”
The lawsuit centers on an incident described by “Jane Roe,” a fifth-grader at Loranger Middle School.
Last week, her teacher sent the class to the front office where two men, assumed to be representatives from The Gideons International, were passing out Bibles to the students, according to the suit.
The men handed a Bible to each student and said, “God bless you,” the suit claimed.
Gideons are part of an evangelical Christian organization that distributes Bibles to various institutions worldwide, including hotels, schools, hospitals, nursing homes and prisons.
School officials had approved the distribution, which occurs every year in the fifth grade, according to the suit.
The girl’s parents, who are Catholic, objected to the practice, claiming it violated their right to control the religious upbringing of their child and subjected her to religious indoctrination, Cook said.
Tangipahoa school officials did not return a call for comment.
_ Jenny Hurwitz
Quote of the Day: Presidential Candidate Tom Tancredo
(RNS) “I trust those conversions when they happen on the road to Damascus, not on the road to Des Moines.”
_ Rep. Tom Tancredo, R-Colo., at a Republican presidential debate, referring to candidates who shift to conservative positions on hot-button issues before the Republican caucuses in Iowa. He was quoted by the Washington Post.
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