Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney disclosed a low-sacrifice ethic in Iowa that should raise more doubts about his qualification to be a president than his religion does.
Given that his low-sacrifice ethic matches the ethic of so many American Christians, will his low-sacrifice ethic be a problem for him.
Ethics reveal more than doctrine. Too often religious doctrine is a matter of mental assent to faith statements adopted over extended periods of time and codified as orthodoxy. Ethics, on the other hand, has more real-time value, integrity and practicality.
While many Americans and even more evangelical Christians feel most unconformable with Romney’s Mormon faith, they should pay much more attention to his ethics. No, not his practiced pro-family moral values as a Mormon, but his expressed political values as a Republican.
It may be American Religious, but it’s not American Christian. Mormonism is not Chrisitan, but then, someone on the outside looking in to both religions probably is incapable of making that distinction.
I don’t get Parham’s point. We have a volunteer army. There’s no ethical contradiction between supporting the war and not participating in it (or compelling (??) your children to do so).
Democrats like the Clintons or Edwards or Teddy Kennedy are ethically challenged, preaching redistribution through taxation, but clinging to their own wealth. They all to one degree or another claim to be guided by their Christianity.
And who said abortion should rare? Bill Clinton. But he’s never adopted. I suppose on the abortion question just about all of us go for the low-cost ethic (hypocriscy by any other name).
That is a remarkably poor editorial. What a hack job.
This doesn’t even make sense. This guy’s obviously bucking for the presidency of the National Council of Churches That Nobody Goes to Any More. But it’s a nice morphing job of one political candidate into a “Mormon” into ” Republicans” into the “Christian Right,” and at least he threw in the “progressive to liberal” Christians. Is this how this guy really views the world?
By the way, I have two adopted children. Guess what, I don’t see it was some sort of “sacrifice.” My wife and I adopted them because we love them, not to make some political statement about abortion.
One of them is in his second year of college. He could serve, but that is his decision to make, not mine. If he wishes to serve in the military, I will support him 100%. I would also support him 100% if he decides to become a missionary. Again, that’s his decision to make.
I’m no fan of Romney. But this old view that looks down on men who chose not to serve in the military and views them as second class citizens, even when there is no draft, is offensive to say the least. I’m disappointed Ethics Daily chose to publish such tripe.
Like the previous commenters, I don’t get the argument here. Mother Teresa spoke out against abortion and never adopted a child—does Parham consider her ethic “low-sacrifice”?
Peace,
–Peter
Another thing that just struck me. If they are Mormons, each of Romey’s kids already served a two-year mission with the church. I realize that’s not the same as military service, but to say that they didn’t sacrifice is not accurate.
I’ve often thought about how our mainline Protestant churches would be different today if we were committed enough that our kids would go on such missions. In a number of ways the Mormons put us to shame.
I suspect that the author wants to pillory Romney for supporting the war without using Jedi mind-tricks to compel his sons to join the Rangers, and would REALLY like to get taxes raised.
We now live in a society where military service is VOLUNTARY. I certainly don’t expect our commander-in-chief to only be qualified to send troops into battle if ‘he or his children served first’.
As I recall, Bill Clinton didn’t serve, and in fact protested against the U.S. at several rallies overseas, and neither did his daughter Chelsea serve in the armed services nor did she attend military prep schools during grade or high school.
So, big deal.
I’ve often thought about how our mainline Protestant churches would be different today if we were committed enough that our kids would go on such missions. In a number of ways the Mormons put us to shame.
I recently interviewed a young man who spent 8 weeks in the mission field in Africa – essentially his summer break from college. He is not the first young man from the same Baptist church that I’ve talked to about mission trips. In his case, I think the trip is leading him toward the ministry – eight weeks is hardly two years, but it’s not the only mission work he’s done, through his church and through college organizations. The Methodist church takes its young people on disaster relief trips, which is a good experience for them but it rarely involves sharing the Word.
St. Peter’s, Tallahassee, encourages missions for high schooler’s/ college age students to Uganda as well.
How distressing — I agree with John B Chilton!! ; > )