At lunch time in Bridgewater, while catching up with the midday news, I came across a TV clip of former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee stumping for votes in Michigan. Addressing a gathering in what appeared to be a church, he said, “It’s better to change the constitution than to change the Word of the living God.” The media sometimes like to put Evangelical Christians on the spot, so the rest of the message wasn’t provided. Huckabee was probably referring to the controversial abortion question, a topic which crosses secular and denominational lines.
No matter. The point is that in this country he has the freedom to say that. The U.S. is not a theocracy, and people are free to challenge his views on the “Word of the living God.” Some Americans may think that he should leave the Constitution alone and study up some more on Biblical interpretation. Religious dialogue of that nature, though, is not permitted in some other countries.
Later today, while going through my e-mail, I came across a dispatch from Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, of all places, in which our President, George Bush, issued a proclamation establishing January 16, 2008, as “Religious Freedom Day,” a 16 year-old U.S.tradition.
Here is an excerpt, “…Religious freedom belongs not to any one nation, but to the world, and my administration continues to support freedom of worship at home and abroad.” I wonder if the President includes the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in the definition of “and abroad.”
There is no religious freedom permitted in Saudi Arabia. The king and princes of the House of Saud have long had an understanding with the descendants of Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab, the founder of Wahhabism, whereby religious Sharia Law is allowed to dominate much of the judicial system of that nation.
While Bush was offering smart bombs to the Saudis to be paid out of inflated oil prices with deflated U.S. greenbacks, Mike Huckabee was someplace in Michigan looking for votes. Gee, if he ever makes it to the White House and decides to visit the Saudi king, I hope that he doesn’t try to stash a Bible in his luggage. That’s verboten in the desert kingdom – could get him thrown in jail.
Note: For the full text of the “Religious Freedom Day” proclamation, see http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2008/01/print/20080114-5.html
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