"And so what we saw this domino effect, once the colleges fell and those who were being education in our institutions, the next was the church. Now you’d say, ‘wait, the Catholic Church’? No. We all know that this country was founded on a Judeo-Christian ethic but the Judeo-Christian ethic was a Protestant Judeo-Christian ethic, sure the Catholics had some influence, but this was a Protestant country and the Protestant ethic, mainstream, mainline Protestantism, and of course we look at the shape of mainline Protestantism in this country and it is in shambles, it is gone from the world of Christianity as I see it. So they attacked mainline Protestantism, they attacked the Church, and what better way to go after smart people who also believe they’re pious to use both vanity and pride to also go after the Church."
Hmm… let me see. According to Generous Giving it would appear that Protestants give 57% more money to charitable organizations than Catholics. They also give over double to their own Churches than Catholics:
- Protestants and Catholics: In 2001, Protestants in the United States donated an average of $1,093 to their churches in 2001. That figure was more than double the average amount given by Catholics to their churches, $495.8
- Protestants Give More: In 2001, Protestants in the United States gave away an average of 57 percent more money to nonprofit organizations than did their Catholic counterparts—$1,379 compared to $878.8
Evangelicals compared to Protestants gave even more:
Evangelicals More Generous: In 2001, evangelicals gave four times as much, per person, to churches as did all other church donors in 2001. Eighty-eight percent of evangelicals and 73 percent of Protestants donated to churches.8 Even "born again" Christians were apt to tithe more than non-Born again Christians.Rick Santorum only gave 2.2% in tithing last year.
Moving on. Yesterday, Rush Limbaugh gave a long defense of Rick Santorum downplaying a few of Rick Santorum's hiccups. He read a piece from his friend, Bill McGurn of the Wall Street Journal.
"There is, however, one area where Mr. Santorum needs to demonstrate a discipline it's not yet clear he has. That is the ability to resist the efforts to drag him out of the public questions into the weeds of theological debate."
"In short, Mr. Santorum must resist the temptation to run for president on "Humanae Vitae," the 1968 papal encyclical prohibiting artificial contraception. Of late the former Pennsylvania senator has pointed out that, despite his personal views, he has voted for contraceptive funding in the past. Alas, he has also said that artificial contraception is the kind of moral issue he plans to talk about as president."
I'm certain the problem is much worse than that. It has appeared over the many months we've gotten to know Rick Santorum is that he can only see greatness in himself and his very narrow, extremist right, fundamental Catholic point of view. Full disclosure: I left the Catholic Church due to priests having affairs and general "inconsistencies" in doctrine and in those who led and practiced the faith. Even more importantly, morals were never taught. There was no teaching right from wrong. Even though I took several classes in Catholic theology, I was explained that as long as I went to Mass on Saturday evening or Sunday morning, I could do whatever I wanted the rest of the week. Needless to say, my soul could not live with that. I could go on with how the Council of Nicea, a council of men, decided what would be taught by the Catholic faith and what would not and how it led to an apostasy once all the disciples had been martyred… but I'll leave that for another day.
From my deep research, it is the Catholic faith that has strayed since before the dark ages. I would think that Rick Santorum and his defenders would have just a little bit more humility about the state of his own faith. the issues that Martin Luther bravely brought up. Let's don't forget, it is ANYTHING but perfect.
I am very concerned with several things about Rick Santorum.
- He's never led anything.
- He's never had a "grown up" job outside of government and lobbying.
- His world view is arrogantly, dogmatically and microscopically focused on himself and his "on the fly" definitions of what he is very quick to impose on others.
- He lost by a significant margin in his last senate race. Pennsylvania felt he flunked the "sniff test."
- He whines about Mitt Romney's money, which was given to him by his supporters, but can't grasp the billions Obama's war chest will contain.
- He also whines about negative campaigning while he hurls ridiculous insults to the other candidates. Most of which are untrue.
- He leaves his exhausted wife, who needs a month at a spa, home with seven children, one disabled, while he never stops admiring the sound of his own voice gleaning free advertising on every news show on every news channel… thinking he is the answer to our GOP problems, when he needs to save his own family first. Yes, he does have a female problem. He is a arrogant, chauvinistic, domineering know-it-all.
- His voting record: Bridge to Nowhere, earmarks (teapot museum?), etc.
- That's enough for now.
There is a point where too many people are thinking that extreme dogma is the definition of Conservatism. I'm sorry, but looking at Ronald Reagan, he was anything but egotistically ramming his opinions down people's throats. Reagan was the master of helping us all feel good about ourselves, our stations in life, our faiths. He united our parties and united us as a nation. He uplifted and cheered. I can't remember a time when he angrily revealed he had a populist ax to grind. Even when Rick Santorum claims he thinks "America is great" he doesn't provide any substantial evidence to back it up. Instead, as we vet his record, it's hard not to notice that Rick Santorum can't keep his mouth shut. I am a Conservative, but the last thing I want is another extremist in the White House.
There is a reason why Rick Santorum defiantly refuses to "discipline himself" regarding his extreme Catholic views. There is a reason why he can never come across as happy and pleasant. He is not. He is very angry. He hates the wealthy and overall he hates everyone but himself.
This is a dangerous combination for the White House. We want someone who is intrinsically happy, disciplined, and measured. None of the candidates are perfect, but I can safely say, Mitt Romney has Executive experience, has stayed outside of Washington his whole life, has amazing talent of actually doing what he preaches.
I would have a very difficult time voting for Santorum. I actually do not like that he spends his whole life getting free advertising by taking up time on every news channel when that time needs to be spent reporting the very important world events taking place. If he's going to run for POTUS, he needs to pave his own way, yes, pay for his own path. He needs to demonstrate self-reliance and not hand outs... at least if he is going to campaign against our welfare state. If he can't raise the money or build any organization now, there is no hope of him beating Barack Obama.
I certainly would not appreciate an angry Catholic extremist in the White House who disrespected those of us of different faiths. This is a dangerous problem that too many on the right are ignoring.
