Keep Religion out of Politics

Catholic priests, bishops and cardinals should follow the teachings of Jesus and stay out of politics. This goes too for the so called Religious Right. When Christians try to jam down their beliefs, rules and laws into politics, they are going against the teachings of Jesus.Jesus never told Rome what to do. He didn't lead protests against the laws or norms of Rome. He confined his attacks to the leaders of Jewish religion, chiding them for claiming to be pillars of morality while being corrupt on the inside. For this and because of the fact he preferred the company of so called sinners over so called saints, as well as preaching it was important to forgive and love rather than condemn and hate, he was executed as a common criminal.Yes, I was born and raised a Roman Catholic, and continue to attend Mass and receive Communion on a regular basis. It is for this reason and because all I was taught in 12 years of Catholic schooling that I become angry with the Church Hierarchy when they interfere with politics, as was recently done when some bishops and cardinals preached that those who voted for Barack Obama were committing a Mortal Sin because Obama is Pro-Choice.I would love to discuss theology with these learned men. I would love to argue with their position. It might be fun to tell them I believe the number one abortionist of all time is none other than God himself who has performed an uncountable number of abortions. I would tell them a rose by any other name is still a rose, and the only difference between an abortion and a miscarriage is the name of the abortionist.But that would be irrelevant. God's ways are not our ways and God's thoughts are not our thoughts. What is relevant is Jesus, the first religious leader who taught the separation of Church and State, and the need to keep them separate so religion is not used to oppress people, as is commonly done by the extreme right of all religions, be they Christian, Muslim or Jew.Listen to Pete being interviewed by Dave Ewen at http://www.blogtalkradio.com/Circle-Of-Seven/2008/11/15/Readers-Entertainment-Radio-with-guest-Pete-Klein-1 and Fran Siverman at http://www.blogtalkradio.com/Francine-Silverman/2008/11/11/The-Radio-Host-Show-For more info, read his books: "Adirondack Hikes in Hamilton County" the hiking guidebook and the vampire novels "The Vampire Valkyrie" and "The Dancing Valkyrie," now available at http://www.lulu.com/ravenwolfpublishPete talks with writers about their books on Saturday evenings, 6:30 pm EST, by going to http://www.blogtalkradio.com/The-Dancing-Valkyrie