The Governor of my state, Texas, believes I am going to Hell when I die and has publicly said so.
non-Christians DOOMED
SAN ANTONIO - Gov. Rick Perry, after a God and country sermon attended by dozens of political candidates Sunday, said that he agreed with the minister that non-Christians will be condemned to hell.
"In my faith, that's what it says, and I'm a believer of that," the governor said.
"If you live your life and don't confess your sins to God almighty through the authority of Christ and his blood, I'm going to say this very plainly, you're going straight to hell with a nonstop ticket," Mr. Hagee said during a service interspersed with religious and patriotic videos.
Asked afterward at a political rally whether he agreed with Mr. Hagee, the governor said he didn't hear anything that he would take exception to.
He said that he believes in the inerrancy of the Bible and that those who don't accept Jesus as their savior will go to hell.
So my current Governor (soon to be former Governor I hope) just publicly said that I, as an atheist, am going to Hell when I die. And, ya know, I can't really be upset with him because after all that's his RELIGIOUS belief and so it's not PC to say that such beliefs are offensive, particularly when uttered by an elected official in our government.
This is the problem with our society's politeness when it comes to religious discourse. All someone needs to say is that something is their "faith" and it's off the table for discussion. That used to be a good way for us all to get along in a multicultural world where people have strong views that disagree. I would argue that this must change. Religious faith, when brought into the public square as it regularly is by the right wing in America (and disturbingly by Harold Ford Jr. and Obama and others on the left) needs to be debated and openly discussed the same way beliefs about economics, political allegiances, and preferences for sports teams is discussed.
As an atheist, I have found much encouragement from the popularity of recent books speaking out about the dangers of dogmatic religious belief and the need to change the rules of our public discourse on the subject. Sam Harris' books, "The End of Faith" and "Letter to a Christian Nation" as well as Richard Dawkins' "The God Delusion" are good places to start if you are concerned with the American Taliban's influence in our country.
Do we really want to live in a country where, in order to get elected, you've got to show off your Jesus card and establish your certainty of beliefs in things you have absolutely no evidence for?? This is madness and it is hurting our political discourse and our world.