Jesus and John

Lets catch up with good John Kerry, who stopped for mass on his way home from skiing, even though it nearly made him late for the vote against Laci and Connor's law:

The last time a major political party put forward a Roman Catholic candidate for President, he had to confront bigotry and suspicion that he would be taking orders from Rome. Forty-four years later, the Democrats are poised to nominate another Catholic—another Senator from Massachusetts whose initials happen to be J.F.K.—

Most folks probably didn't notice the similarities.

"He had me at 'notBush'" said a typical Democratic voter. But for those desiring the false sense of hope that their candidate has a moral compass,

Kerry is a former altar boy who complains when his campaign staff does not leave time in his Sunday schedule for Mass, who takes Communion and describes himself as a "believing and practicing Catholic, married to another believing and practicing Catholic." But just last week he made a rare appearance on the Senate floor to vote against a bill that would make harming a fetus a separate offense during the commission of a crime. The vote put Kerry on the same side as abortion-rights advocates in opposing specific legal rights for the unborn—and against nearly two-thirds of his fellow Senators.

So Kerry wants to be the second Catholic President, pretty much in the same manner of wanting to be the second black president, and although he hasn't yet attacked Bush using gangsta rap he has fired some scriptural rounds into the enemy camp:

Polls consistently show that Americans prefer their leaders to be religious, and in running to unseat the most openly devout President in recent years, Kerry has at times put a pious cast on his own rhetoric. In a speech at a Mississippi church on March 7, he said Bush does not practice the "compassionate conservatism" he preaches, and quoted James 2: 14, "What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds?"

Kerry's invocation of deeds-based vs. faith-based theology is a great topic for late night seminary debates. Worth noting, in the medieval Catholic Church one could purchase one's way into heaven, in Islam one must perform certain tasks (observe the five pillars) and in perverted versions of Islam one can enter heaven immediately and with great reward for flying planeloads of infidels into buildings full of infidels. In contrast Christianity is a faith-based religion.

But the President has been a man of faith and deeds. Kerry's sound bite, like most scripture quoted without context, depends heavily on a lack of public understanding of the topic. Or perhaps on the vain hope that Christians are poorly educated and easily led...

However, grant that support for most all of Kerry's postions requires a high degree of faith, if you will, since there are certainly no facts to back his assertions, and his proposals would have you suspend belief in anything but miracles.

Absent divine guidance, let's Google that March 7th church speech and see which diocese got the blessed visitation.

JACKSON, Miss -- Aligning himself with the civil rights movement and elements of faith in the fight for equality, Sen. John Kerry on Sunday (Mar 7th) called on members of an African-American church here to march against cynicism and disaffection.

"I don't agree with the hollowness of the politics, nor do you, that tries to divide black from white, rich from poor, Massachusetts from Mississippi," Kerry told a crowd of about 600 at the predominantly black Greater Bethlehem Temple Church.

Obviously it's not in his best interest to divide all rich white folk from poor Jackson urbanites. But as one church member said, "he had me at 'notBush'"

Although civil rights activist Al Sharpton of New York is still in the Democratic race, black voters and elected officials said they want to support a candidate with a better chance at defeating President Bush.

President Clinton was often known as the first black president, Kerry said recently. "I wouldn't be upset if I could earn the right to be the second."

<...>

Democrats historically have relied on the support of African-Americans at the polls, a courtship that often begins in church. But this year, with the election expected to be extremely close, Democrats are saying they can no longer afford to take black votes for granted.

Visiting black churches is an honored rite of the presidential campaign, and Kerry used the occasion Sunday to debut a speech melding policy with religion, springing from the bedrock of civil rights.

Quoting James 2:14, Kerry, a Catholic, said, "We'll be tested to see how much we really remember the words of the Scripture, What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds?"

And that's apparently one of the themes developed by the Kerry Kult during the ski week in Idaho. No word on whether it occurred to them in a divine flash of inspiration or if, like Kerry's foreign leader support, the idea simply sprang from voices in his head. Whatever the case, Kerry's repeating the theme at black churches around the country, this past weekend in St Louis.

"Today we are told that, after 3 million lost jobs and so many lost hopes, America is now turning a corner," the pending Democratic presidential nominee said. "But those who say that, they're not standing on the corner of Highland Street, where two 15-year-old teenagers were hit in a drive-by shooting last week."

Kerry never mentioned Bush by name, instead aiming his criticism at "our present national leadership." In appealing to worshippers to oppose the devout Christian president, Kerry cited scripture and an African proverb: "When you pray, move your feet."

"The scriptures say, what does it profit, my brother, if someone says he has faith but does not have works?" Kerry told the congregation at New North Side Baptist Church. "When we look at what is happening in America today, were (sic) are the works of compassion?"

<...>

Kerry is Roman Catholic, but his support for abortion rights is at odds with Vatican teachings.

"I don't tell church officials what to do, and church officials shouldn't tell American politicians what to do in the context of our public life," Kerry said in an interview with Time posted on the magazine's Web site Sunday.

Kerry says his faith was instilled in him in childhood and that in Vietnam he wore a rosary around his neck when he went into battle. When Kerry got home from the war, he went through what he calls a "period of a little bit of anger and agnosticism, but subsequently, I did a lot of reading and a lot of thinking and really came to understand how all those terrible things fit."

That rosary isn't clearly visible in any of the many photos. But what a great scene it will make in the movie version, as our hero dons it and genuflects before initiating divine carnage, bringing full wrath of Old Testiment Yahweh upon his enemy.

Now brace yourselves it's going to get worse:

He is enough of a stickler for Catholic rules to have sought an annulment of his 18-year first marriage before marrying again.

The previous two quoted passages, the 'nam rosary and the annulment, along with the next one, were originally all one amazing paragraph. It had to be cut to be savored and digested. Like a father welcoming the prodigal son, the generous Time editor gives us too much of a feast.

The Boston Globe's revelation last year that his paternal grandparents were born Jewish and converted to Catholicism has triggered "some fascination," he says, and some frustration over not knowing more about his religious heritage. "I wish my parents were alive and I could ask them all the questions," he says.

Well, you'll meet them again in heaven John.

But there are dark clouds gathering, as he doesn't have everyone at notBush.

...this time, the controversy over his religion may develop within the Catholic Church itself. Kerry's positions on some hot-button issues aren't sitting well with members of the church elite. Just listen to a Vatican official, who is an American: "People in Rome are becoming more and more aware that there's a problem with John Kerry, and a potential scandal with his apparent profession of his Catholic faith and some of his stances, particularly abortion."

And you can read the whole thing to learn more. But suffice to say it's a story of our hero's battle against those "elite" - those Pharisees, if you will. But it's also a story of those who'd look beyond the fact that John Kerry is notBush, those who resist his call to "follow me." Kerry is every bit as Catholic as he is black, as pious as he is heroic, and his protests to the contrary are worthy of scorn, and exemplary of his uncertain positions on everything. Still, he's a matter of obvious concern too, for he is notBush, and for many that's messianic, or at least close enough.