[Lnc-business] Satanic Post - LNC Input Requested

[Alicia Mattson]

There are certainly process problems, but I'll comment on the content as
well.

I don't understand what the #FreeToBelieve series, at least the way it has
been approached, is supposed to accomplish.

The value of freedom of religion is not about what various religions have
in common, but in how they are DIFFERENT.  The value is that two people can
have polar opposite religious beliefs but still live together in a free
country.  If I believe it's a sin to wear the color red, and you believe
it's a sin to not wear the color red, guess what?  We both can live side by
side in a libertarian society.  I'll wear blue, and you'll wear red, and
neither of us imprisons the other over it.

It's one thing if we make a graphic symbolizing that people with widely
varying religious beliefs are part of the LP...though perhaps we should
avoid turning their religious symbols upside down in the graphic...that
cover pic is gone now.

This series has started quoting religious texts, however, and posting them
to make some kind of a political statement.  Religion and politics don't
mix.  We're playing with fire, and it's not surprising that we got burned.
Quote something out of context, and your target audience is offended that
you're twisting context to try to tell them their God wants them to be
Libertarian.  The word "freedom" in a religious text may not mean freedom
like the LP talks about...it may at times mean freedom from a previous
oppressor...or freedom from consequences of sin...  What if it's a
figurative passage, or a parable, or someone's dream sequence, and we just
yank it out of place to use it for our agenda?

Religion is a set of standards that you impose on yourself voluntarily.
Politics is about a set of standards that you are willing to use the force
of government to impose on others.  (For the anarchists in the LP, that's a
null set.)

Sometimes there are overlapping areas of agreement between your religion
and your politics, but those conclusions are arrived at for COMPLETELY
DIFFERENT REASONS.  Maybe your religion teaches "Thou shall not commit
murder" because God said so, and there's eternal punishment to consider.
Libertarians say murder is unacceptable because it is the ultimate
initiation of force which permanently deprives the victim of all of their
rights.  Completely different reasons for the same conclusion.

When we start quoting religious texts as some sort of support for our
political views, what is that supposed to mean???

Sure, there are some religions that call for theocracies in which the
religious and political standards are identical, but we're not advocating
for that, right?  So why are we quoting religious texts at all?

There are a very large number of quotes from the same religious texts that
we would not post.  We're not going to post, "Remember the Sabbath to keep
it holy", are we?  (Using Ten Commandment examples just because so many are
at least familiar with them.)  They may be a fine way for a person to
choose to live for themselves, but to enforce that standard on others
deprives them of the freedom to have a different religious view.  Good for
religion.  Not so much for libertarian politics.

Why even go there?  It's completely unnecessary to wander into such
dangerous territory, and religion is not the basis for our politics.

-Alicia




On Sun, Apr 16, 2017 at 6:44 AM, Arvin Vohra <votevohra at gmail.com> wrote:

> Hi All -
>
> I'd like to request LNC oversight on the Satanic Temple posting as part of
> the #FreeToBelieve series. I don't want to see our volunteers raked over
> the coals for issues related to the LNC or APRC.
>
> Is a Satanic Temple Posting:
>
> 1. Fine on any day of the year
> 2. Never ok
> 3. Generally ok, but not during a religious holiday of a conflicting
> religion.
>
> If future posts go up, I'd like it to be very clear on what the LNC views
> are, so that volunteers are not blamed for our decisions.
>
> My view: I don't think that this is a battle worth picking. You can
> already be as Satanic as you want in America, so we're not gaining
> anything. I'd much rather focus on repealing laws and taxes that exist.
>
> Personally, I have no opposition to the Satanic Temple. As part of an
> overall study of religion, I have read sections of various "Satanic" books,
> and written in non-political areas on mythology parallels between
> Prometheus in Greek Mythology and Lucifer in the Judaeo-Christian
> tradition. Realistically, I'll probably look into the religious legal
> protections they have, based on the comments by the chair, to see how
> others can do the same. I'd love to see an America in which every single
> house and apartment building is legally seen as a religious location that
> pays no property taxes.
>
> -Arvin
>
> --
> Arvin Vohra
>
> www.VoteVohra.com
> VoteVohra at gmail.com
> (301) 320-3634
>
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>
>
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