On the pro-theocracy crowd

A few readers have questioned my repeated assertion that some conservatives hold pro-theocracy views. Contrary to what some might infer, it has nothing really to do with abortion or stem cell research, which even many moderates and atheists have issues with.

My suggestion is based on the presumption by some people they, and those of their political stripe, know God and no one else does.

It's based on comments like those of Sen. Zell Miller to the Republican National Convention that "God is not indifferent to the United States of America" (if God is on our side, then does he hate the French?).

The Moderate Republican (refreshingly, such creatures still do exist) points to a Peoria Star-Journal editorial on the Illinois US Senate race which demonstrates what I'm talking about.

Some excerpts:

U.S. Senate candidate Alan Keyes did it again Tuesday when he declared that if Jesus were an Illinoisan, he would not vote for Barack Obama because the Democrat supports abortion rights.

[...]

This isn't the first time Keyes has suggested that God is on his side in his bizarre campaign. Earlier, the new Illinoisan (by way of Maryland) said a vote for him is a "victory . . . for God." On a grander scale, he said the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks were "God's way of confronting us with the truth" about the evils of abortion.

Wryly noting that:

Claiming to speak for the Almighty is a dicey exercise. There's always the chance He'll deliver a reminder that He speaks for himself.

Are these things exactly theocracy according to a strict dictionary definition? Perhaps not, but they're pretty darned close.

The Star Journal sums it up quite nicely on those who believe they have a monopoly on morality and righteousness.

At his second inaugural, as the Civil War neared its end, [Abraham] Lincoln refused to declare that God wanted the North to win, though he might justifiably have claimed the high moral ground on the issue of slavery.

"Both (North and South) read the same Bible and pray to the same God; and each invokes His aid against the other," the president said. "The prayers of both could not be answered; and those of neither has been answered fully."

Amen.