Lieberman: Losing my religion

Last week, the Anti-Defamation League of the B'nai B'rith issued a
startling rebuke to its favorite son in the 2000 election, Joseph I.
Lieberman, and asked the Democratic vice presidential nominee to let up
on all the God talk. In an open letter, ADL National Chairman Howard P.
Berkowitz and ADL National Director Abraham H. Foxman wrote, "We feel
very strongly, and we hope you would agree, that appealing along
religious lines, or belief in God, is contrary to the American ideal."

The ADL quickly was backed up by representatives of People for the
American Way, Americans United for the Separation of Church and State
and the American Atheists who talked with reporters and appeared on
political talk shows to spread the word that God and politics are an
unhealthy, if not illegal, mix. One such representative told the Fox
News channel's Bill O'Reilly to read the Constitution because there was
no mention of God in it.

While the speaker technically was correct, to grasp the full meaning
of the Constitution it is necessary to go back to the nation's birth
certificate, the Declaration of Independence. This is more than a
declaration of separation from Great Britain; it is a declaration of our
dependence upon God.

This document, written by Thomas Jefferson, edited by Benjamin
Franklin and John Adams and signed by representatives of the 13 original
colonies, became our charter. As with any corporation, the charter is
higher than the by-laws, and the by-laws must be in agreement with the
charter. In fact, James Madison, the principal author of the
Constitution, spelled it out for us when he said, "We have staked the
whole of all our political institutions upon the capacity of mankind for
self-government, upon the capacity of each and all of us to govern
ourselves, to control ourselves, to sustain ourselves according to the
ten Commandments of God."

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Lieberman not only has a right to talk about his faith, he has a
responsibility. Likewise, when he puts it out there, each of us has a
responsibility to determine whether or not this man is sincere in his
beliefs or whether he simply wraps himself in a cloak of religiosity
when it's convenient.

This is not to say that atheists cannot have high moral standards,
but where does one get his or her standards? A believer gets his
standards from God. They are unchangeable, based upon His character,
revealed in His word. A non-believer sets these standards himself and
they are subject to change. Can an atheist become president of this
country? Of course, but it is much harder to judge the character of
such a person because in this value system he, in effect, is his own god
and everything becomes situational.

While running for president, Bill Clinton was quick to point out his
Southern Baptist roots. Any reasonable person, religious or
non-religious, could have done a quick examination of Christian and
Southern Baptist doctrine, compared that to his record in Arkansas and
the platform on which he ran and discovered that this man was a phony.

Al Gore has called himself a "born-again" Christian. Again, any
reasonable person can look at his record, read his speeches and examine
the platform on which he is running and compare that to the commands in
the Bible to see the ambiguity.

Over the years Sen. Lieberman built a reputation as a man of
character with strong moral principles, but are his principles
consistent with the Torah, in which he professes to believe?

Lieberman decried the fact that Bill Clinton had "extramarital
relations with an employee (intern) half his age and did so in the
vicinity of the Oval Office." Also, he admitted that the president was
guilty of making "false or misleading statements and took actions which
could have had the effect of impeding the discovery of evidence in
judicial proceedings," charges that were sufficient to drive Richard
Nixon from office. However, when push came to shove, Lieberman, serving
as the Democrats' moral barometer, would not cast a vote to remove
Clinton from office, but gave him political cover saying that the
"wrongdoing in this sordid affair" did not justify making him the "first
president to be ousted from office."

Lieberman also decries the vulgarity and violence that Hollywood
often passes off as entertainment, but when it comes time to put up or
shut up, he cannot be counted on. He even voted against the
"Communications Decency Act," a bill intended to protect children from
Internet pornography.

Among the acts condemned in the Torah is the practice of
homosexuality, yet Lieberman has voted to give those who engage in this
practice the same status and special protective privileges as minorities
who are born with immutable characteristics.

Disturbing to many sincere members of the Jewish faith is Lieberman's
record on abortion. The Connecticut senator never has supported any
restrictions on abortions or the federal funding of abortions. David
Epstein, the editor of "Being Jewish" and the "American Rabbi" explained
that while most Jews don't consider abortion to be murder, "they do
consider it immoral." However, Orthodox Jews regard taking the life of
a child in the womb much more seriously. Rabbi Aron Tedler of the
Shaarey Zedek Temple, the second largest Orthodox congregation in the
Los Angeles area, believes that, after the first 40 days, abortion is
definitely murder. "After that initial period, taking the life of the
child in the womb only would be permissible to save the life of the
mother."

Most disturbing of all are the five votes Lieberman has cast against
a ban on the legalized form of infanticide known as the partial-birth
abortion, in which a baby is delivered except for the head and than
brutally murdered. Rabbi Yaacov Haber, writing for Orthodox Union
explained, "If a greater part of the fetus had emerged, or if the head
had emerged, then the fetus possesses the status of a person and cannot
be dismembered, as one may not take another one's life in order to save
his own."

Lieberman's statements on his faith, his record and the Democrat
platform he is running on are inconsistent to say the least.

On the Republican side, George W. Bush asserts that Jesus Christ is
his savior. The Texas governor is not perfect, far from it. There are
no perfect Christians just as there are no perfect Jews or members of
any other faith. However, it is one thing to profess a faith in God and
attempt to follow his laws and commandments and occasionally fall short,
and quite another to profess a faith in God and then, when it comes time
to vote or run for political office, deliberately turn your back on the
principles set forth in His word.