Jeb Bush, convert to Catholicism

[Brian4Liberty]

Jeb Bush converted to Catholicism. This is extremely relevant from a political perspective, although the importance is nearly lost on most Americans. What does this represent from a recent American historical perspective, and current politics? Any thoughts?

(This thread is not meant to be about religion, but about the politics surrounding religious groupings. Religion discussions are for a different sub-forum.)

Jeb Bush moved away first from Texas, and then from his family’s patrician identity as White Anglo-Saxon Protestants.

"I’ve actually converted to Catholicism … I’m whatever a W-A-S-C would be. I’m a proud Catholic and a converted one, principally because this was the faith of my wife, and I wanted our children to grow up in a non-mixed marriage. So … no longer a WASP."
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http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2015/02/is-jeb-bush-a-republican-obama/385168/

NEW YORK, NY (The Deacons Bench) - After gobbling up tons of bandwidth over the Kennedys, let's now turn to the other side of the aisle, and another political dynasty, okay?
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"At Communion and Liberation's annual Rimini Meeting last week, Jeb Bush, the former governor of Florida, spoke about why he decided to become a Catholic and of his opposition to those elected officials who think they should keep their faith in a safety deposit box.
...
...Bush said what primarily attracted him to the faith were the sacraments of the Catholic Church, the timeless nature of the message of the Catholic Church, and the fact that the Catholic Church believes in and acts on absolute truth as its foundational principles and doesn't move with modern times as my former religion did.

"A former Episcopalian who was received into the Church in 1995, Bush said, In the United States many people think that to keep your faith, you need to put it into a safety deposit box if you're an elected official until you finish your service as a public servant, and then you can go and get it back. I never thought that was appropriate."

"Bush added, As it relates to making decisions as a public leader, one's faith should guide you. That's not to say that every decision I made would be completely in keeping with the teachings of the Catholic Church, but it was a guide post that kept me out of trouble.
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More: http://www.catholic.org/news/national/story.php?id=34357

 

[jmdrake]

Well let's see. There are currently no Protestants on the U.S. Supreme Court. (All Catholics and Jews). The pope is about to address a joint session of congress for the first time ever, and one of the leading presidential contenders just converted to Catholocism. The current pope also is a fan of liberation theology. Nothing to see here folks.

 

[donnay]

Flashback:

Pope calls for a new world order
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2004/jan/02/catholicism.religion

 

[Millennial Conservatarian]

Interesting that he'd say he prefers Catholicism to his "previous religion" because Catholicism "doesn't move with modern times" considering Catholics in the US are significantly more socially liberal than evangelical protestants.

 

[Brian4Liberty]

Well let's see. There are currently no Protestants on the U.S. Supreme Court. (All Catholics and Jews). The pope is about to address a joint session of congress for the first time ever, and one of the leading presidential contenders just converted to Catholocism. The current pope also is a fan of liberation theology. Nothing to see here folks.

Now we're on to something. Isn't it interesting how the United States was founded as a Protestant Christian nation, and at some point, this "Judeo-Christian" talking point was created? It almost seems like we are now "Judeo-Catholic", and Protestantism has become a dirty word. Perhaps that was a goal? Maybe the Kennedy family could give some answers?

It's apparent that someone in the know like Jeb Bush has found it to be advantageous to make it known that he is "no longer a WASP".

 

[Brian4Liberty]

LOL, coincidentally, just now, Nigel Farage was on the radio, and he was saying that the US was founded as a "Judeo-Christian" nation, and it's right in the Constitution.

Those Founders must have had a time machine to found the nation on a term that was created in the 1950s.

 

[Sola_Fide]

So he converted because or his wife, meaning he has no religious convictions whatsoever. He's your basic secularist.

 

[Xenliad]

I'm not Catholic, but I think I prefer Judge Napolitano's Catholicism to whatever this other stuff is.

 

[jmdrake]

Now we're on to something. Isn't it interesting how the United States was founded as a Protestant Christian nation, and at some point, this "Judeo-Christian" talking point was created? It almost seems like we are now "Judeo-Catholic", and Protestantism has become a dirty word. Perhaps that was a goal? Maybe the Kennedy family could give some answers?

It's apparent that someone in the know like Jeb Bush has found it to be advantageous to make it known that he is "no longer a WASP".

Yeah. It doesn't make sense. I'm black but the only people on the Supreme Court were black and hispanic, I'd be concerned. It would mean somebody is likely stacking the deck. The question is to what end?

 

[Sola_Fide]

Well let's see. There are currently no Protestants on the U.S. Supreme Court. (All Catholics and Jews). The pope is about to address a joint session of congress for the first time ever, and one of the leading presidential contenders just converted to Catholocism. The current pope also is a fan of liberation theology. Nothing to see here folks.

You might get banned for that type of talk.

Seriously though, America's political world has been dominated by Roman Catholics and Jews for over a hundred years. And you are right that Roman Catholic theology supports statism, intervention, redistribution of wealth, and foreign policy messianism.

(Of course this is just the opinion of Sola_Fide....feel free to disagree)

 

[wizardwatson]

[POST REMOVED DUE TO REQUEST BY OP TO EDIT POST TO REMOVE EXCESS RELIGIOUS COMMENTARY]

 

[LibertyExtremist]

Interesting that he'd say he prefers Catholicism to his "previous religion" because Catholicism "doesn't move with modern times" considering Catholics in the US are significantly more socially liberal than evangelical protestants.

It's certainly true that many, if not most, U.S. Catholics are socially liberal. However, the RC magisterium remains socially conservative. That may be changing with the current regime though.

Also, the Episcopal Church that he left is, at least nationally, one of the most progressive liberal Christian denominations in America. I say this as I'm a disgruntled Episcopalian lol.

 

[fisharmor]

LOL, coincidentally, just now, Nigel Farage was on the radio, and he was saying that the US was founded as a "Judeo-Christian" nation, and it's right in the Constitution.

Those Founders must have had a time machine to found the nation on a term that was created in the 1950s.

Fair enough, but:

Now we're on to something. Isn't it interesting how the United States was founded as a Protestant Christian nation

How is this assertion any more true than the Judeo-Christian assertion?
I haven't read a single thing Jefferson or Franklin had to say about Christianity that actual Christians would agree with 100%.
The founders that we can peg to a particular faith run the gamut from congregationalist to Presbyterian to Anglican - and almost all of them have deist leanings, if they weren't openly deist.

The only ones I can confirm were devout churchgoers were Hamilton and Adams - and I think we'd all agree they were the most anti-liberty of the lot.

Regardless, every single one of them recognized that the reason any of them were there to begin with is because some of their relatives fled a situation in Europe where their religion wasn't tolerated. I'm pretty sure that's why they put that bit in the Constitution.

Yeah. It doesn't make sense. I'm black but the only people on the Supreme Court were black and hispanic, I'd be concerned.

If we could stack the deck with 9 Clarence Thomases, I think it would be a better world.
Hell, I'd settle for 5 Clarence Thomases and 4 Sotomayors....

 

[heavenlyboy34]

'I'm a "proud" Catholic.'

Crack a bible Jeb, you're doing it wrong.

"Bush said what primarily attracted him to the faith were the sacraments [you come to Christ's supposed church for the bells and whistles?] of the Catholic Church, the timeless nature of the message of the Catholic Church, and the fact that the Catholic Church believes in and acts on absolute truth as its foundational principles and doesn't move with modern times as my former religion did [this is easily the most ridiculous false statement I've heard from a politicians mouth this year]."

Anyway, he's just putting on his Catholic suit for the election. I'm sure the pope will accommodate. It is the whore of Babylon after all.

I harp on the RCC a lot but I don't feel the least bit bad about it. These people can fool men, but the RCC has a 700 year inquisition worth of blood on its hands along with all the child raping that is STILL tolerated. These things are as fresh as a daisy in God's mind. No amount of pontification about "building bridges", "reaching out", or "condemning the evil doers" is going to change that. Christ's clearest warnings were to these people. When the day of the Lord comes I imagine they will be at the top of the list.

If you are a Catholic or belong to an equally lost church here's my advice:

Never go to church. If you are in the church, find the nearest exit and run. Go home and get all your crosses, rosaries, sacrament paraphenalia, and any photos or pictures of anyone or anything in the church and trash/burn it. If you have any bible in your house except the King James Authorized 1611 bible throw it away (preferably burn it so no one else can read it), then get a KJV bible, open it and begin reading. [cross reference Isaiah 2:19-21 with revelation 6:12-17 if you want to see why/how "idol trashing" will be the new FAD when destruction of Babylon makes it obvious that God did it. Destruction of Babylon is the opening act, the surprise]

Meh. No need to make a blanket statement about ALL RC parishes like this. Individual parishes don't necessarily agree with the likes of Bush. The Vatican, I'm becoming more cynical of nowadays.

Also, why do you refer to sacraments as "bells and whistles"? In traditional Christianity, these are important to ecclesiastical life. They are all full of meaning. Whether Jebs actually understands this and takes it seriously, IDK. But converting to RC just as a political move (in the US) isn't exactly a good use of time. (he'll be spending at least an entire ecclesiastical cycle in the process-maybe less or more, depending on how his priest feels about it) However, knowing the Bushes, it most likely is a highly political move.

 

[JohnM]

The founders that we can peg to a particular faith run the gamut from congregationalist to Presbyterian to Anglican - and almost all of them have deist leanings, if they weren't openly deist.

The only ones I can confirm were devout churchgoers were Hamilton and Adams - and I think we'd all agree they were the most anti-liberty of the lot.

Some of us like to think that Witherspoon was one of the founding fathers . . .

 

[Brian4Liberty]

How is this assertion any more true than the Judeo-Christian assertion?
I haven't read a single thing Jefferson or Franklin had to say about Christianity that actual Christians would agree with 100%.
The founders that we can peg to a particular faith run the gamut from congregationalist to Presbyterian to Anglican - and almost all of them have deist leanings, if they weren't openly deist.

Exactly. Protestant.

The purpose of the term Judeo-Christian was created to expand the definition and create a false impression. Classic history revision ala 1984.

If that type of revision (assertion) is perfectly acceptable, then ISIS can be called a Judeo-Christian-Muslim nation.

 

[Keith and stuff]

He lives in FL so this makes sense. Catholicism is very popular in the Northeast, CA, the Southwest, TX, and FL. It is by far the most popular religion in the nation and the land mass.

 

[heavenlyboy34]

Exactly. Protestant.

The purpose of the term Judeo-Christian was created to expand the definition and create a false impression. Classic history revision ala 1984.

If that type of revision (assertion) is perfectly acceptable, then ISIS can be called a Judeo-Christian-Muslim nation.

Yup, this^^

 

[Keith and stuff]

Exactly. Protestant.

The purpose of the term Judeo-Christian was created to expand the definition and create a false impression. Classic history revision ala 1984.

If that type of revision (assertion) is perfectly acceptable, then ISIS can be called a Judeo-Christian-Muslim nation.

It is true that Judaism, Christianity and Islam are all very similar. Jesus is a key to all three religions.

 

[Southron]

LOL, coincidentally, just now, Nigel Farage was on the radio, and he was saying that the US was founded as a "Judeo-Christian" nation, and it's right in the Constitution.

Those Founders must have had a time machine to found the nation on a term that was created in the 1950s.

The so-called "Judeo-Christian" tradition is nothing but a myth. I think it has been mostly used to further the American Civil Religion. In other words it is political idolatry.