New Alabama governor apologizes for remarks on Christians

Sorry, I made a mistake. He's a representative, not a senator.

If my memory serves my right wasn't there a big controversy regarding taking the oath of office when a Muslim senator was going to use a Qur'an instead of a Bible during his swearing in?

Yes, that's the one. An utterly ridiculous thing to object to. I don't see why freedom of religion shouldn't extend to our elected leaders.

sarahsuz25:"One of the senators from my home state is Muslim, and I don't see a problem with that either."

If my memory serves my right wasn't there a big controversy regarding taking the oath of office when a Muslim senator was going to use a Qur'an instead of a Bible during his swearing in?

I don't care about the religious beliefs of public officials as long as it doesn't interfere with the performance of their duties. This was a sermon in a church, not a public platform, so I don't see any problem with it.

However, I extend that to public officials of all religions. One of the senators from my home state is Muslim, and I don't see a problem with that either.

Alabama? Home of the KKK, the Bible belt hypocrites and fools like this idiot claiming those who do not believe in Jesus are not really saved?

This guy would fit right in back in Pakistan, etc..as a Taliban! Just substitute Jesus for Allah and his remarks seem like those straight out of Alqaeda! What an ignorant poor slob! Am I surprised? Hell no! These hypocrites come a dime a dozen! Hey ain't no real Christian, just a good talker and he knows how to woo his sheep, his church followers with the right amount of talk that may even offend, dare I say, Rush Limbaugh??

@eldudamexicano: I am not a practicing Buddahist, and according to those who practice their religion, I will not reach Nirvana when I die. Same thing with Hinduism, I am not a believer and according to their religions, I will not get the same reward when I die. So does that make places like India (majority Hindu), backwards places too (they are but not becuase of their religious beliefs).

Easy to bash Christians. And as I said earlier, try to go to Mecca as a non believer; you will not be allowed in. As long as he is not advocating treatig others unfairly because of their religious beliefs, his reasoning is between him and his god.

Ah yes Alabama what a nice place it was beautiful and nice and friendly, OH wait sorry must have been thinking of some other place, Ah yes, Alabama was the nice place that in just about every town and county outside the large cities my friends (from Massachusetts) and I were chased out or told not to stay (by the local police) and to keep on moving because and I quote "We do care for you foreigner and northern trouble makers around here!".

This was in the mid 80's but from what I can see by this idiots remarks not much has changed!

FYI, us "trouble makers" consisted of one US Marine, a marine biologist, a Paramedic and a CPA you know real dangerous types.

Alabama? Home of the KKK, the Bible belt hypocrites and fools like this idiot claiming those who do not believe in Jesus are not really saved? This guy would fit right in back in Pakistan, etc..as a Taliban! Just substitute Jesus for Allah and his remarks seem like those straight out of Alqaeda! What an ignorant poor slob! Am I surprised? Hell no! These hypocrites come a dime a dozen! Hey ain't no real Christian, just a good talker and he knows how to woo his sheep, his church followers with the right amount of talk that may even offend, dare I say, Rush Limbaugh??

Bentley said he didn’t mean to insult anyone with comments he made from the pulpit of a church once led by Martin Luther King Jr. He said he was speaking as an evangelical Christian to fellow Baptists.

It wasn't at his inagural address but at the church (Dexter Ave. Church) the Rev. King led while he lived in Montgomery.

“Anybody here today who has not accepted Jesus Christ as their savior, I’m telling you, you’re not my brother and you’re not my sister, and I want to be your brother,” Bentley said.

His statements are far more tame than those you get in any predominately Muslim nation. If you are non-muslim, you are still treated as a second class citizen (try going into Mecca if you are non-Muslim), and under Sharia law, you have to pay a tax for non-muslim.

But, he did not say that it was his goal to convert the non believers, or wage a war against them. If you belive (and I do) then I get the point that in order to be called a "true brother" or believer, you have to be a Christian. But, if someone I meet isn't then that is their choice. I don't discriminate or hold that against them. I believe that it is ultimately up to the individual to make the choice.

So, this is much ado about nothing in my opinion. If that is how he wants to think, then let him. As long as he is not calling for the mass conversion of those who don't think like him that is fine. After all, I am told we have to be "tolerant" of others with their sexual choice, their religious beliefs or other things, so just let the man have his own beliefs.

Many people are against Gov spending (Private Fed Reserve debt). Many people were against the Pelosi/Obama stimuluses and trillion $ "to big to fail bailouts" also.

=most slaves do not get to write out blank checks for everything like politicians do, or just charge it like the typical Lib does.

But it was fun, in a silly way, to read about some revisionist nonsense like....

"Revisionist nonsense" to a far right-winger is simply actual history that they can't explain away. But it's funny how North Carolina conservatives don't try to run away from it. They openly admit that one of their senators, Josiah Bailey, was the chief architect of the Conservative Manifesto that was opposed to the New Deal.

I have a tough time seeing how an Alabama governor's apology to voters in that state is world news.

But it was fun, in a silly way, to read about some revisionist nonsense like

the Conservative Manifesto of 1937 -- a bi-partisan effort linking Republicans and southern, racist Democrats to oppose and overturn FDR's New Deal and efforts to empower African-Americans.

If you live in Alabama/Mississippi 90% of what these people do is Bible related (in some way). =This is what they do and talk about. 100% of the people within earshot will feel the Governors speech was spot on.

I only see this undue attention as another form of Federal/Media attack on the highly conservative southern people. The Federal Gov will not be allowed to carpetbag (buy assets for pennies after the "Civil War") these people again -however the BP oil spill was just that

"Apology" and "damage control" are not the same thing. This apology is just a PR job.

1870 to 2010 (2011) you say. Hmmm, that makes 1940 the midway point. And how were things in the South in the 1940s? Democrats ruled and blacks were de facto 2nd class citizens.

Oh boy, another "fractured" history lesson. Racist Southern Democrats ruled in the region because of the deal made by Republican President Rutherford B. Hayes to end Reconstruction and enabled white supremacists to regain control. Folks really ought to search out and read the Conservative Manifesto of 1937 -- a bi-partisan effort linking Republicans and southern, racist Democrats to oppose and overturn FDR's New Deal and efforts to empower African-Americans.

Even today -- and I live in Georgia -- the most segregated time in the South is Sunday morning. But that has changed and continues to change, ever so slowly.

yokomoc at 02:25 PM - It was his inauguration speech.

Since you didn't bother to read the article, let me help you out here:

From the 4th paragraph of the story:

Bentley, who spoke at the church during a King holiday event after his official inaugural address ...

You're welcome.

RR

No, yokomc, it is you who completely missed the point-

"It was his inauguration speech. The only reason it was in a church was because he decided to give this political speech (wait for it) in a church, which only reinforces rather than negates his comments about viewing Christians and non-Christians differently

Read the article. It was not his inauguration speech. It was a speech given in a church after his inauguration.

1870 to 2010 (2011) you say. Hmmm, that makes 1940 the midway point. And how were things in the South in the 1940s? Democrats ruled and blacks were de facto 2nd class citizens. Truman had not yet desegregated the military - made that way by the Democrat Wilson (a former Princeton prof); and Democrat FDR had put on the SCOTUS only 2 years before an ex-Klansman from Alabama named Hugo Black.

Brilliant!

Bentley is the Republican governor of his state. The KKK were exclusively Democrats. About a third of the ppl they murdered were killed not for the color of their skin but for their membership in the Republican party.

Brilliant! In one comment you managed to completely miss the point of my analogy, insert partisan politics where it wasn't necessary and falsely equate the political parties of 1870 with those of 2010. Outstanding work!

"And going by your odd logic it would be okay for an elected official make vile racist comments if it was only in front of KKK members, cos it's just speaking to your audience you know."

Bentley is the Republican governor of his state.

The KKK were exclusively Democrats. About a third of the ppl they murdered were killed not for the color of their skin but for their membership in the Republican party.

Bentley apologized for his remarks, but not for being a Christian.

“I will never deny being a born-again Christian. I do have core beliefs and I will die with those core beliefs,” Bentley said. “But I do not want to be harmful to others. And I will die if I have to defend someone else’s right to worship as they choose.”

If the man thinks he is going to die if he has to defend someone else's right to worship as they choose, he does not really understand why people consider what he originally said was offensive and has succeeded in being offensive again. Good job!

The West is rapidly de-christianizing itself, but wait what will fill the void. Not what the feel-gooder hope, that is for sure.

I live in the northeast US where we don't have this religeous heritage as much as the rest of the country(south/midwest). But I do know some very religious people, however they respect my beliefs (raised Catholic, now agnostic). I also have known some religious people who if you have a general conversation with they constantly mention Jesus or god ; that's just the way they think, everything thru the prism of religion. That's why I say that what the Gov. said is how he truly feels.

Hmmmm. If it were a governor that just happened to be Muslim and said the same thing, there would be an uproar by many Americans. Double standard.

Man, talk about a non-news event. Gov. Bentley made his comments in a church.

??? It was his inauguration speech. The only reason it was in a church was because he decided to give this political speech (wait for it) in a church, which only reinforces rather than negates his comments about viewing Christians and non-Christians differently. And going by your odd logic it would be okay for an elected official make vile racist comments if it was only in front of KKK members, cos it's just speaking to your audience you know.

@SushiSake3: That was one of the reasons why most Europeans approve of Obama more than George W. Bush....because Obama did not mention God all the time nor try to promote it as much as Bush.

warnerbro - Don't you think quoting rock lyrics to make your point is kinda silly? Especially when the song you quote is about racism and not religious intolerance?

Limbaugh, Beck and the other right-wing spinmeisters will need about 48 hours to catch up on this one. Just watch them make out Bentley to be a devout christian who's being persecuted for his faith by the ungodly liberals.

Man, talk about a non-news event. Gov. Bentley made his comments in a church. If he had said it during the state of the state address, that would be a different issue.

Even governors are allowed to have their religious beliefs.

RR

"...the Rev Jay Wolf, said he thought Bentley’s remark was misunderstood by the news media."

No misunderstanding here. The only mistake he made was revealing his true feelings.

smithinjapan.

I understand your point. But if a politicians sez he follows faith X that alone can get him a lot of extra votes from people of the same faith, etc.

A Politician should be elected on his portfolio only, IMHO.

While I don't agree whole-heartedly with Zenny that a person should not be allowed to state his/her religion when in office (or what have you), I agree they should not be allowed to force it on the public -- in words or deeds.

This guy made a pretty serious blunder and miscalculation on his inaugeration, and if any good is to come of it it's that he'll be scrutinized pretty closely from here on in when it comes to saying or doing something outside his private life (and even WITH his private life, probably).

I agree with Zenny. I refuse to say under god when saying the pledge. It should be removed and removed from coins too.

Separation of church and state in America is essentially a feel-good myth. Congress still prays. bush jnr had prayer breakfasts. There was a dispute some years ago about removing the 10 commandments from a state (court?) building. Politicians of all stripes still mention their faith in God.

Well, the 2008 presidental election race made religion important to the voters......it is pretty sad.

From a non-american POV there seems to be little "real" separation of church and state in the USA, when compared to other countries.

NO politician should mention his own faith or make comments influenced by it, ditto for churches like the WBC, they should focus only on religion, etc.

I say nail his butt to the wall.

Another wonderful example showing why Religion and State were separated so very long ago.

The governor should be given a pass on this one. His comment, while containing an element of scriptural truth, could not have been inspired by the Spirit which he received as a gift.

Now that he has cleared up the misunderstanding, I believe Governor Bentley will be an outstanding governor for all the people of Alabama.

What can we expect from the governor of Alabama? As Neil Young observed long ago:Oh "Alabama,The devil fools with the best laid plan...What are you doing Alabama? You got the rest of the union to help you along What's going wrong?"