From a reader in response to today’s column:
Hello Mr. Goldberg,
Great column. As a pastor, I get a little nervous when candidates TRY to wear their so-called religion on their sleeves- especially when it sounds as lame as JFK’s. He talked about a “clause” in the bible he liked. (Most of us who read the good book call them “verses”) He plays the private faith /public policy split to his advantage when it comes to his faith- as you so adroitly pointed out, and he confuses the right of his church’s bishops to censure him or prevent him from taking communion- (“for the good of his own soul” as one bishop put it-) with entanglement of Church and state. And he takes scripture that is aimed at the believing church, not the political system, and seeks to give a “biblical” rational for his positions. Last I looked, the USA was not the same as the Catholic church, the UMC, PCA, ELCA, or any other church body. I would imagine he flusters not only himself, but many people of faith with these oddities. . .