The Rev. Kerry Speaks

Kerry Cites Scripture to Battle Bush View:

"The scriptures say, what does it profit, my brother, if someone says he has faith but does not have works?" Kerry told the congregation at New North Side Baptist Church. "When we look at what is happening in America today, were are the works of compassion?"

Since the verse in question is about the individual faith and life of a specific person, I am not sure of the application here. Indeed, it smacks of someone trying to find a verse to fit a message, rather than the message coming from the verse. Ah well, at least he didn't say that Job was in the New Testament...

And, while I agree on one level, there are some consistency problems here:

Kerry is Roman Catholic, but his support for abortion rights is at odds with Vatican (news - web sites) teachings.

"I don't tell church officials what to do, and church officials shouldn't tell American politicians what to do in the context of our public life," Kerry said in an interview with Time posted on the magazine's Web site Sunday.

That is, I agree the Vatican has no business telling American politicians what to do, but it has every right to tell those who claim membership in the Catholic Church that abortion is wrong. As such, the problem isn't the Church, it is individuals who say that they embrace a given faith, yet actively reject a major teaching of that church Surely, the easier thing to do would simply be to state that one isn't a particularly devout Catholic, or, perhaps, to simply not be a Catholic at all.