they cloak themselves in religion
and forget mercy, it strikes us as
blasphemy."
• Family values. For Reform
Jews, Rabbi Yoffie said, that term
includes teaching science without
a religious tilt, ensuring health
care for everyone, allowing the
terminally ill to make their own
decisions about dying, and
researching embryonic stem cells
rather than protecting "a frozen
embryo in a fertility clinic."
Evangelicals
Rabbi Yoffie did not specify
evangelical Christians in his
speech, but he made his target
clear when he claimed that Jesus
would have been concerned
about the 45 million Americans
without health insurance and
would have rejected the demo-
nization of gay people.
Still, the rabbi clarified that he
does not want to drive religious
conservatives out of the public
arena. Instead, he invited them
to discuss and learn from reli-
gious liberals, who he acknowl-
edged could learn things from
conservatives.
"There are alternative ways for
deeply religious people to under-
stand the important issues of the
day," Rabbi Yoffie said. "We need
to talk to one another about
these matters."
He cited common ground in
the culture wars, in which con-
cerned people on the left and
right are confronting the diffi-
culty of raising "honorable,
decent children" in a world dom-
inated by junk on television. He
also found agreement in battling
overseas religious persecution
and sex trafficking.
"Let's focus on working
together in these areas and on
discussing everything else with
civility,"Rabbi Yoffie said.
He said the starting point will
be the conditions John Kennedy
laid out in Houston during his
presidential campaign 45 years
ago — "that tolerance is an
American value and a religious
necessity; that religion is far too
important to be entangled with
government; that we need
beware the zealots who want to
make their religion the religion
of everyone else; and that we all
need to put our trust in
America, the most religiously
diverse country•n the world."
ni
December 1-2005
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