It's interesting that Kristof started off by attacking the idea that on Judgement Day one's religious beliefs will matter, but then got diverted on to the "how stupid to try to predict the date of the second coming" and "they must be greedy profiteers" angles.

I think he avoided the first angle because at some level he realized that his logic was leading him into calling all who take either the Koran or the New Testament seriously to be unacceptable bigots. Which was a bit much even for him, so he diverted his attack to lower hanging fruit.

Kristof's writings are a perfect illustration of what happens when people approach religion purely from the point of view of political utility. It's not a pretty sight. And if anybody on the left takes his approach, they will definitely regret it.
Chris Atwood | 11.24.04 - 12:14 pm | #

I have observed that those who believe in "truth" (even if they are wrong about what truth is), are more open-minded than those who don't. As a Catholic who believes in Truth, I'm willing to listen to other arguments because I want to follow the truth. The way I see it, the worst that could happen is that I change my mind. But for a relativist, nothing is true. So they don't even have to consider a contrary argument. What would be the point?
S.F. | 11.24.04 - 12:46 pm | #

It is a little bit rich for a liberal like Nick Kristof to judge others based on whether they have been right in the past.
Glen H | 11.24.04 - 1:52 pm | #

I think the really interesting thing about this article is the trend it discloses in "values" coverage after the election. The lib. meadia outlets are all supposedly a buzz over this new discovery they've made--that people actually act on the beliefs they claim to hold.

Yet every one of these supposedly isolated "hey what about this whole religion thing" pieces is always about telling believers they can't actually believe what they profess to believe because its mean, and that makes them hypocrites.
al | Homepage | 11.24.04 - 2:15 pm | #

I can sympathize with Kristof's discomfort with the LB take on non-protestants. Doesn't the quote on the coming everlasting torment of these "heretics" betray a certain, well...GLEE at their fate despite the authors objection that it's all right there in the Bible? Is this what evangelical Christianity has come too? I imagine that Kristof, although he didn't actually articulate this view, was concerned about what this deft bit of malicious indirection says about the civic virtue (i.e. the willingness to respect all other citizens) of the LB fan base.
carolyn | 11.24.04 - 3:16 pm | #

So Kristof is still at it? His op-ed piece mocking Catholic reverence for the Blessed Virgin was the precipitating reason I no longer read the paper.

However, every time I recite the Lord's Prayer it tells me to forgive if I want to be forgiven, and the Gospel of Christ tells me to pray for my enemies.

I am to reject and expel every particle of bitterness and resentment in my heart.

I must truly pray for the salvation of every human soul, and I must never anticipate God's judgment or speculate on it. Instead, I must say and believe in: Thy will be done, on Earth as it is in heaven.
pavel chichikov | Homepage | 11.24.04 - 11:10 pm | #