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3 of 3 Premium Clicks used this month SUBSCRIBE Print + Online Subscriber Activation | Register x Forgot Password | Need an Account? e-edition | subscribe | newsletter | deals Home News Latest Stories Transient who shot girlfriend for nagging in Rogue River convicted of murder Rogue Disposal considers rate increase Man jailed for allegedly firing shots in trailer park Second man sentenced for robbing elderly couple outside Talent Hunter to earn Eagle Scout honor Crime, Courts and Emergency Services Transient who shot girlfriend for nagging in Rogue River convicted of murder Man jailed for allegedly firing shots in trailer park Second man sentenced for robbing elderly couple outside Talent Elk poacher ordered to pay $17,000 for Lake Creek Road area crimes Emergency Services, May 14 Politics and Elections Arthur I. Cyr: Camp David summit will not help Mideast stability Ashland water bills could go up to fund watershed protection Pacific Connector Gas Pipeline opponents rally in Medford BREAKING: Baltimore prosecutor charges officers in Freddie Gray's death Earthquakes hit regularly in Medford (Oklahoma, that is) Education South Medford, Ashland high schools earn national honors Medford garage sale will put books in African kids' hands Medford schools restore parent-teacher conferences Latino parents: More bilingual staff needed in Medford schools Medford schools still filling admin roles Environment Jackson County declares drought disaster Ashland water bills could go up to fund watershed protection Crater Lake may soon have China connection State waives college placement tests for students who hit high marks Stopping fire in its tracks State News Panel sends Jackson, Josephine drought declarations to governor Court overturns $85 million award for Oregon soldiers Oregon families should get $284 in tax rebates next year Pot tourism, one way or another, expected in Oregon Roseburg City Council holsters decision on garage-based gun store Nation - World There's a $10 million precious stone hidden in plain sight at Grand Central Obituaries Katie Beth (Lehnhardt) Marical Russell Dale Williams Keith D. Randahl Verla Jean Rametes Death Notices Weather Photo Galleries Since You Asked Videos Web Cams Mail Tribune 100 Shareable Check out top import and export for every U.S. state Patriots fan sets up GoFundMe page to help pay for team's Deflategate fine Sports Latest Stories Djokovic tested by Bellucci; Murray, Serena withdraw From super sub to superstar Wu off to fast start in NCAA regional Firing Line seeks to end runner-up stigma in Preakness Guthrie helps Royals top Rangers Varsity 541 College Sports Wu off to fast start in NCAA regional Beavers tie school home run record in rout A Wise freshman leads the Ducks Baldovino, Concordia upset No. 1 Oklahoma City Northwestern’s Wu chosen for NCAA field Pro Sports Djokovic tested by Bellucci; Murray, Serena withdraw From super sub to superstar Firing Line seeks to end runner-up stigma in Preakness Guthrie helps Royals top Rangers With 30 drivers for 3 spots, Showdown looms at Charlotte Community Sports Bailey picks up modified win Business Latest Stories Blog: Cash deals for homes inches toward normal levels Tourism stronger than ever in Southern Oregon Medford airport still flying high with record passenger counts Erickson reports $75 million loss in 1st quarter Cars We Remember: Noted musician unravels 55-year Nash Rambler mystery Real Estate News Single-family home sales take off Never enough: New Starbucks proposed on Barnett Road in Medford Jackson County debt-ridden homeowners have an option New home in an old house Naumes plans custom-crush winery in former packing house People In Business People in Business Transportation Tourism stronger than ever in Southern Oregon Medford airport still flying high with record passenger counts Erickson finds room to work at Medford airport Lithia Motors nets $40.7 million in first quarter Lithia Motors reports second-best quarter ever Agriculture 1-800Flowers.com reports $10.5 million loss in third quarter Naumes plans custom-crush winery in former packing house Opinion Latest Granlund cartoon: Kim Jong Un and snoozing Dianne Williamson: Showing cards necessary in honest race talks Arthur I. Cyr: Camp David summit will not help Mideast stability Our View: City should let SkyPark project move ahead George Will: In childhood, risk is inherent Editorials Our View: City should let SkyPark project move ahead Our View: E-cigarette bill is half right, half wrong Our View: Abundant water no excuse for waste Our View: Mental health funding should be a priority Other Views: Court ruling means PERS reform is dead Letters to the Editor Letters to the Editor, May 14 Letters to the Editor, May 13 Letters to the Editor, May 12 Letters to the Editor, May 11 Letters to the Editor, May 10 Columns Arthur I. Cyr: Camp David summit will not help Mideast stability George Will: In childhood, risk is inherent Dana Milbank: Power to the populists Kathleen Parker: Defining deity down: Changing others' religion Guest Opinion: Ample water? Think again Guest Opinions Guest Opinion: Ample water? Think again Guest Opinion: Oregon mothers need much more than flowers Guest Opinion: Child poverty and the Schneider Children’s Center Guest Opinion: Animal-killing program pulls wool over taxpayers' eyes Guest Opinion: Uniting to restore our sovereignty to we, the people Lifestyle Latest stories Betty Montgomery: Longleaf pines making a comeback Season Stepp: Use pink lemonade in recipes William Keesler: Home alone with Arty Pergola, arbor, gazebo: Learn the differences Marketta Gregory: God doesn’t need our polished marketing Food Season Stepp: Use pink lemonade in recipes Quick, easy, versatile Page H. 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Hiking Biking Faith Religion Briefs: Friday, May 8 Religion Briefs: Friday, May 1 Religion Briefs: Friday, April 24 Religion Briefs: Friday, April 17 Milestones and Achievements Bukair-Hinkle Wedding: Stephanie Anne Obad and Mark Douglass Schmor Ashland water bills could go up to fund watershed protection Drones helping create unique wedding photos Pick your favorite wedding flowers Columnist for a Day Rogue Healthy Aging Tempo Latest stories Steve Poltz, Grant-Lee Phillips at Old Ashland Armory 'One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest' Flowers, art and music highlight Art in Bloom 5 picks for live entertainment Live Music in Local Clubs Theater 'One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest' REVIEW: Randall Theatre's 'Little Shop of Horrors' a rollicking good time REVIEW: Carson, Patton shine in 'Arsenic and Old Lace' Some Oregon Shakespeare Festival crew members seek to unionize Randall Theatre stages 'Little Shop of Horrors' Music Steve Poltz, Grant-Lee Phillips at Old Ashland Armory Victor D. 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The Farr Side: Contest open for singer-songwriters Live Music in Local Clubs Peter Rowan, Big Sandy & His Fly-Rite Boys at Rootsfest Community Events 5 things to see at Art in Bloom Flowers, art and music highlight Art in Bloom Hip-Hop Poetry Open Mic at OSF's Black Swan in Ashland Ashland's First Friday Art Walk showcases new exhiits by regional artists Master Gardener Spring Fair at The Expo Movies Your A-to-Z guide to the ‘Mad Max’ franchise Movie review: ‘Mad Max: Fury Road’ will leave your inner 12-year-old giggling with glee Movie review: ‘Hot Pursuit’ is a hot mess George Miller returns to his ‘Mad Max’ roots Tom Hardy adapts to life as Mad Max Dining Quick, easy, versatile April 2015 Restaurant Inspections Restaurant inspections: May 10, 2015 Wood-fired pies at Peace of Pizza Trium is a classic example of a boutique winery Tempo Videos Classifieds Jobs Autos Real Estate FEATURED » Obits Blogs TV Listings Movie Listings Oregon Outdoors Oregon Healthy Living Special Sections Business Services NEWS NOW Panel sends Jackson, Josephine drought declarations to governor ... Rogue Disposal considers rate increase ... Man jailed for allegedly firing shots in trailer park ... Panel sends Jackson, Josephine drought declarations to governor ... Rogue Disposal considers rate increase ... Man jailed for allegedly firing shots in trailer park ... ANOTHER VIEW Kathleen Parker: Defining deity down: Changing others' religion MailTribune.com Writer Posted May. 13, 2015 @ 12:01 am Posted May. 13, 2015 @ 12:01 am » Social News p bs:newslist StartDate="20121121" EndDate="p bs:datecalc Months="3"" DateSort="1" UseObjects="1" ObjectClass="81" Taxonomywords="2325,665" ExactTaxonomyMatch="1" Image="1" Count="4" --> It is nearly axiomatic that presidential contests tend to shine a harsh light on conservative Christians — inasmuch as they are viewed as the Republican Party's base and are, therefore, deemed fair game. Of course, religious folks come in a variety of stripes, checks and polka dots. Many are Democrats. But it is the members of the Christian right — evangelicals and Catholics, especially — who every four years are treated to the sneers of lefties, academics, proud atheists (allow me to quote myself: "There's no dogma like no dogma") and certain but not all media. Roger Ailes' Fox News has succeeded in no small part because he doesn't treat Christians as though they're Darwin's missing link. Fortunately for Western civilization, Christianity has survived worse insults. Lately, conservative Christians in the country that codified freedom of religion have been placed on the defensive. Often viewed as obstructionists to progress, a secular world wonders: What's wrong with those people? Why can't they just get with the program? Why can't the Little Sisters of the Poor suck it up and sign off on the Affordable Care Act's demand that their insurance policy include contraception funding? Ditto Hobby Lobby, the family-owned craft business that prevailed in its Supreme Court fight to not fund insurance covering contraception that destroys embryos. Hobby Lobby detractors argued that the company was trying to impose its religious beliefs on others. In fact, the family was resisting the government's insistence that they render those beliefs unto Caesar. (The Supreme Court granted the Little Sisters an injunction pending their appeal in the 10th Circuit that protects them from enforcement.) These issues, I'll admit, can seem arcane and are tiresome at times. But I'm convinced, as Alan Dershowitz and Ken Starr agreed during a debate last year on these two cases, that the state should always go to extra lengths to protect religious liberty whenever possible. If only more Democrats and Republicans were as agreeable. Recent history and more-recent comments by the likeliest presidential candidates make it clear, however, that Democrats and Republicans will take very different approaches in future state/religion entanglements. If Hillary Clinton becomes president, she has more or less promised that the state's interests will crush the individual's as necessary to advance women's rights. Giving a fiery speech last month at Tina Brown's "Women in the World Summit," Clinton plainly said: "Deep-seated cultural codes, religious beliefs and structural biases have to be changed" so that women can have unfettered access to "reproductive health care and safe childbirth." One would like to imagine that Clinton was speaking only about primitive cultures where children are forced into marriage and childbearing, or where genital cutting is common. But we know that she also meant religious conservatives closer to home whose beliefs get in the way. She explicitly criticized Hobby Lobby for not paying for its employees' contraception. By contrast, Jeb Bush, who will become the GOP nominee if Republicans are smart, assumed a much different tone and direction in his recent commencement address at Liberty University. "How strange, in our own time, to hear Christianity spoken of as some sort of backward and oppressive force," he said. "It's a depressing fact that when some people think of Christianity and of Judeo-Christian values, they think of something static, narrow and outdated. ... I cannot think of any more subversive moral idea ever loosed on the world than 'the last shall be first, and the first last.' " He also spoke of what our world would have been like without the "unalloyed compassion, such genuine love, such thorough altruism," as Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. described Christianity. It would be defined, Bush said, by "power without restraint, conflict without reconciliation, oppression without deliverance, corruption without reformation, tragedy without renewal." In a culture more attuned to the grits 'n' gravy style of a Mike Huckabee, it is rare to hear Christianity discussed in such elevated terms. Indeed, Huckabee can be expected to go after Bush as a blue-blooded elite who can't relate to everyday Americans. Well, yee-haw, one can hardly wait. But I suspect that even conservative Southern Christians, who can absorb more than one-syllable words, might appreciate hearing their beliefs so eloquently described as by Bush. To be fair, Clinton likely would have reframed her comments — and maybe even her beliefs and accent — had she been speaking to a Christian audience. But her spoken words can't be deleted and her thinking is clear: Religious beliefs have to be changed. Or else, what, pray tell? Kathleen Parker's email address is [email protected]. MailTribune.com Writer Posted May. 13, 2015 @ 12:01 am » Comment or view comments /* $( document ).ready(function() { // Jquery mobile is trying to style the button and leaving a blank gry button on top of a white button $("#viafouracoms .vf-comment-controls li.vf-right").html(' Submit '); });*/ » STAY INFORMED Email NewsLetter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. calendar Connect with MailTribune.com Facebook Twitter RSS Back to top Reader Services Reader Services Home Subscriptions Subscriber controls Contact us Submissions Photos Events Letters to the editor Corrections Announcements Obituaries Story ideas Since you asked Alerts Email Alerts RSS Feeds Text Alerts Advertise Media Kit Home Products and services Ad rates Advertising contacts Propel Marketing Mail Tribune Daily Tidings The Nickel Shop Our Valley Blogs Stay Informed Email newsletter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. 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