# Alabama Gov Says Non-Christians Not His Brothers **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [January 19, 2011, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alabama-gov-says-non-christians-not-his-brothers/568227 "2011-01-19T18:19:29Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2011, 11:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alabama-gov-says-non-christians-not-his-brothers/568227/81 "2011-01-19T23:01:21Z")
> [@Telemark](#): > > It’s not clear exactly what it means when your governor tells you that he won’t consider you a brother or a sister unless you convert to Christianity, but it’s not a good sign no matter what. Those who make up their minds before they have a clear understanding cannot be argued with. Regards, Shodan ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2011, 11:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alabama-gov-says-non-christians-not-his-brothers/568227/82 "2011-01-19T23:06:55Z")
> [@Shodan](#): > > Those who make up their minds before they have a clear understanding cannot be argued with. I’m comfortable with my assumptions, just as I’m sure you’re comfortable with yours. In this case, until and unless he comes up with a really significant re-interpretation of his remarks I’m fine with feeling uncomfortable for my relatives in Alabama. ---
**Author:** ![stpauler](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9d8465/32.png) [@stpauler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stpauler)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2011, 11:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alabama-gov-says-non-christians-not-his-brothers/568227/83 "2011-01-19T23:16:38Z")
[Alabama Governor Apologizes for Controversial Religious Remarks](http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2011/01/19/alabama-governor-apologizes-controversial-mlk-speech/#ixzz1BWfkb9XC) > [@](#): > > On Wednesday afternoon, Bentley issued a public apology: “If anyone from other religions felt disenfranchised by the language, I want to say I am sorry. I am sorry if I offended anyone in any way.” And then he forgets about the non-religious folks. Dumbass. ---
**Author:** ![Rachellelogram](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rachellelogram/32/8689_2.png) [@Rachellelogram](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rachellelogram)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2011, 11:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alabama-gov-says-non-christians-not-his-brothers/568227/84 "2011-01-19T23:18:14Z")
Regardless of religion, nobody is my brother unless they are a male and have the same parents I do. As it happens, I have no religion and I have no brothers. What a bizarre thing to say and/or care about. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2011, 11:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alabama-gov-says-non-christians-not-his-brothers/568227/85 "2011-01-19T23:19:23Z")
> [@stpauler](#): > > [Alabama Governor Apologizes for Controversial Religious Remarks](http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2011/01/19/alabama-governor-apologizes-controversial-mlk-speech/#ixzz1BWfkb9XC) > And then he forgets about the non-religious folks. Dumbass. I thought it was a sin to lie. ---
**Author:** ![fumster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e9c0ed/32.png) [@fumster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fumster)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2011, 11:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alabama-gov-says-non-christians-not-his-brothers/568227/86 "2011-01-19T23:27:56Z")
> [@runner pat](#): > > I thought it was a sin to lie. You are right, he didn’t forget about them, he just purposely excluded them. ---
**Author:** ![Kolga](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e56c9b/32.png) [@Kolga](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kolga)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2011, 11:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alabama-gov-says-non-christians-not-his-brothers/568227/87 "2011-01-19T23:53:26Z")
> [@Contrapuntal](#): > > Have you ever done that? On this board for example? Have you ever called any other politician out the way you are calling the Governor out simply for invoking God? > [@Kolga](#): > > Yes. On this message board, and on emails to politicians’ offices when it hits my radar. In my rush to get out of my office and on the roads before the Colorado drivers who can’t drive in snow were out in full force, I did not express myself with as much clarity as I should have when answering this question. I apologize and will try to clarify. I do, and have, “called out” politicians when they have invoked religion as a way of denigrating others or placing others in a hierarchical context. The invocation of God, per se, is not as offensive to me, and in fact, is often not offensive to me at all. It’s when God, of any stripe, is used by elected public officials as a way of openly or covertly communicating that certain people are not as valued and important as others that I become offended. And that is what happened here. Elected officials should not use or express their personal beliefs that people who disagree with them are not as valued. Are they entitled to express those beliefs? Yes. Should they? No. And I believe that we as a secular society should be more vocal in our dismay when an elected official invokes religion in this way. ETA: And I see the governor has issued the obligatory “I apologize if anyone was offended” remarks, which are of course a non-apology and, as we have discussed on this board before, a tacit admission that he still doesn’t understand that he should not say shit like that. ---
**Author:** ![Lemur866](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lemur866/32/434_2.png) [@Lemur866](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lemur866)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2011, 12:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alabama-gov-says-non-christians-not-his-brothers/568227/88 "2011-01-20T00:01:29Z")
> [@Shodan](#): > > Those who make up their minds before they have a clear understanding cannot be argued with. > > Regards, > Shodan > [@Robert Bentley](#): > > There may be some people here today who do not have living within them the Holy Spirit. But if you have been adopted in God’s family like I have, and like you have if you’re a Christian and if you’re saved, and the Holy Spirit lives within you just like the Holy Spirit lives within me, then you know what that makes? It makes you and me brothers. And it makes you and me brother and sister." > > ''Now I will have to say that, if we don’t have the same daddy, we’re not brothers and sisters. So anybody here today who has not accepted Jesus Christ as their savior, I’m telling you, you’re not my brother and you’re not my sister, and I want to be your brother." How can you parse his words any other way than: Since you haven’t accepted Jesus as your savior, you’re not my brother. I want to be your brother. Therefore, I want you to accept Jesus as your savior, so you can be my brother. You know, It’s one thing for this asshole Christian to mention that all Christians are his brothers. It’s another thing for him to specifically mention that non-Christians aren’t his brothers. It’s like when Sideshow Bob got on TV and promised not to kill Homer, Marge, Lisa, or Maggie. ---
**Author:** ![AClockworkMelon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aclockworkmelon/32/10803_2.png) [@AClockworkMelon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AClockworkMelon)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2011, 12:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alabama-gov-says-non-christians-not-his-brothers/568227/89 "2011-01-20T00:08:46Z")
I had a bunch of outrage all prepped to go but then I saw that he said it at his church. I tend to assume that most Christians feel this way. Though, truth be told, I can’t even imagine the shitstorm that would erupt were an atheist politician to say “I think that the religious are delusional” in private company and it got out. It would be biblical. At least this guy didn’t say that atheists aren’t citizens like a certain other nutjob. ---
**Author:** ![Squink](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5e925/32.png) [@Squink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Squink)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2011, 12:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alabama-gov-says-non-christians-not-his-brothers/568227/90 "2011-01-20T00:25:06Z")
> **[Alabama Governor Robert Bentley apologizes for 'brothers and sisters' comment...](https://www.al.com/spotnews/2011/01/alabama_governor_robert_bentle.html)** > > Statement follows hour-long meeting with state Jewish leaders > [@](#): > > “What I would like to do is apologize. Should anyone who heard those words and felt disenfranchised, I want to say, ‘I’m sorry.’ If you’re not a person who can say you are sorry, you’re not a very good leader,” Bentley said. That sounds like a decent apology to me. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2011, 12:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alabama-gov-says-non-christians-not-his-brothers/568227/91 "2011-01-20T00:30:06Z")
> [@Squink](#): > > [http://blog.al.com/spotnews/2011/01/alabama\_governor\_robert\_bentle.htmlThat](http://blog.al.com/spotnews/2011/01/alabama_governor_robert_bentle.htmlThat) sounds like a decent apology to me. No, that sounds like “I’m apologizing because I’ve been told I need to but I don’t believe a word I’m saying.” ---
**Author:** ![sisu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/df705f/32.png) [@sisu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sisu)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2011, 12:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alabama-gov-says-non-christians-not-his-brothers/568227/92 "2011-01-20T00:51:18Z")
Dudes why the big fuss, he is just saying he would like all of you to be his brothers and sisters in Christ. Just like most atheists saying hey would everyone to be a non believer. He did not in any way say that non Christians would get a raw deal. What is there to be frightened about? Great Og, you guys get worked up over fuck all, but I guess that’s what the interwebs are for! ---
**Author:** ![Squink](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5e925/32.png) [@Squink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Squink)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2011, 12:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alabama-gov-says-non-christians-not-his-brothers/568227/93 "2011-01-20T00:57:47Z")
> [@runner pat](#): > > No, that sounds like “I’m apologizing because I’ve been told I need to but I don’t believe a word I’m saying.” I’ll let him pull a few more boners before concluding he’s an asshole of the Bush/Cheney mold. Palin never would have apologized like this, she’d’ve reloaded. Yeah, better than Palin isn’t high praise, but so far the guy _has_ made an effort to put things right. That should count for something, even if it doesn’t meet the most stringent requirements for pol-grovelling. ---
**Author:** ![Procrustus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/procrustus/32/2994_2.png) [@Procrustus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Procrustus)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2011, 12:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alabama-gov-says-non-christians-not-his-brothers/568227/94 "2011-01-20T00:58:08Z")
> [@sisu](#): > > Dudes why the big fuss, he is just saying he would like all of you to be his brothers and sisters in Christ. Just like most atheists saying hey would everyone to be a non believer. > > He did not in any way say that non Christians would get a raw deal. What is there to be frightened about? > > Great Og, you guys get worked up over fuck all, but I guess that’s what the interwebs are for! It can also be viewed as an address to _members of the church_. He said “anyone here today…” He might be trying to tell the audience, as church members, that it is their duty to accept Jesus or whatever. He might not have that standard for everyone else in the state, or even care if they’re religious, but he damn well expects fellow members of his church to live up to certain standards. That’s the view of one hard core atheist’s anyway. ---
**Author:** ![appleciders](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/85f322/32.png) [@appleciders](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/appleciders)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2011, 1:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alabama-gov-says-non-christians-not-his-brothers/568227/95 "2011-01-20T01:15:54Z")
> [@sh1bu1](#): > > For those of you who are Christian, is it even consistent with Jesus’ teachings? > [@sh1bu1](#): > > Is this brother/sister stuff really part of fundamentalist canon? I know there is an obligation to convert, but did Jesus or the NT really say that people who do not accept him are not brothers and sisters of the converted? The big, obvious Bible quote here is the parable of the Good Samaritan. (Luke 10.25-37) I would say that what Gov. Bentley said is inconsistent with Jesus’ teachings. However, it’s pretty parallel with the sort of language that Paul uses in his epistles; he frequently addresses his audiences as “brothers and sisters,” and the subtext is that they are “brothers and sisters in Christ,” a phrase that gets thrown around nowadays whenever someone wants to be inclusive of a Christian community. ---
**Author:** ![Monty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/monty/32/47_2.png) [@Monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monty)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2011, 2:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alabama-gov-says-non-christians-not-his-brothers/568227/96 "2011-01-20T02:04:48Z")
{Didn’t notice that **appleciders** posted essentially the same thing.} ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2011, 2:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alabama-gov-says-non-christians-not-his-brothers/568227/97 "2011-01-20T02:05:45Z")
> [@Monty](#): > > It seems to me that if the Gov thinks some humans are not his brothers and sisters, then he really doesn’t understand the Gospel at all. This. ---
**Author:** ![Monty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/monty/32/47_2.png) [@Monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monty)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2011, 2:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alabama-gov-says-non-christians-not-his-brothers/568227/98 "2011-01-20T02:21:06Z")
Actually, on further review, I notice that **appleciders** comment is not what I posted and what **kaylasdad99** quoted. For me, as a Latter-day Saint (aka Mormon), the Gospel does, indeed teach that we are all brothers and sisters. ---
**Author:** ![Slithy\_Tove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slithy_tove/32/18248_2.png) [@Slithy\_Tove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slithy_Tove)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2011, 2:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alabama-gov-says-non-christians-not-his-brothers/568227/99 "2011-01-20T02:36:31Z")
Can atheists at least be the governor’s [16th cousins](http://ideas.4brad.com/everybody-your-16th-cousin)? ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2011, 2:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alabama-gov-says-non-christians-not-his-brothers/568227/100 "2011-01-20T02:44:22Z")
> [@Monty](#): > > Actually, on further review, I notice that **appleciders** comment is not what I posted and what **kaylasdad99** quoted. For me, as a Latter-day Saint (aka Mormon), the Gospel does, indeed teach that we are all brothers and sisters. Well, I learned it as a Catholic, too. And I try to teach it to my daughter as a Religious Scientist. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alabama-gov-says-non-christians-not-his-brothers/568227.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alabama-gov-says-non-christians-not-his-brothers/568227.md?page=6)