isn't "unconditional love" one of the basic teachings of christ?
Considered in themselves, the moral precepts of Jesus are sometimes interesting, sometimes poetic, sometimes benevolent, sometimes confusing, sometimes pernicious, and sometimes devastatingly harmful psychologically. None, however, are especially profound. If not for their tremendous historical impact, most would deserve little more than a philosopher's passing glance.
The major precept of the biblical Jesus is total devotion, or commitment, to God. In this context the terms "devotion" and "commitment" are euphemisms for their less flattering counterparts: obedience and conformity. When Jesus says "believe" he means "obey." And when Jesus praises men of great "faith," he is praising men who will obey unquestioningly any command they believe to come from God.
When conformity is required, the sacrifice of truth inevitably follows. One can be committed either to conformity, or truth—but not both. The pursuit of truth requires the unrestricted use of one's mind—the moral freedom to question, to examine evidence, to consider opposing viewpoints, to criticize, to accept as true only that which can be demonstrated—regardless of whether one's conclusions conform to a particular creed.
The fundamental teaching of Jesus—the demand for conformity, something Mr. Huckabee preaches himself—give rise to the fundamental and viciously destructive teachings of Christianity: that some beliefs lie beyond the scope of criticism and that to question them is sinful, or morally wrong. By placing a moral restriction on what one is permitted to believe, Christianity declares itself an enemy of truth and of the faculty by which man arrives at truth—reason.
