The Pastor Problem '08 Revisited

I don't remember hearing the exact term before - but it is clear that the Pastor Problem is here to stay.

There were three categories of pastor problems in the 08 elections. The most closely watched and problematic were the personal pastors of Barack Obama and Sarah Palin.

Compliments of Barack Obama, the American voter was introduced to Rev. Jeremiah Wright, pastor of Trinity United Church of Christ, whose famous post 9/11 phrase "God Damn America" almost brought down the Obama campaign.

Compliments of Sarah Palin, the American voter was introduced to Rev. Larry Kroon of Wassila Bible Church who brought in a pastor who prayed over Gov. Palin against witchcraft and introduced David Brickner, the head of Jews for Jesus, who suggested that Palestinian attacks might be God's judgment on the Jewish people for their rejection of Christ.

The second category of pastor problem was represented by the sought after, received and then rejected endorsement of John McCain by public pastors who, it was hoped, would rally the base of the Republican Party. Compliments of John McCain the American voter was introduced to John Hagee, who called the Catholic Church the Great Whore; and Rod Parsely who called Islam the greatest religious enemy of our civilization and the world.

The third pastor problem was the oppositional pastor in which a candidate's own religious leader rallied in opposition to his candidacy. So compliments of Joe Biden the American voter was introduced to Bishop Joseph F. Martino, of the Diocese of Scranton who said that Biden was not eligible to receive communion in his diocese because of the candidate's pro-choice stance.

All three Pastor Problems - the personal, the public, and the oppositional were major story lines for the campaign. Why?

Voters were faced with an election that had no incumbent and so understanding the candidate's character and worldview became even more important in the voter's decision. This was coupled with the internet and cable TV's hunger to fill their blank screens in a 24/7 news market. Most importantly, advances in technology produced easily carried cameras to record, and YouTube to broadcast, footage of pastors in action directly to voters around the country beyond the power of campaigns to contain or explain.

The result was that within the heightened emotions of an election campaign, voters were introduced to the worldview of traditions that were foreign to them without context or history. The most politically dangerous for the candidates proved to be the Jeremiad where the pastor proclaims that God is damning this country or that people for their sins. This is pretty common among the prophets of the Bible (it is named after the prophet Jeremiah), and if there is one thing that Wright, Hagee, and Kroon had in common is that they appear to understand themselves as prophets lifting their voice in the wilderness of sinful America.

The reason why this was particularly lethal for the candidates was that the Jeremiads of their pastors were perceived to be directed against entire voting demographics: Brickner aganst the Jews, Hagee against the Catholic Church, Pasley against Islam, and Wright, against White America. This perception of attack was then exploited by the opposition for full effect.

Religion is very complicated and full of symbols that mean something from within a community but don't always translate to those outside. A house of worship is much more than just the pastor and many of us spend half our time in the pews silently disagreeing with what is said from the pulpit. Evaluating a candidate through their pastor is, at best, an imperfect mechanism for understanding what a candidate believes or how a candidate will act. Pastors can and should have political views. Religion is about many things but ethics and values are intrinsic to the project. If there is a lesson for pastors it is that rants against entire segments of the population ultimately are rejected by the American people and do not have a place in our collective politic.

The question remains how aspiring political figures will respond to the pastor problem of election 08. The bar has been raised. It is not enough to attend a place of worship - you have to vet it. My worry is that our future political leaders will begin to choose houses of worship that do not challenge them, but whose innocuous message week after week can be boiled down to Love is Good, God is Good, America is Good - Amen. Cross-posted from Beliefnet's Progressive Revival blog

Comments

[msieger]

I am a staff worker with the Jews for Jesus organization. Most blogs and news services have quoted the same snippet of the 30-minute message that David Brickner of Jews for Jesus delivered at Sarah Palin"s church, giving the false impression that he believes that terrorist attacks are God"s judgment on Israel for not believing in Jesus. Please read or listen to the entire message for yourself at www.jewsforjesus.org/blog/20080817 so that you can hear Brickner"s remarks in context. Please also take a look at Brickner"s comments concerning his message at Wasilla Bible Church, as well as interviews by Christianity Today and MSNBC with Brickner about this issue, at www.jewsforjesus.org. Among other things, Brickner says, "The comments attributed to me were taken out of context. In retrospect, I can see how my rhetoric might be misunderstood and I truly regret that. Let me be clear. I don"t believe that any one event, whether a terrorist attack or a natural disaster, is a specific fulfillment of or manifestation of a biblical prediction of judgment. I love my Jewish people and the land of Israel. I stand with and support her against all efforts to harm her or her people in any way."

[pastorhill]

The separation of church and state protects the church as much if not more then it does the state. This preachers who continue to mess in the political arena are going to end up costing churches their 501(c)3 status as non-taxable entities. When this happens this will be devastating to all the good mission and ministry that churches seek to do in their communities and throughout the world. I am a pastor and I preach to my people about how to live a christian life, not how to vote. They can use their own judgment to make that determination. I ashamed of how the evangelicals have gotten into bed with the GOP just because of abortion and same-sex marriage. How has that been working out for them? Not too well, even after 8 years of GOP rule. I fear a theocratic government as much if not more then I fear an atheistic government. Rev. Jeremiah Wright used the wrong words to make a very good point. What he was trying to say was this. How can God bless America, when America clearly does things that God can't bless. When America does things that God curses and condemns. And yes, I do believe with all my being in the invisible Sky Daddy, because science is not something that moves me to worship it.

[gisellestwocents]

Pastors will have to be vetted. Fellow board members will have to be vetted. Party planners will have to be vetted... People that one goes "pallin around with" will have to be vetted...continually...

[kellygrrrl]

someday we'll look back at this and laugh!
someday we will elect Agnostic leaders.
someday we won't care about the silly stuff.

[Gidster]

There shall be no religious test to hold office, as long as your Christian.

Sad, silly superstitions.

[mommadona]

How about this...

You keep your dogma out of my karma.

You can do anything you like inside your preferred 'house of worship"
Your right to any other 'expressions of your faith' end at the beginning of my nose.

Go ahead. Knock yourself out.
Just stay away from my person, property and government.

Of, by and for THE PEOPLE means just that.
God's got NOTHING to do with it.

[sf girl]

I don't really care what god and what religion people follow as long as they are decent human beings who obey the law and treat others with kindness and respect. Folks get too caught up in demonizing religion or religions that are different than their own. To believe yours is superior to any others or pretend to know what God thinks or why bad things happen to people is just ignorant. Too many people have died in the name of religion and it's about time we start learning to respect each other for our differences instead of wasting energy on this sort of nonsense.

[Riekang]

I used to love to debate "Christians" but after a few debates, people would stay away from that subject with me because I would always ask them some questions: #1 Do you believe in God? (they would answer yes). #2 Do you believe that God sent his "only begotten son" to die for your sins? (same yes answer). #3 Do you believe that your God is all-powerful, all-knowing, all-seeing? (same yes answer. #4 So tell me, If you believe in the 3 questions I asked, why is it that you put his son before God? They would start to sputter in trying to find an answer. Then I would hit them with #5 If the all-powerful, all-knowing, all-seeing God sent his son to die for your sins, don't you think he would know who would send his son to die on the cross? If I really wanted to go further I'd ask #6 You do know that Jesus was a Jew? You really should be thanking the Jews for giving you not God but his son to worship.

Pastors, ministers, priests don't live in the reality of today, they live in what was (maybe an exception being Andrew Greeley whom I've never met). As far as Palin who may or may not talk in tongues and leans to worshiping the "holy spirit", I have to say that what happened to the tower of Babel, may yet again happen again (just saying).

[TFitz]

This is just "Gotcha" stuff that adds nothing to the dialog, Riekang. Wishful thinking by self proclaimed progressives won't make these religious issues go away and what exactly happened in the "tower of Babel" that has you so upset? You are employing a metaphor that originates from one particular religious sect that has no real meaning anymore.
Not just you, but many others here need to deal with this in a more realistic manner, not just venting anger. Religious views are real and have always, always influenced politics. Anyone who attempts to rule without taking this into serious consideration is doomed to failure.

[mmerose]

Pastor "problem" #4 is some of those pesky pastors have been performing real, religious weddings for gay people! I say, that's good enough for full government recognition.

[SCHx]

The framers of our constitution got a lot right. One thing they nailed was the ideal of separation of church and state. This was not an anti-religious stance. On the contrary, separation of church and state allows our citizenry to select from and participate (or not) in the religious experience as THEY see fit - not as the government dictates.

The zealots who contend that separation of church and state is a 'myth' might want to consider the current political and social situations in places like Iran or Saudi Arabia. Better yet, maybe they should spend some time reading the written works of Thomas Jefferson and/or James Madison. They might realize that religious life in the US is a lot better than they imagine.

[Blain]

pastors were perceived to be directed against entire voting demographics: Brickner aganst the Jews, Hagee against the Catholic Church, Pasley against Islam, and Wright, against White America. This perception of attack was then exploited by the opposition for full effect.


That is totally false, the Obama campaign never made Hagee and Parsley an issue nor did they go after Palins pastoral problems. The media ignored the others and only went after Wright because it was supposed to inflame white voters. Apparently the affect was minimal.

[Nommo]

Why can't it just be between the individual and their chosen deity or deities or whatever have you? Is there a more base activity than saving souls? If there is a deity, then why so many forms of intoxication?
Why more bars than churches? Have we gotten any smarter than those fools that run all over the bible?
Is it too late to start?

[jmrunning3]

Contuinued...

The United States was created as a secular nation. Please note that "secular" does not mean pro-atheist anymore than it might mean pro- or anti-Christian. It simply means, in my opinion, while individuals hold personal religious beliefs, our Constitution is secular with the goal of applying to all citizens equally. Since religion is inherently divisive and every secterian faction seems to believe their god is only on their side, those gods must be ruled out officially for the good of all. You god applies to you, not to anyone else.

The religious and the non-religious hold many similar values with respect to our nation. There is room for the faithful and the faithless. Unfortunately, the far right of the Republican party has incorrectly and improperly led its members and followers to believe there is room for no ideology in this nation but their own. I will resist that by all means and I will speak loudly against it. I am an American citizen too. I was born here, I am patriotic, I am spiritual in my own way, and I am a productive, caring, person. One does not have to be Christian, or even religious, to offer that.

[jmrunning3]

Let me just say up-front that I am atheist. I do not believe in any God, anything supernatural, and I think religion itself, at best, is a community, and at worst, a political tool.

Above all, religion is a personal choice and should be kept personal. I don't have a problem knowing of one's faith and how it guides one's life, shout it from the rooftops or town square if you want, but the moment someone attempts to apply their religion's tenets to me, they have overstepped.

Even though I am not a believer, I do feel that it is important that we are aware of our elected officials' and candidates' beliefs and the level to which they will apply those beliefs to decision-making. Obama's decision-making process appears to be more conversational between himself and his God. It's private, it's personal, it's internal, and it's non-binding.

Palin, on the other hand, is an absolute religious nut, and has no business being anywhere near national office. Please go to www.talk2action.com and read up on her there. I consider Talk2Action non-partisan, so I place value in their research. Please take the time to make up your own mind, as that is my opinion.

[mcthfg]

We can all solve our own pastor problems - DON'T HAVE ONE. Let's make that job title a thing of the past, like "Grand Inquisitor."

Trust in science, yourself, and others, and not in the invisible sky daddy!