Now It Begins, and Heaven Help Us All!

There was never any question that religion would play a huge role in the electoral pageant now fully unfolding as those frozen Iowans at last begin to caucus.

After everyone saw how the well-organized voting faithful on the Right gave Bush his margin of "victory" in 2004, the Democrats vowed (and here I will paraphrase losing candidate George Wallace from 1958) never to be out-Jesused again. No Democratic candidacy that didn't feature an effective religious outreach operation could thereafter be taken seriously.

Not that it ever really went away, but religion in our politics is back with a vengeance.

So now barely a day passes without reports on whether Obama continues to receive the most donations from individual clergy members, whether Hillary actually has a vast United Methodist network to tap into, and (most entertainingly) whether Mike and Mitt can avoid turning the race for the GOP nomination into a doctrinal throwdown reminiscent of the 17th century religious wars in Europe.

As historian Charles Mathewes observes, the appropriate point of reference for understanding the politics of piety is Dwight Eisenhower's famous (and also somewhat hilarious) pronouncement that "our government makes no sense unless it is founded in a deeply felt religious belief, and I don't care what it is."

For every concerned citizen who finds herself utterly horrified by God talk in politics, there are 25 others who will be vaguely reassured by such talk. These voters' theologies may be just as unformed as their political views, but they need to be reassured that their candidate is a "godly man" (and yes, for these voters it will be a man). They won't be bothered by the fact that Mitt's big speech affirming pluralism and separation was convincing on neither point: that Mitt clearly does NOT think Muslims should share in civic leadership, nor does he actually understand the founders' commitment to a secular state. (I like to say that Mitt's speech solved his Mormon problem but not his moron problem.)

So let's all get ourselves used to the reality that most voters are going to be applying private religious tests to the candidates at every point. And instead of fighting that reality, let's propose some private religious tests of our own, shall we?

Here would be my tests, coming from my own understanding of what Christianity is about:

1. How well do they understand the "by their fruits you shall know them" principle? I.e., do they demonstrate in their policy stances the principle that it's not what you say but what you do that reflects whether you are aligned (or not aligned) with God's own heart?
2. How clearly are they willing to campaign against the growing concentration of wealth and power in this society, which clearly DOES affect the life prospects of the non-wealthy and non-powerful in all kinds of demonstrable ways?
3. In regard to foreign policy, how open are they to a whole new way of thinking about the basis for a peaceful world--to a dramatic move away from the "dominance" doctrine that defines U.S. interests in opposition to the core interests of every other nation?
4. How willing are they to repudiate the use of torture as an instrument of state policy? (this test should be non-negotiable for every serious Christian, but alas...)
5. Will they recognize and talk about the thoroughly racist and unjust character of what we are pleased to call our criminal justice system in America?
6. On the interrelated challenges of climate change, species destruction, trade policy, and energy policy, is there any evidence that they understand either the Wisdom or Sabbath traditions of the scriptures?

I don't expect any of the candidates to pass my proposed tests with flying colors. I expect them all to pander for the most part. I expect them to pitch their religious appeals to the willfully ignorant. I certainly don't expect any to suggest that religiously-based values call for a different U.S. policy in relation to achieving a just resolution among Israelis, Palestinians, and the Arab states. There are no Jimmy Carter Christians in this bunch.

My expectations are nil, in other words.

But I'm still allowed to live in hope, aren't I?

Comments

[derik]

If we assume that the nation is a christian nation (in my opinion, that is a bad assumption with our fake christians along with everyone else), then if we take all the magic out of the bible it ends up being one heck of a military battle strategy handbook. As one of the strongest military powers, we obviously adopt (coopt) it while leading the ignorant faithful to live in a magical world. Maybe, we will have a Jefferson one day. This time around, may god (whoops) help us. Speaking of god, I hope we do not end up killing each other in the name of god. Worst case, some tribe will then be searching for the promised land. America my beloved country.

[MajorKong]

I'm amazed that Jesus gets anything done these days as much time as he seems to spend on the campaign trail.

[klmebane]

how- in a world full of violence, bigotry, hate, war, disease, poverty, genocide, and famine- anyone can believe that 'god is looking out for them' is beyond me. why isn't god looking out for everyone? this is why i can't believe there is a god. all of the horrible things we see in the world, if god truly had a plan, how the hell could THIS be it? what kind of god (assuming god created everything) could watch these horrible things and do nothing? watch people bomb themselves out of existence and just sit around twiddling his thumbs with a bowl of popcorn in front of a fire and just wait to see what happens.

[WASanford]

Reverend, you said “How well do they understand the "by their fruits you shall know them" principle? I.e., do they demonstrate in their policy stances the principle that it's not what you say but what you do that reflects whether you are aligned (or not aligned) with God's own heart?” That’s a good biblical quote, but it’s the wrong one. I judge them by the same standard that Jesus used “And in reply the king will say to them” Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.” [Matthew 25:40] That principle should guide us all, not just our politicians!
I find it disturbing that so many so-called Christians choose to believe the stories in the Bible while ignoring their meaning!

[desmirl]

Wasn't it Ghandi who said that Christianity might be a useful religion if anyone ever practiced it? As a citizen of the most militaristic nation in the world (we spend as much on armies and weapons as the next twelve nations on the list combined), I keep thinking about the command when they came for Jesus, "Put down they sword." Oh, well.....

[mommadona]

Dear sir,

How do we tell the sheep from the nuts?

I cannot take anyone seriously who needs to 'god/gut check' every moment of their life-decis­ion/moveme­nts.

Fear and Loathing..­."we are chosen"
Fear and Loathing..­."you must CHANGE"
Fear and Loathing..­."Be like US or be afraid"
Fear and Loathing..­. to any different paradigm
Fear and Loathing..­.takes up all your time.

From the 'fundies' I know, they fear to learn.
It just might bring down their carefully
constructed house of cards.

[BrickSykes]

Reverend,

The idea you pose appears to me to be somewhat backward, i.e., you express qualities you'd expect to find in a candidate for high government office. You do this, apparently, without acknowledging that it was other men of government who acted first to create the position you now hold as a "spokesman" for your religion. That is to say, that after the establishment of our country under the rules that guided it, the "Church" was placed in a position deemed "manageable" by our government. The Church was "allowed" to function in our land by our Government, and not the other way around. I'm sure you won't agree.

I won't speechify any longer, but will leave you with these thoughts: If the Idea of "God" was not first conceived within the Mind of Man, then, within Whose Mind was the Idea of God first conceived?

Brick

[Qbear]

In extremely heavy Democratic districts half should go caucus with Republicans and vote Alan Keyes

Buh hahahaha!

[Henry]

A journey of 1000 miles begins with a single step. Universal social health care in the USA would go a long ways for a double in increasing (effectively) personal income and providing health care for everyone. Who knows...it may even make the supreme being smile upon us collectively.

[hopeless277]

Yeah, rev, tell ya what, you go outside and start walking. When God decides you've walked far enough, he'll send a '55 Chevy to pick you up. Just keep walkin', Rev. He'll be by any time. God wouldn't just let you walk forever, would he? Just keep walking, Rev. HE won't let you down.

[LeftRight]

"How willing are they to repudiate the use of torture as an instrument of state policy? (this test should be non-negotiable for every serious Christian, but alas...)"

I don't agree, completely, with this sentence. I think that it should not only be non-negotiable for any christian, but any muslim, any jew, any pagan, and in fact any person running for any office, whether that office be pres, sen, rep, or county dog catcher!