The Role of Faith in Politics
December 5, 2005
Have you noticed? Religion is in the news these days. Romney's Mormonism; Huckabee's Christianity; what does it matter the pundits ask? As stated in yesterdays Media Matters . . . "While interviewing Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) during the December 3 edition of MSNBC's Hardball, host Chris Matthews said of the November 28 CNN/YouTube Republican presidential debate: "[T]hese questions are getting very liturgical. How literal do you take the [Bible]? Where did Jesus stand on capital punishment? I mean, this is beginning to look like what the Constitution calls a religious test and proscribes, bans, really, in Article 6 of the Constitution. Why are candidates for the presidency being asked religious questions?"" Good question! What does it matter?
It doesn't seem to occur to Matthews and his
colleagues in the media that it is important to the
American people what a candidate for high office
believes about the value of life, at any stage, about
marriage, whether it is eternally designed or to be
temporally reconfigured, about morality, character,
faith, and where his or her values come from. Why?
Because it affects his view of public policy, and what is
best for the nation. Should we as a nation just live in
isolation to enjoy our gadgets or should we care about
what happens to people in other parts of the world, or
next door for that matter?
The American people want to know what a person for the highest office in the land thinks about these issues.
And why are these important to us?
The polls and surveys continue to show that we are a
religious people. A high percentage say they believe
in God, and some do far more than others. To some it
is a simple matter of mental assent, while to others,
knowing the God of the universe is the life blood and
joy of their lives, their M.O. for caring and service. And
when you consider that the world continues to be
upside down, that wars and rumors of wars abound,
that the turmoil in the Middle East mirrors what was
written two and three thousand years ago, that what
government does, affects their families, their hopes
and dreams - in their quiet private moments, people
wonder what is happening and what is going to
happen . . . to them, their families, the nation, and the
world.
When gas prices soar, and people cannot pay their mortgage payments, when the Fed raises or lowers interest rates, when an Enron does an end run on people's life savings, when we value our pleasure more than the child in the womb, what does Matthews and his colleagues think? That we shouldn't be asking about the fundamental beliefs and values a person has who wants to be President of the United States? You have got to be kidding!
And the question about a 'religious test' in the Constitution?
Matthews, like his colleagues, exhibits his abysmal
ignorance of the Constitution itself. Our Founders
came from Colonies that were all denominationally
based and did not want a Federal Government that
favored one denomination over another. They wanted
to avoid a requirement that a person running for office
had to be of a particular denomination. Current
questions about what the candidates believe about
Jesus or the Bible, has nothing to do with this. John
Kennedy answered that question decades ago.
Seeing is Believing
Matthews and his secular colleagues don't get it.
They simply don't have a clue when it comes to
understanding the role of faith in American life and
how important it is to the American people to know
and understand the internal make up and world view
of those who purport to be 'qualified' to lead us as a
people. And how can they? The only way he and his
colleagues will come to understand is to have an
encounter with the living God. As Jesus said to
Nicodemus, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is
born again, he cannot see the kingdom of
God." John
3:3
The American people, whether they realize it or not, are looking for leadership that 'sees' the Kingdom of God, 'looks intently at the perfect law of liberty, and abides by it.'
"Whoso looketh intently at the perfect law of liberty, and abides by it, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in what he does." James 1:25
Click
here for more information about Restore
America. Click here to support our efforts in
bringing civil
government back to the 'eternal rules of order and
right.' "For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strongholds, casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ." 2 Corinthians 10:3-5
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email:
david@restoreamerica.org
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