Faith and Politics

Good Morning All,

So here we are less than 50 days away from what is becoming a “defining moment” in political history…or does it just seem that way? Nonetheless, if you come across anyone in our country who isn’t aware of the 2008 presidential election, you might want to ask what planet they’re from! While I am very excited about all the interest that is stirring among us, I am also growing weary with all the ads vying for our attention. It’s a regular hay-day for the political cartoonists, satirists, pundits and late-night talk show hosts, not to mention Saturday Night Live.

I truly believe it’s my civic duty to learn all that I can in preparation to vote for the candidate of my choice and am grateful for the freedom to do so; it also makes me an even stronger proponent of what our nation’s forbears aptly called, “separation of church and state.” And of course I realize as I write this, even the interpretation of this amendment varies among many faithful people.

But I stand quite firm in not crossing the line in using the pulpit as a “bully-pulpit” in support of one candidate over another; or one party or another; or to take advantage of the captive audience of our faith community, to distribute partisan political propaganda. And yet I also believe that my faith certainly does impact my political decisions and my convictions about the work of our government especially when it comes to serving the public good as well as our relations with all those countries we share life with on this planet.

This being said, knowing that none of us can fully know the mind of God, I still can’t help but wonder and ponder about what God must think, if anything, of this 2008 presidential election. And yet there are a whole host of folks out there who are certain of what God thinks and desires, especially as we prepare to elect the future president of the United States .

I came across a cartoon in the September 23, 2008 issue of the Christian Century where God is somewhere “up there” looking very distressed while twirling the planet Earth on his index finger like a basketball. Many political thoughts and comments are ascending to God, like: “God is Pro-life!” “God is a Republican!” God approves MY message!” “God is Pro War!” “God would vote for ME!” “God hates how you draw Him!—No, SHE does not!” Feel free to write in your own thoughts here…And then off to the side of the cartoon are 2 angels offering two presumptions with which I agree… “God must hate elections…One can only presume…” :)

As people of faith, some of the best homework we can do in making any and all of life’s decisions is to study God’s Word and to prayerfully seek the guidance of God’s Spirit to interpret the Word. One’s faith cannot be something that we concern ourselves with and quickly put on a shelf for display when it comes to living a life filled with so many decisions. Faith indeed is to be an integral guide for all of life; building a strong foundation for one’s world view; how we treat others; how we help those in need; how we consider issues of power, greed, economics, peace, war, the environment, etc.

Being able to recognize when to say “NO” and when to say “YES” to any candidate; to whatever is being proposed by a particular candidate; or to a certain direction that our government decides to take; happens best when I choose to allow my faith to guide my actions. But I do so acknowledging that I am speaking or acting only for myself; never presuming that I speak for anyone else. Isn’t that what every “good Disciples of Christ” is called to do?

While I can’t imagine that God has time for any direct involvement in politics or determining the outcome on election night; I do believe that you and I are called to make the important decisions of life based on the guiding principles of our faith…nobody ever said it would be easy… “Choose this day, whom you shall serve…but as for me and my house, we will serve God…” (Joshua 24:15) Blessings, Joanne