I don’t want another Christian president!
At least not the kind of Christian that presidents tend to be.
They profess Jesus as their personal savior, but not as their Lord. That scares me. We are falsely comforted by trusting that our leader knows Jesus, but what is that worth when he does not submit all his decisions to Jesus? By associating with Christian faith they have us believe they follow God’s wisdom and purposes in their leadership, but unless Jesus is their Lord, all we get is the wisdom of men. Foolishness is dressed up as the wisdom of God.
Let’s face it: the policies of a long string of Christian American presidents show minimal resemblance with the Sermon on the Mount. If the president was a-religious at least the human source of his wisdom and motivations would be clear for all to see.
Both Obama and McCain claim a Christian faith, and I have looked back at what they answered Rick Warren when he asked them what that faith means to them on a daily basis; what that faith looks like in their life.
Obama answered: “it means I believe in — that Jesus Christ died for my sins, and that I am redeemed through him. That is a source of strength and sustenance on a daily basis (…)But what it also means, I think, is a sense of obligation to embrace not just words, but through deeds, the expectations, I think, that god has for us. And that means thinking about the least of these. It means acting — well, acting justly, and loving mercy, and walking humbly with our god .”
This does not look too bad. I appreciate that Obama claims to go beyond a strictly personal faith, but I wish he would not only walk with our god, but follow him and lay prostrate before him.
McCain answered: “It means I’m saved and forgiven. We’re talking about the world. Our faith encompasses not just the United States of America but the world.” Not surprisingly, McCain goes on to answer the question by telling an anecdote from Vietnam. One night, after McCain had been tortured, one of the guards silently drew a cross in the dirt in front of McCain’s eyes. He will never forget that moment of being two Christians, a guard and his prisoner, silently worshipping together.
Thank you McCain for a moving story, but you did not answer Rick Warren’s question and I still wonder how your faith will influence your presidency.
In The Gospel According to America David Dark comments on this problem. The presidents claim to somehow heed the voice of Christ in their hearts. But they do not, and cannot, let the Body of Christ help them discern and hold them accountable. Dark writes: “The actual politics of Jesus aren’t usually included in a nation’s God-talk. How is it then, that Jesus influences? ‘Because he changed my heart’” (Dark, 33).
George W. Bush called Christ his favorite political philosopher (Dark, 33), but later said “I don’t bring God into my life to be a political person; I ask God for strength and guidance; (…) The decision about war and peace is a decision I made based upon what I thought were the best interest of the American people. I was able to step back from religion, because I have a job to do.” (Dark, 35, emphasis added).
I am sorry Evangelicals, with the political system we have, I don’t think the personal Christian faith of a president is worth a whole lot.
October 21, 2008 at 10:46 pm
I think the definitive point of departure is whether Christianity is simply something professed or if Christ is truly Lord.
I desire the same thing as you Andre. But I have to wonder, if we don’t want a posing Christian in office, then we either want a true follower of Christ or a definitively non-Christian.
What I wonder is…which is better?
October 22, 2008 at 3:42 am
You’re blog is pretty intriguing. I would think it would almost be impossible to be elected the president of the United States and still follow Jesus in the way He commands. How are you going to be the commander and chief of the military when being against all forms of death and war? How are you going to try to encourage people to be more greedy so that our capitalistic economy will do well? How can you go around claiming that America is a nation of “good” when it clearly is not? I, in the past, thought briefly about getting involved in politics but I think it would be too hard not to compromise my relationship with Christ in some form for the political office I would be running for. To me it’s not worth it. I’ll make a difference from the outside.
October 22, 2008 at 7:10 pm
Like you Eric, I have earlier considered getting involved in politics, but steered away. It does seem rather impossible to be a politician and follow Christ without compromising.
I honestly can’t imagine how a devoted disciple of Christ can become President. But I don’t think we as evangelicals should settle for or cheer for the washed-out personal faith that the candidates presents to us.
I hope we as the church in the coming years can change the common misconception, both inside and outside the church, that Christian faith is a private matter. It simply is not! But at the same time we do need to relate well to people of other beliefs when we live in a diverse society. I would like to challenge the American church on finding ways to partner with other groups without reducing our faith to a personal matter.
October 27, 2008 at 6:48 am
Michael, is there a real difference between someone who doesn’t follow Jesus, and a president who ’steps back from religion because he has a job to do’? If a president doesn’t integrate his faith with his practice of vocation, I can’t see any thing that comes of their faith than a God who lives in a closet at best, or a God who is defamed and defrauded at worst. That God is an idol and not reflective of the faith in Jesus that the Sermon on the Mount reflects, as Andre has noted. Are they essentially following Jesus in the midst of their job, at least in the macro sense that Andre raises?