Monday, June 25, 2007

A Vote for Romney: Disloyal to Jesus?

I am becoming increasingly distressed about the mixing of faith and politics and how it is affecting every single policy decision and has become nearly the only talking point among evangelicals when discussing political candidates. Some are as comfortable as peas and carrots, such as Obama and his address Saturday at the UCC General Synod.

Now however, this BP News piece says that a vote for Romney may mean disloyalty to Christ.
"All of us are proud and blessed to be part of a nation where religious practice is protected and honored," Roberts said in concluding his remarks. "Simultaneously, because we live in an open, free and competitive marketplace of religious ideas, it is important that our candidates for public office -- if they are practicing religious persons -- be as candid and open about their religious convictions and practices as possible. It is also recognized that they may choose not to do so, but in being transparent, trust and admiration in a candidate's honesty will only be enhanced.

"As believers and followers of Jesus Christ, a candidate's spiritual values are not the only criteria, by any means, for public office, but as voters, exercising our rights as citizens, to ignore altogether candidates' religious perspectives would be potentially unwise, irresponsible and possible disloyal to our allegiance to Jesus Christ, Lord of lords and King of kings."
As Richard Land says, we are hiring a commander in chief, not a pastor (nor theologian) in chief. Are we looking for faith or competency?

6 comments:

Streak said...

Yeah, Tony, I really agree with you. This is the world that Rove and Bush gave us where people conflated voting for Bush as some kind of act of reverence for Christ. Now they have no real way to disconnect from that secular religion.

One other note, btw, and this is becoming another of my pet peeves. Bush (or any President) is not my Commander in Chief. He/she is the CIC of the Armed Forces--a way of recognizing the civilian leadership of our military. I fear that people have blurred that line to where we have some kind of military head. We don't.

Tony said...

I thought you and I might agree here.

I don't referring to Bush as CiC either, I used Land's quote to show how Southern Baptists seem to be talking out of both sides of their mouths over Romney.

But, it seems that ALL people referring to Bush as CiC would add to the atmosphere of an almost Christian despotic state he has fashioned where torture is acceptable.

Streak said...

This post has a lot in common with the Parsley post, doesn't it? Christians militarizing their faith and position in culture. Instead of the shepherd pastor that you try to emulate, we have more of a "resistance cell" or subversive element idea.

And you are right. It is that kind of 24 view of the world that has turned Christians into somehow equating the Jesus of "turn the other cheek" into a torture enabler.

sigh.

Tony said...

Oh yes--I would say it does have much in common with that post; why I blogged on both these little gems today.

Subversive element--yeah--sometimes I think that the Acts 17 passage about turning the world upside down has been almost raised to idol status (like the salt and light passage), that somehow through political maneuvering we can achieve moral reform (which is the purpose of the Gospel, right?) rather than letting the Gospel do its work of changing hearts.

Anonymous said...

Tony, Streak, and I agreeing on an issue right out of the gate....what is this world coming to? ;)

Seriously, you already know I'm with you on this kind of stuff, Tony, but I can't resist adding my "amen" here publicly.

I would slightly edit the quote given here to say:

"[to think that voting or not voting for a particular candidate is a mark of someone's spiritual standing] would be potentially unwise, irresponsible and possible disloyal to our allegiance to Jesus Christ, Lord of lords and King of kings."

Tony said...

Yeah, when the three of us are agreeing on something, there has got to be something wrong.

Thanks for the vote of affirmation. And you hit on something that is becoming ingrained in the American psyche that if you do not vote then somehow you are not spiritual--or at least not an "American" Christian. Last year during the mid-terms and the marriage amendment Richard Land said that it was a sin not to vote.

"Thou shalt vote!" And vote often!