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Elections: Do they matter?

Posted by: Jim Richards on September 19, 2008 Featured Article •

Does it really matter who the next president will be? I know I am trading on dangerous ground venturing into politics. The old axiom for social grace is, don’t talk about religion or politics. Well, I promise not to do either. I am going to talk about Jesus, the Word of God and a Christan’s responsibility in the public square.

Jesus was very pointed about “render unto Caesar.” Although there was a Zealot (Jewish Nationalist) among his followers, Jesus did not foment rebellion. Jesus went to the extent of paying taxes with coins miraculously supplied in a fish’s mouth. Jesus even submitted to the punishment of death under governmental authority. The government saw the cross as a tool of capital punishment. We know that Jesus was paying for our sins by the shedding of his blood. Nevertheless, Jesus endorsed established government. He was no anarchist.

A very significant difference from the forms of government in biblical times and today is that we, the people, have a say in who rules over us. Biblical principles still apply for governmental rule. Since we have the privilege of participating in the selection of leaders, as believers we should seek to influence the direction of government toward biblical truth.

Rick Warren and Jim Wallis are seemingly trying to replace Jerry Falwell and James Dobson. The new guys are emphasizing their interpretations on poverty, the environment, and health care. Evangelical political engagement heightened in the late ’70s promoting the biblical positions on the sanctity of human life and gender roles. Now, same-sex marriage is being declared protected by the Constitution in several states. What were considered hot buttons two decades ago no longer resonate as they once did.

There is no question the environment is important. God has placed us on the planet to be good stewards. Health care falls under the purview of Christian benevolence. We should do all we can to help all we can. The Bible has much to say about the poor. How we treat the poor reflects on our practical Christianity. All of these are worth out attention. Yet, all other concerns pale in comparison to what we believe about where life begins and what comprises a marriage.

You may say that your vote does not matter. It does and so do your prayers. This election cycle demands our prayerful involvement. The Christian’s responsibility in the public square is not to partisan politics. Our responsibility is to vote for people who best reflect biblical values. If you are not registered, then do so. If you were not planning on voting, please cast your ballot guided by biblical principles.

Religion and politics are not to be discussed in delicate company. Jesus, the Word of God and believers in the public square are always appropriate.

This article was written by Jim Richards and originally appeared in the September 8, 2008 issue of The Southern Baptist Texan.

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Don’t Be Driven to Distraction

Posted by: John Loudat on September 11, 2008 Featured Article •

We Americans pick a president every four years, and I suspect that the devil does some of this most effective work during at least some of those years.

I say that not as much because of the particular leader we pick, but because of the way we Americans — including many of who name the Name of Christ — tend to transfer at least a portion of our hope and trust in Christ to a man or woman who is bound to disappoint us, because he or she cannot possibly deliver on many, if any, of the things he or she promises us in order to secure our votes.

The phenomenon is nothing new. I’ve seen it every election cycle I can remember, and, yes, I have grown a bit cynical. Please understand, though, I utterly reject the idea of disengaging from the political process. I have the right as a citizen of this country to vote for the candidate I believe is going to be the best for our nation; and I am registered to vote, so I can, and will, do just that. Furthermore, I strongly encourage each of you to do the same, because it can and does make a truly significant impact on this “land of the free and home of the brave,” a difference I want for my children and grandchildren (the first of whom is due the middle of September, in case you haven’t heard). Still, there are some things no occupant of the Oval Office is ever going to be able to accomplish, and for those things we must trust in the Sovereign of the universe alone.

Conservative columnist Cal Thomas said as much in his column published in my July 29 Albuquerque Journal. The column clearly reveals his preference for the nation’s next leader (which we, being a 501 (c) 3 publication, cannot, nor should we, do), but he also made a very important point: “America’s primary problems are not economic and political; they are moral and spiritual and there government cannot go, with or without ‘faith-based initiatives.’”

We, as American Christians, should remember that this year and refuse to allow ourselves during this election cycle to get so distracted by whom we will be voting for, and whom we will be encouraging others to vote for, to distract us from the only Person who can fix our nation’s ills — one heart at a time — and our responsibility to share Him with people as the only hope of the world. Alas, I think it’s nigh impossible not to be so distracted when every time we turn on our TV or radio news or launch our web browser or email we’re introduced to another of the seemingly unending steam of presidential promises. Because of that, I am convinced we need God’s supernatural help, enabling us to keep “the main thing the main thing.”

The Psalmist rightly observed, “Some trust in chariots and some in horses …”; then he forcefully declared, “… but we trust in the name of the LORD our God” (Psalm 20:7 NIV). May that be said of New Mexico Baptists during this political season, and may we be as determined as ever to share the importance of that life strategy with all those with whom God gives us the opportunity.

This article was written by John Loudat and originally published in the August 9, 2008 issue of The Baptist New Mexican.

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Texas churches advocate convictional participation in politics

Posted by: on September 3, 2008 Featured Article •

Although some churches shy away from the political arena, a slew of Texas churches are showing how Christian congregations can legally and effectively engage their culture through politics.

“As you’re going, be a witness,” Ben Smith, retired pastor of Lakeland Baptist Church in Lewisville, said. “And that includes the political arena. It’s not exempt from that.”

Smith, who pastored Lakeland for 32 years beginning in 1974, led the congregation to adopt a Global Impact Strategy that encouraged members to vote, run for office and push for public policy advocating righteousness and justice.

Lakeland and likeminded congregations across Texas pose significant counter evidence to a 2007 New York Times article that suggested conservative evangelicals were decreasing in political influence. The article argued that easily identifiable conservative leaders like James Dobson and the late Jerry Falwell were passing from the scene and leaving a generation of younger and less politically predictable evangelicals in the spotlight—personalities like Bill Hybels and Rick Warren.

(Warren, a Southern Baptist who once preached at Falwell’s church, described himself on FOX News’ “Hannity & Colmes” in August after his televised forum with presidential candidates John McCain and Barack Obama as “a conservative” who believes life begins at conception.)

“The result is a new interest in public policies that address problems of peace, health and poverty—problems, unlike abortion and same-sex marriage, where left and right compete to present the best answers,” the Times wrote.

The newspaper contended that the election of Frank Page as Southern Baptist Convention president in 2006 signaled that America’s largest Protestant denomination was also moving in a more moderate direction politically.

“Page said he considered his election ‘a clear sign’ that rank-and-file Southern Baptists felt the ‘conservative ascendancy has gone far enough,’” the Times wrote, adding that Page met with leading presidential candidates in both parties during the primary season.

If indeed Page was referring to secular politics in the context in which the Times quoted him and not SBC politics, many churches took no notice of it.

Recent years have brought no decline in fending for traditional evangelical morality in the public square at Lakeland Baptist Church. The church fought the sale of liquor by the drink in Denton County and drove sexually oriented businesses out of its city. It also fought back a plan to build a concert venue that it believed would have attracted immorality and reveling to Lewisville.

In addition to its victories on specific issues, the church implemented a training strategy showing members how they could run for office. As a result, two church members have been elected mayor, and several others have been elected to various positions including city councilor, judge, school board member and county commissioner.

“It’s just amazing what God did when we made ourselves available to encourage people to be salt and to be light,” Smith said.

Speaking to specific issues in a church is valuable, Smith said, but for maximum impact in the culture Christians need to be elected to office. He cited the defeat of liquor by the drink as one example of a victory resulting from Christians being elected to political office.

“If you get key people in key places, you have fewer wars to fight,” he said.

Scripture is replete with encouragement for God’s people to involve themselves in politics, Smith said. In addition to Romans 13 and God’s decision to use ordinary men as kings and prophets in the Old Testament, all the Bible’s stories of men speaking to culture call Christians to political activism, he said.

In Scripture the call to political involvement “is just everywhere to me,” Smith said. “If you look for it, you’ll see it. If you’re hiding from it, you can’t find it.”

Lakeland’s current pastor, Ron Osborne, said the congregation will continue to stand for civic righteousness under his leadership. Abortion, homosexual marriage, casino-style gambling and Intelligent Design have all been subjects of Texas political debates in recent years, and Lakeland will inform its members on all those issues, he said.

“There are so many issues that are coming to head right now,” Osborne said.

He added that pastors have a special responsibility to make people aware of issues where Christians must speak up.

“This church can be a center of righteousness for the city, and God can use a church that is willing to make bold stands,” Osborne said, “not telling people what to believe but giving them the information they need to make informed choices and to show them the spiritual implications in all those areas.”

El Paso’s Exciting Immanuel Baptist Church is another congregation where members view political activism as an integral part of Christian faithfulness.

Pastor Rix Tillman has set up a series of discipleship classes through which all members progress. The fifth class in the series deals entirely with being a Christian citizen, using videos and live instruction to teach about Christian responsibility in the public arena.

The class includes instruction on such topics as how to lobby legislators from home, how to write a congressman, the rights of a Christian in the United States and the relationship between church and state.

Tillman estimated that between 30 and 45 percent of his congregation has completed the class and said the church cares deeply about influencing the public square for Christ.

“We’ve had several city councilmen, and we’ve got a current county commissioner and a current city councilman right now,” he said of the church’s membership. “In the 14 years I’ve been here, we’ve had quite a few people involved in politics.”

While political activity in the congregation did not all come as a result of the class, Tillman said the class has definitely improved the percentage of church members who vote. In an effort to increase church member voting even more, Tillman recently took staff members to a training session for registering voters.

At Exciting Immanuel, the pro-life cause is among the most emphasized political issues, and the church makes a point to take positive action in addition merely to speaking against unrighteousness.

“We put our money where our mouth is,” Tillman said. “We support our local El Paso Crisis Help Center. They do ultrasounds and provide quiet a range of services.”

Tillman said he has long felt personally concerned about a lack of righteousness in the culture, but only more recently did he become convinced that a discipleship class on Christian citizenship was necessary.

“I read several books that pointed me in that direction, to get politically active—especially as the liberal element of the politicians got more aggressive and active,” he said. “There has been a transition over the last 10 or 15 years, and I’ve decided that we really need to get active.”

Exciting Immanuel even had former U.N. Ambassador Alan Keyes speak on a weeknight “to show we are supportive of people who support Christian values,” the pastor said.

For other churches interested in starting programs of political activism, Tillman advised beginning with biblical preaching on the subject. He added that resources are available from the Southern Baptists of Texas Convention and the Southern Baptist Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission to that end. The National Write Your Congressman Campaign is one of the best avenues for Christians to begin expressing their voices to elected officials, he said.

On a personal level, Tillman is a part of El Paso Pastors for Jesus, a nondenominational group of pastors working to impact politics, schools and government for Christ.

“We have been striving to make a cultural impact on the community,” Tillman said.

One resource for Texas churches wanting to practice Christian citizenship is the SBTC’s Ethics & Religious Liberty Committee. The organization’s website offers study tools, lessons and sermons on Christian citizenship, a voter registration form and a “Culture Impact Manual” to show congregations how they can form cultural impact committees that keep members abreast of important political developments.

A DVD is also available through the SBTC that provides information about America’s biblical heritage as related to Christian citizenship.

Gary Ledbetter, SBTC communications director, noted that when the Texas state legislature reconvenes in January, expanded gambling, life issues and marriage issues will likely arise. He encouraged churches to be prepared to take action.

“Because of the money and political pressure from anti-family groups, we expect to see these subjects constantly addressed in bill proposals,” Ledbetter said. “Some of the proposals will be very positive, in keeping with the tradition of conservatism in our state, but an increasing number will challenge our biblical values.”

The SBC’s ERLC provides additional resources for congregations and individuals. On the ERLC website, Christians can view action alerts informing them of issues before Congress where biblical morality is at stake. By entering their zip code, visitors to the website can generate e-mails to send their senators and congressmen on specific issues.

The ERLC, funded by Cooperative Program dollars, regularly communicates to national legislators the SBC’s positions on key issues. In Texas, the SBTC performs a similar function on the state-government level.

At First Baptist Church in Porter, non-partisan voter guides help attendees know during election seasons where candidates for various offices stand. Troy Cates, the church’s minister of music and senior adults and chairman of the SBTC’s ERLC, said churches cannot support specific candidates but should educate their members about key issues.

“By providing the voting guides, we educate our church members to be good voters and to make good decisions,” Cates said. “We can’t tell them who to vote for, but we can tell them what issues should be important to them as Christians. And we can show them how the candidates will be voting on those issues.”

Cates advised other churches not to fear legal repercussions for distributing fair and balanced voter guides.

“That is their legal right to distribute those voter guides,” he said. “They don’t have to be afraid of the legal or tax ramifications of that. It’s perfectly legal to distribute voter guides as long as those voter guides are fair and balanced and just present the facts.

“One of the things they cannot do is promote one candidate over another candidate from the pulpit. But they certainly have the right to be informed, responsible voters. As a matter of fact, I believe that’s our biblical mandate.”

Donald Myers, pastor of First Baptist Church in Wills Point, also distributes voter guides to his congregation and encourages members to stand against threats in the culture to God’s standards.

“I talk about from the pulpit the responsibility to vote and stewardship of your vote and voting your values,” Myers said.

On moral issues like homosexual marriage and gambling, First Baptist speaks boldly and specifically, with its pastor taking the lead. Myers worked recently with a local pastors’ group to keep bars out of their county. The effort, which included prayer and vocal opposition, was so successful that a law enforcement official in a neighboring community asked Myers to call the pastors’ group to action again to oppose a biker bar planning to move into the area.

“The impact for us has been local,” Myers said of the church’s political efforts.

Gambling is another issue against which the ministerial alliance fought vocally and successfully. When eight-liners (a form of video gambling) moved into the community, local pastors fought to get them removed.

Eight-liners are illegal in Texas, but county attorneys must decide whether they will enforce the ban on such gambling, Myers said. He noted that eight-liners have started to appear in the community once again and Christians may have to fight again to have them removed.

Myers said e-mail has proved to be a valuable resource for getting word to church members when a political issue arises that has moral ramifications. Along with the congregation’s regular prayer request e-mail, the pastor inserts issue alerts at appropriate times.

At Teri Road Baptist Church in Austin, voter registration is the main avenue for promoting Christian citizenship.

Pastor Gerald Dickerson said that by using a packet of resources produced by Focus on the Family, he registers members to vote, explains why voting is important and teaches what issues are most relevant for Christians.

The Focus on the Family packet, titled the “Voter Impact Tool Kit,” includes DVDs Teri Road will show in worship services and handouts that will be distributed to members. Dickerson recommended the packet to any congregation seeking to be biblical, legal and active in the civic realm.

“We don’t get involved in a particular party,” Dickerson said. “But we do voter registration and things of that nature. In fact, I’m meeting this Sunday with the group that’s going to be ramrodding it for the November election.”

Voter registration requires an organized effort and advanced planning, the pastor noted.

“We send someone—usually myself but sometimes somebody else—down to the county clerk’s office to be certified,” he said. “You have to have someone on the premises who’s certified to enroll voters.

“So we set up a little desk in the foyer and have someone work that desk to try to sign people up. The county gives you posters to put up to encourage voter registration.”

Though Teri Road is not a large congregation, Dickerson said several people register to vote each year. Sharing the congregation’s building are a Hispanic church and a Japanese church, and members of both ethnic congregations typically register as well.

When election season arrives, the church distributes voter guides produced by separate organizations in order to educate members before they step into the voting booth, Dickerson said.

“We do a little bit of everything, but we try to stay legal in the sense that we don’t promote any candidate,” he said. “We do promote morality. I do preach on what’s right and wrong. I do write articles in the newsletter encouraging people to use Christian standards and a Christian worldview when they vote. I do not encourage any candidate.”

Charles Lee, pastor of Acts Fellowship Church in Austin, said his church does not have any organized political action plan beyond encouraging members to vote. But even a small encouragement to vote can make a difference, he noted.

“We encourage people to vote by word of mouth, and periodically from behind the pulpit we encourage them to vote,” Lee said.

Smith, the former Lewisville pastor, stressed that involvement in politics is essential as part of a well-rounded program of evangelism. He cited Christians in office as some of the most visible witnesses for Christ.

“I totally believe in the separation of church and state,” he said. “But I totally believe in the involvement of citizens in the process.”

A great temptation exists for Christians to avoid political activism because of the character assassination faced by people in politics, he said, but solid Christian people must avoid that temptation and serve God when he calls them to run for office or speak to a hot-button issue.

“Now the good, Christian, upright gentleman doesn’t want to get out there in politics because they are going to ruin him, they are going to malign him, they are going to destroy him,” Smith said. “So you have got to have a strong faith in Christ and be a person without blame in order to live in that arena.”

In the end, the kingdom impact of a Christ-centered politician can change lives and reform society, he said.

“If you have people who have profile in the community, leadership flows down and not up. And people look to these people and they say, ‘Why are you doing this?’ and ‘How are you being successful?’ Just by virtue of their position they are a silent witness,” Smith said.

This article was written by David Roach and originally appeared in the Southern Baptist Texan on August 29, 2008.

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The Third Effect

Posted by: William H. Perkins, Jr. on August 26, 2008 Featured Article •

Modern American politics is in a mess, isn’t it? The sensationalized rhetoric and histrionic mudslinging of today probably matches (or exceeds) the dirty politics of bygone eras. An astute follower of politics once observed, “You can’t govern if you don’t win,” but the win-at-any-cost mentality of today has become a dangerous drain on our national vitality.

Pundits frequently speculate on the reasons why this mental cruelty is heaped upon us every two years or so. The main reason seems to be that it works. Twisting the truth and distorting reality have an impact on many voters, apparently in three ways.

The First Effect negative campaigning has is to embolden the hardcore supporters of the candidate making the attacks to support their candidate even more passionately, because their opponent looks like such a bad person. The Second Effect is to discourage supporters of the other candidate, in hopes they will drop away from the campaign. The Third Effect is to create disgust among uncommitted voters in general in the hope that they will be repulsed by the mudslinging and just stay home on Election Day.

The Third Effect seems to be the most important and sought-after, because if uncommitted voters simply stay away from the polls, the attacking candidate has an opportunity to get his/her hardcore supporters to the polls and win the election. This is especially true in the election cycle we are currently undergoing.

Many of the crucial races in the country are up for grabs. Many of the races that will decide which political party controls the reins of government for the next two years are within pollsters’ margins of error. The Democrats want very much to hold on to power, and Republicans want very much to regain the power they once enjoyed.

Given the publicly-stated positions and intentions of the two parties, it’s not an overstatement to describe the upcoming November 4 elections as utterly crucial to the future of our nation. Never have the differences between the two competing national parties been clearer. The lines separating the parties have never been brighter. The voters should be fired up like never before to march to the polls and cast a definitive vote.

That’s where the Third Effect comes in to play. If only that huge middle of uncommitted voters can be driven away from the polls by discouraging news and constant misinformation, the party faithful will have the chance to swing the election their way. The strategy is: if only the people with no political ax to grind can be kept from voting, an election can be won.

A voter can expect that type of behavior from unscrupulous candidates but the national news media, which have already proven themselves so untrustworthy in so many other ways, have pulled out all the stops in utilizing the Third Effect to sway this election. Just about every newspaper, every radio and television station, every cable news program, every politically-active Hollywood star has exploited the Third Effect in this election cycle.

They don’t want us to vote—especially, they don’t want Christians to vote. They know the impact we have had on other recent elections, and they’d prefer we sit this one out. That seems to be the new tactic for dealing with Christian and “values” voters: beat them down with so much bad news and dirty insinuations that they’ll just stay home on Election Day.

True enough, politicians have failed Christians in the past. They have courted us, used the proper code words, spoken to us of their deep faith, and then failed us. That will undoubtedly happen again.

We still must vote, even when the Third Effect is heaped upon us. If we care about the future of this country, we will make it to the polls on November 4 and we will vote. Not to do so is to give up on this great country, a gift from God Himself.

That should be all the reason we need to do what’s right.

This article is reprinted from the August 21, 2008, issue of “The Baptist Record” the newspaper of the Mississippi Baptist Convention.

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Christians in Politics: Too much or too little?

Posted by: Richard Land on May 28, 2008 Featured Article •

Over the past few weeks, a national polling firm for LifeWay Research and the Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission conducted a survey asking Americans to respond to this statement: “I am concerned that at times Christians are too involved in politics.”

The results were quite informative. The majority of Americans (52%) either “strongly disagree” (32%) or “somewhat disagree” (20%) with the statement. Even larger majorities of faith-affiliated Americans disagreed with the statement. When researchers asked Americans who attended religious services of any faith at least once a week, disagreement with the statement was even higher, with 65% indicating they were comfortable with Christians being involved in politics, and only 21% expressing varying discomfort with Christians’ political activity.

Those who self-identify themselves as “born-again,” “evangelical,” or “fundamentalist” expressed the highest level of disagreement (72%) with the assertion that “at times Christians are too involved in politics” with only 27% telling pollsters they agreed (“strongly” or “somewhat”) with the statement.

These results do not surprise me at all. They underscore and reinforce the feedback I receive on a consistent basis from grassroots Christians of all perspectives, particularly conservative Christians – Catholic and Protestant.

The survey’s findings are particularly dramatic given the fact that LifeWay Research and the ERLC worded the poll’s question in a way that would elicit the most negative response possible, by using the word “politics” as opposed to “social issues” or “public policy.” “Politics” has a negative connotation and is often perceived as partisan, rancorous, and something that many Christians feel is too “worldly.”

If we had posed the question, “I’m concerned that at times Christians are too involved in social issues or public policy,” I am quite confident the level of disagreement with the statement would have been even higher.

These polling results suggest that those pundits, analysts, and religious leaders that tell us that people of faith are disillusioned with politics and public policy need to get out more and talk with the people who actually go to churches, mosques, synagogues, and temples. If they did, they would find that the people who most often attended religious services disagree with their assessment by an almost two to one margin, 65 percent to 31 percent. On a more personal note, among Southern Baptist pastors who were asked the question of whether “at times, Christians are too involved in politics”, two thirds of them either “strongly disagreed” (41%) or “somewhat disagreed” (26%).

When people of faith enter the political process they should always understand that their ultimate allegiance is to the Almighty, not any ideology or party. People of faith have an obligation to be involved as “salt” and “light” in the world, and that includes “politics.” They should be voting their values, beliefs, and convictions, based on their understanding of the imperatives of their faith.

This column was originally published at Casting Stones, a blog hosted by Beliefnet.com.

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Cowardly Clergyman?

Posted by: Oklahoma Baptist Messenger staff on April 29, 2008 Featured Article •

Since when does a church or its pastor have to remain silent when addressing moral and social issues from a biblical worldview? There is no shortage on those who would like to squelch the voice of the church, especially during a political season.

Now is not the time for the church and its pastor to turn passive with regard to addressing critical social and moral issues from the pulpit. The pastor must speak with conviction based on the authority of the Scripture, not with results from the latest opinion poll. The pastor must challenge his congregation with the truth of God’s Word without regard to the views and opinions of political parties or candidates.

The pastor must do all he can to provide insight to moral and social issues based on God’s Word. Shying away from or avoiding certain issues for fear of offending a particular political candidate or political party member is acting as a cowardly clergyman.

Pastors have every right to preach on moral and social issues and to encourage their congregations to become active in civic affairs. Pastors should never endorse a candidate on behalf of the church. Nor should they use church funds or services to contribute directly to candidates or political committees. The pastor should never distribute materials on church premises that favor any one candidate or political party. However, the pastor does have the right to address moral and social issues being addressed by candidates and political parties.

The church has every right to encourage members to voice their opinions in favor or against legislative issues. A church should never endorse or oppose a political candidate or make contributions to a political action committee. Nor should churches conduct fundraising for political candidates. However, the church is an excellent place for the community to learn more about the political process and legislative issues.

Unfortunately, too many churches and pastors are standing on the sidelines allowing those with a secular worldview to dominate public affairs and critical legislation. Our silence has been perceived as agreement. We must clear our throats and be heard without concession.

We are not skating on thin ice when it comes to taking a stand regarding moral and social issues. We must not be intimidated by those who desire to silence the church. We are called to proclaim the truth. May Joshua 1:9 serve as our guide as we seek to address the moral and social issues of our day. “Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go.” May the Lord find us strong and courageous as together we seek to make a difference within our culture.

It is time to speak up, pastor. Take a stand with God’s Word as your guide! Churches, stand with your pastor as he proclaims the truth of God’s Word with regard to sensitive social and moral issues of the day.

Church members, beware of allowing your political persuasions to compromise your biblical convictions. Know where candidates stand on the issues and support those who share your values as a believer and follower of Jesus Christ.

[This editorial is adapted and reprinted with permission from the April 10, 2008 Oklahoma Baptist Messenger.]

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An Infallible Guide on the Road to the White House

Posted by: K.D. Hastings on March 25, 2008 Featured Article •

Before my family left town on a short trip during spring break, I purchased a GPS unit to help guide us on our way.

While the particular unit I bought is regarded as a low-end unit, it was well rated by consumers and included the feature I wanted most—text-to-speech. The female voice, while poorly enunciating many words, gave us confidence as we navigated unfamiliar streets.

Now at home where I know the roads, the unit is simply a curiosity. With no remorse or fear, I disobey the unit’s calls to turn left in ½ mile and willfully ignore its chastising tone as it tells me to “make a legal U-turn.”

Yet if you are in an unfamiliar area, a GPS unit can be quite handy. And as long as your inputs are accurate, the GPS unit provides an accurate route.

On our jaunt to the beach, we discovered the unit was not infallible. Searching its database of “points of interest,” we asked it to direct us to the closest Wal-Mart. We dutifully followed its commands, impressed by its knowledge and the certainty of its tone. It was only when we made a turn and noted signs welcoming us to a state park that we began to seriously doubt the unit. Then when only a few feet into the park the GPS unit announced, “You have arrived,” we knew the machine was not to be fully trusted.

The little machine was thoroughly convinced our car was in the parking lot of a Super Wal-Mart; we knew we were entering Gulf Shores State Park.

As it turned out, the discount store was about a half mile behind us. The unit told us to turn left when we should have turned right.

We make decisions about what route to take everyday and most of them have nothing to do with turning right or left and going straight on the highway. During 2008, all of us who are of voting age will have the opportunity to make a decision on who should represent us in Congress and who should take up residence in the White House.

Just as I do with my GPS, beware where you place your confidence. During the Cold War, President Ronald Reagan said of the Soviets, “Trust, but verify.” It is sage advice for us as we consider our options on Election Day.

Until that day, we will continue to be bombarded by messages—from the candidates and their surrogates—on the issues. Shifting through the chaff and making a decision on who has earned your vote in any contested political race is difficult. A sure foundation for this task is biblical precepts. Looking to your faith-informed convictions is a ready and reliable aid in determining who gets your support.

That’s values-based voting. Fulfilling your civic duty in this way means you ignore party labels and turn aside personal desires to vote for a candidate simply because they will benefit you economically. It involves weighing each candidate’s stance on the issues with the Bible’s perspective on the issue, as much as possible. Your values can give you needed direction.

I’ve learned I can’t completely trust my nifty but fallible GPS device. I can, however, completely trust God’s revealed Word as a guidepost in making my Election Day decisions.

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Political Candidates and Their Faith

Posted by: Richard Land on January 21, 2008 Featured Article •

Article VI of the U.S. Constitution says, “The Senators and Representatives before mentioned and the members of the several state legislatures, and all executive and judicial officers, both of the United States and of the several states, shall be bound by oath or affirmation to support this constitution, but no religious test shall ever be required as a qualification to any office or public trust under the United States” (emphasis added).

Our Founding Fathers prohibited that a person be a person of any particular faith or of no faith to hold public office or public trust in the United States. Instead, we are to select public officials based upon their character, their public policy record, their policy positions and their vision for our country.

In the famous speech delivered almost 50 years ago regarding his religious faith and his run for the White House, John F. Kennedy noted that while it was a Catholic who was the victim of suspicion in 1960, in other years it may be a Jew or a Quaker or a Unitarian or a Baptist who is targeted because of their faith.

Indeed, as Kennedy reminded the nation, it was the persecution of Baptists in 18th-century Virginia that inspired Thomas Jefferson and James Madison to pass the Virginia Statute of Religious Freedom. In other words, discrimination against a person of any faith opens the door to discrimination against people of all faiths.

While Gov. Mitt Romney has been criticized for his Mormon faith for some time, Gov. Mike Huckabee is the latest target. Huckabee has been criticized by feminist groups because while serving as governor of Arkansas, he and his wife endorsed statements, which appeared in USA Today and World magazine, affirming the Southern Baptist Convention’s confessional stance on the family.

In 1998, the Southern Baptist Convention added an article to its Baptist Faith and Message, the denomination’s confession of faith, addressing the family and marriage. At the time, the priests and priestesses of political correctness, those gurus who take it upon themselves to police what may and may not be said in American society, had a collective fit because the Southern Baptist Convention dared to say that a husband “is to love his wife as Christ loved the church” and a wife “is to submit herself graciously to the servant leadership of her husband, even as the church willingly submits to the headship of Christ.”

You may recall that most newspaper and news magazine editorialists were in a dither as well, printing cartoons portraying Southern Baptists as modern-day Neanderthals, with their knuckles dragging the ground, outfitted in animal skins, and with clubs clutched in their hirsute hands.

I have a somewhat unique perspective on this because I was a member of the committee asked to draft the article on the family for the convention’s consideration and approval in 1998. It is a very clear statement concerning what the Bible teaches about the family. The convention’s elected messengers, from their local churches all across the nation, meeting that year, interestingly enough, in Salt Lake City, overwhelmingly adopted the article on “The Family” as Article XVIII of its confessional statement.

In support, numerous prominent evangelical leaders from across the country endorsed a joint statement that asserted: “Southern Baptists, you are right. At a time when divorce is destroying the fabric of our society, you have taken a bold stand for the biblical principles for marriage and family life.” Now, several years later, these feminists are attacking Mike Huckabee, labeling him as anti-feminist and anti-woman because he signed this statement in support of the Baptist Faith and Message article on the family.

In his Dec. 6, 2007, speech (which Time magazine suggested may be “Romney’s Kennedy moment"), Governor Romney told the assembled crowd at the George H. W. Bush Presidential Library, “A person who is running for political office should not be the chief spokesperson for his faith or his denomination in public life.”

If I had been advising Governor Romney, I would have told him to say, “Look, if you want to know what the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints believes, call Salt Lake City. If you want to know what my values are, what my beliefs are, and how they influence my life, my character, my public service, my policies and my vision for America, call my office or go to my campaign’s Web site.”

If I were Mike Huckabee, I would say, “Listen, we don’t have a religious test for office. I am a Southern Baptist and I subscribe to the Southern Baptist Convention’s confession of faith. If you want to know what Southern Baptists believe, call a local Southern Baptist pastor or read the Baptist Faith and Message. If you want to know what my policy positions are, call my office or go to my website.”

Then I would challenge my feminist critics by saying, “You have no right to accuse me of being anti-woman, for exercising my constitutionally protected right to free expression of my faith in stating what I believe about God’s plan for the family. Unless you can find evidence of anti-woman bias in my public policy statements or my record as governor of Arkansas (and you will not find such evidence), then you are engaging in anti-religious bigotry by attacking me for expressing my beliefs about how husbands and wives ought to fulfill their roles in the voluntary relationship called marriage by some and holy matrimony by me.”

Just as then-Sen. Kennedy spent virtually no time defending Catholicism, but rather the right of a Catholic to run for the presidency, Gov. Huckabee and Gov. Romney should not spend time defending the religious beliefs of their respective faiths. Instead, as Kennedy did before them, they should affirm their right to run and to be judged on their records and their vision for the country’s future.

To ask Gov. Huckabee or Gov. Romney to explain and to defend the details of their personal faith IS a de facto religious test for office, and that is unconstitutional—and un-American. Mike Huckabee has said that he is a person of faith, that his faith defines him. That means his faith impacts his life, shapes his character, and guides him as he faces the crises and issues of life.

How his faith has molded his character, life and vision is fair game in political debate. The precise theological affirmations of his personal faith, however, are not proper subjects for debate, analysis or scrutiny as a candidate in a presidential campaign.

We have no religious test for office in this country. We don’t judge candidates on their faith or their lack of faith; we judge them on how their faith or their lack of faith impacts their lives, character, conscience, public policy positions and their vision for the country’s future.

While discussing this subject, a reporter asked me a provocative question: “Would you apply similar tests to the candidacy of a radical Islamist?”

“Yes, I would,” I responded. “I would not reject someone who was a follower of radical Islam because they were a follower of radical Islam; I would reject that person as a candidate for office because his radical Islamic faith impacts his character by telling him it is all right to kill people who disagree with him under certain circumstances. I would reject him because his faith gives him a vision for America as an Islamic republic that would stifle dissent, deny religious freedom, and make everyone who is not a Muslim a second-class citizen. So I wouldn’t be rejecting a Muslim based upon his radical Islamic faith, I would be rejecting him because of how his faith impacts his character, conscience, life and public policy positions.”

That is the way our Founding Fathers envisioned it to be, and that is the way it should be.