The following column was published by the Huntsville Times on May 9 , 2010. No part may be republished without the permission of the publisher. The title has been changed to the original submission title.
And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by men. I tell you the truth; they have received their reward in full." Matthew 6:5
"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." Article VI, U.S. Constitution
It's political primary season in Alabama and even though no religious test is required or allowed by the Constitution, candidates are touting their religious virtues and, in at least one case, attacking the religion of a candidate. Most of the race to Montgomery through the pulpit is going on in the Republican Party, but the Democrats are not above bringing religion into the mix as well.
Before I go on, I'd like to comment on the attack against one candidate's religion. The person being attacked is Bradley Byrne.
In a series of ads and annoying robocalls as well as an attack web page, Mr. Byrne's religion (as well as his profession and other tidbits from his past) is attacked. The attack web page quotes Mr. Byrne as having said, "There are parts of the Bible that are meant to be literally true and parts that are not."
Of course, it is easy to see how issues of Biblical inerrancy are relevant to balancing the state budget. And I'm sure that we all would want tornado responses to be handled only by post tribulationists.
Seriously, I don't know the specifics of Mr. Byrnes' beliefs, but I do have some idea that those who are attacking Mr. Byrne are persons of low character.
The fact that they are hiding behind a recently set up PAC rather than standing up and admitting their participation in the attacks is proof of that belief. I performed a very unscientific survey of candidate religiosity by reading the web pages of all candidates for statewide office. Many mentioned their church affiliation and all who did so were Christian. So how do I think that a Christian politician should behave?
First of all, I believe that a Christian politician can live his or her faith without violating the First Amendment. The love of Christ can be reflected by working hard for the good of the people without proselytizing. Let me give you a hypothetical example. Let's say I was a judge and wanted to acknowledge God in my life. I could do it by fulfilling my oath of office by being the best judge that I could. I could reflect God's role in my life by scrupulously performing legal research in all cases before my court and, when the law allows for latitude in my rulings, rule in a manner that reflects the justice demanded by God, and the grace called for by Jesus. My oath of office and my duty to God need not be in conflict because both would be well served if I behaved in this manner. What I would not need to do is violate my oath of office by erecting monuments to call attention to myself. I would not ignore higher court rulings, believing that I was not answerable to anyone whose opinion differed from my own.
If a politician professes faith my warning sirens go off immediately. As an Alabama native I have seen faith issues used to divide the state too many times; religion is a powerful weapon in the hands of the opportunist. From those who talk the loudest about their faith, I hear a lot of fire and brimstone, but very little that reflects the love and grace that Jesus offers us sinners. Show me results; don't tell me about your good intent.
To all Alabama politicians who run on their religion, isn't it time to stand on your Bibles a little less and to read them a little more?
No comments:
Post a Comment