Christianity and the Election (guest post by Bob McElvaine)

I just received this article from Bob McElvaine, chairman of the history department at my undergraduate alma mater, Millsaps College, and a former professor of mine.  He asked that it be passed along, which I'm happy to do.

He actually gets paid real money to write articles, to which I've linked here on more than one occasion.  So it's nice to be able to share one of his articles directly and in full.  (As always with my guest posts, don't blame him for any of the stuff you see in my other posts.)

[10/24/04 - See Index to Robert McElvaine guest posts for other full McElvaine articles at Old Hickory's Weblog.]
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Christians should not be taken in by the false stories being spread by the Bush campaign; instead, they should look carefully at the records of both candidates.

Christianity and the Election
By Robert S. McElvaine

Religion and politics: two topics that are linked by being what we are usually advised to avoid at dinners and other such gatherings.  They are also linked in a more important way.  Our religion ought to inform our political actions.  But we need to be careful.  There are very skillful deceivers who operate in politics.

I do not doubt that George W. Bush is sincere in seeing himself as a Christian.   That does not, however, necessarily mean that his actions are always Christian.  Nor does it mean that his opponent is not a sincere Christian.  And it emphatically does not mean that his campaign tactics are Christian.  Consider the following examples:

In late September, the Republican National Committee admitted that it had sent out a mass mailing in at least two swing states, West Virginia and Arkansas, of a flier saying that Democrats want to ban the Bible.  This is sheer nonsense; I know thousands of Democrats and I have never heard one even suggest that the Bible be banned.  But this despicable campaign tactic is worse than that.  It is an evil misuse of religion for political purposes.

 Then there is an e-mail being circulated among Christians that says:

"The Lord has a way of revealing those of us who really know him, and those that don't! Think about it! Kerry gave a big speech last week about how his faith is so 'important' to him. In this attempt to convince the American people that we should consider him for president, he announced that his favorite Bible verse is John 16:3. Of course the speech writer meant John 3:16, but nobody in the Kerry camp was familiar enough with scripture to catch the error. And do you know what John 16:3 says?

John 16:3 says; 'They will do such things because they have not known the Father or me.'"

This e-mail is a flat-out lie that is being spread by Bush backers.  (The person who actually made this slip of the tongue, according to conservative Christian columnist Cal Thomas, who witnessed the event, was the president’s father, George H.W. Bush, at a religious broadcasters’ conference in 1990.)

Is the spreading of such lies the action of good Christians?

We should also remember, “But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead?” (James 2:20)  Many Christians say they are attracted to President Bush because he demonstrates his faith and lives by it.  If so, his works must be based on an odd translation of the Scriptures.  In my Bible Jesus doesn’t say: “Blessed are the preemptive warmakers, for they shall be called sons of God.”   Nor do I find “As you did it to the richest of these my brethren, you did it to me.”  (What my Bible does say is: “No servant can serve two masters . . . .  You cannot serve God and mammon.” [Luke 16:13])

Nowhere in the Beatitudes in my Bible do I see: “Blessed are the cocky, boastful, and arrogant, for they shall inherit the earth.”  (What the Bible does say is: “Pride goeth before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall.” [Proverbs 16:18]  We saw that Proverb carried out in the first presidential debate.)  The First Commandment in my translation does not read: “Thou Shalt Not Tax the Rich.”

For his part, John Kerry doesn’t talk about his faith the way President Bush does, but he has shown repeatedly that he does indeed have a deep and abiding faith.  His whole life has centered around faith, but he practices his faith in private. That may not be the way of some Christians, but it is a perfectly acceptable way to practice Christianity, with clear scriptural authority.  One thing that Jesus did say is: “Beware of practicing your piety before men in order to be seen by them; for then you will have no reward from your Father who is in heaven.” (Matthew 6:1)

Many Christians say they like George W. Bush because he acknowledges a Higher Power than himself.  But too often thispresident seems to identify his own purposes with God’s, in effect making himself that Higher Power.  Those who think they have a direct line to God and that anything they decide to do is God’s Will commit one of the greatestsins of all: confusing themselves with God.  This Bush is not the one that burned in Exodus 3:2.

The proper Christian position is one of humility and it was well stated by Sen. Kerry in his acceptance speech: “I don’t want to claim that God is on our side; as Abraham Lincoln told us, I want to pray humbly that we are on God’s side.”

Blind faith in God is one thing; blind faith in a president and his administration is quite another.  Rendering unto Caesar what is Caesar’s is all well and good.  But complete, unquestioning faith does not fall under what is Caesar’s. 

As Christians, we should open our eyes and look at what President Bush has done before we decide for whom to vote on November 2.

{Robert S. McElvaine teaches history at Millsaps College in Jackson, Miss.  He is the author of Eve's Seed (McGraw-Hill). }

AUTHOR'S PHOTO AVAILABLE AT: http://home.millsaps.edu/~mcelvrs/McElvaine-headshot.jpg

Contact information:

Robert S. McElvaine
Elizabeth Chisholm Professor of Arts & Letters

Chair, Department of History
Millsaps College
Jackson, MS  39210

e-mail:  mcelvrs@hotmail.com

Web:    http://home.millsaps.edu/~mcelvrs
http://evesseed.net/