Third Way and Politics

Adam Hamilton, in his book, Seeing Gray in a World of Black and White: Thoughts on Religion, Morality, and Politics, has a few chps on political or hot-button issues, including situation ethics, abortion, homosexuality and war. I don’t want to enter into the discussion of homosexuality or war at this time, in part because Adam’s book presents some addresses he gave at his church. So, I will skip ahead to his 21st chp to how he addresses the issue of faith and the presidential elections. He has a set of questions that we can think back on now to see where we stand.

Obama said he was a Christian; Romney said he was a Mormon; McCain said he was “saved”; Huckabee was a Baptist pastor. Stats reveal that many vote on the basis of their faith and choose a candidate that aligns the closest to their faith.

Hamilton ponders these kinds of questions, and I’m wondering how you proceeded in your voting. Were these your questions? Did you have others? (What were they?) Now the touchy one: How do you answer these questions for Obama?

1. Is the person genuinely a Christian or has the person become Christian for expedient reasons?
2. What kind or version of Christianity does the candidate embrace? Does the candidate embrace both the personal and social gospel?
3. Is being a devout Christian adequate to make one a great president?
4. Can one be a good president and not devout?