Politicians and faith

Lately, we’ve been hearing a lot of God-talk from the political candidates.

It seems to be going far beyond the customary, “And may God bless America.”In the past, whenever a politician would speak out about their faith, the press would cry ‘foul’ and accuse them of wanting to establish a theocracy or some other nonsense.

Any elected official who would indicate that their belief system actually guided their votes was subject to mockery and derision. But something is happening — there are millions of people of faith who want their politicians to share not just their values, but their principles of faith.

It seems suddenly in vogue to align yourself with the One So Many Are Ashamed Of. Is this good for America? Here in Red Letter Believer-land, we just want that faith to be real and genuine. Are the politicians living out their belief in God in their public work life or are they exploiting Him to achieve their earthly ambitions?

Here’s a round-up of the God-talk.
Hillary Clinton said that it was her faith that got her through her husband’s infidelity. “At those moments in time when you are tested, it is absolutely essential that you be grounded in your faith,” she said.

John Edwards revealed that he “sins every day.” He didn’t stop there, saying, “”I have a deep and abiding love for my Lord, Jesus Christ.” Edwards claims to have found his faith after his son’s death and his wife’s cancer. I hope so.

Barack Obama is interesting as he talks about his epiphany. He talks about ‘walking the aisle’ and his choice to follow Christ. “I submitted myself to His will.” He has a “People of Faith” arm of his presidential campaign.

Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney is a practicing Mormon – Of all the candidates he’s the most devout, yet because of his church’s teachings, he’s the only one that has actually deemphasized his faith.

Tommy Thompson, Bill Richardson, Dennis Kichinich, Joe Biden and Christopher Dodd are practicing Roman Catholics.

Ron Paul, John McCain and Duncan Hunter are Baptists.

Rudy Giuliani is the only candidate who really doesn’t claim much faith. He’s a nominal Catholic – and he’s leaving it at that.

Tom Tancredo is an evangelical Presbyterian.

Of course, around here we aren’t all that impressed with titles or mere membership. Rather, we are concerned about how do they live and does their faith affect their politics?

For example, Sam Brownback is a Catholic convert who also attends an evangelical church. He claims his votes have been motivated by faith, rather than politics. He says this. “Faith doesn’t make all your decisions, but you can’t segregate it out – it’s part of the values basis you bring.”

Our call is for all candidates to quit talking about faith if they don’t mean it. We don’t want to see someone gripping a Bible just appease us. We aren’t impressed and neither is God.

This blog is dedicated to those who don’t just proclaim a faith, but who live out their faith. That’s the definition of a Red Letter Believer, a Christian who follows Jesus.

Talk about your faith, yes. But first, live your faith.

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Check out The presidential candidates’ faiths – Yahoo! News