Ed Stetzer, President Obama, Gov Romney, and Faith

From CP:

Now, the Presidential race is really on – and down to two candidates, both who identify themselves as “Christians.” But, it appears, that many Americans (and a strong majority of evangelicals) don’t think either of them actually are Christians. In other words, both President Barack Obama and Governor Mitt Romney profess to be Christians, but that profession is widely disbelieved. Romney is doubted primarily because he is a Mormon, while President Obama is doubted for a variety of reasons.

The obvious question is: are they Christians? Evangelical Christians see being a Christian as having a personal relationship with Jesus Christ made possible through Christ’s death on the cross, for our sin, and in our place. Through His sacrifice we can receive new life in Christ, a new life that comes through a conversion experience. This inward reality is accompanied by outward signs bearing witness to that fact. In the end, though, only the person (and God) can say with certainty whether he or she has been converted.

Even though about 75% of Americans believe themselves to be Christians, most devout evangelicals do not believe that three of four Americans are “Christian” and would actually seek to share Christ with them so they might become Christians. In other words, for evangelicals being “Christian” is not a demographic category– “I was born in America, am not Jewish, and went to church as a child”– but rather a faith commitment with a conversion when they moved from unbelief to belief. To use Bible terminology, they’ve moved from death to life, and, to use Jesus’ words specifically, they are “born again” (John 3:3).

In a case where someone is within a religious tradition which evangelical Christians consider to be outside of “biblical Christianity,” most evangelicals would believe such a person could be a Christian. For example, if you ask an evangelical, “Could a Mormon be a Christian?” they will generally say “yes” but will follow up stating that as a Christian they should and will eventually leave Mormonism.

In short, I don’t know whether Governor Romney or President Obama is a Christian because God has not granted me the insight to see into a person’s soul, nor have I been invited to have spiritual conversations with either of them to help me understand what they mean when they convey their experiences and beliefs.

So there is much we cannot know with certainty. Yet there are some things we do know: the perceptions of Protestant pastors, evangelical churchgoers, and random Americans on this issue.