Jesus, the Candidate

Excerpts from a Pastor who had great insight on the last election. It has relevance to this one.

Window on the World Sermon Series by Dr. Philip G. Ryken

Tenth Presbyterian Church, Philadelphia, March 19, 2000

Copyright reserved • Internet access via www.tenth.org

"Participating in the electoral process is one of the many ways we not only '“Render unto Caesar the things which are Caesar's,”' but also offer '“unto God the things that are God's”' (Matt. 22:21).

Some political commentators worry that all this talk about religion threatens to corrupt our political process. Out of misguided zeal for the separation of church and state, they want to exclude religion from public discourse altogether. They fear the election of candidates who are outspoken in their religious beliefs. My fear is almost exactly the opposite. I worry less about what religion will do to politics than about what politics will do to religion. The attempt to get out '“the God vote”' has a way weakening the importance of religious commitment in American life. Christians are especially vulnerable to allowing the gospel message of faith in Christ to be co-opted by some political agenda. The fact that many Americans view Christianity as a front for party politics says as much about the evangelical church as it does about the secular media.

Voters can be corrupted, too. During campaign season, religion becomes another way to manipulate people, and a highly effective method at that. So be careful! Remember that candidates are trying to tell you what you want to hear, so that you will think that they are who you want them to be. The relationship between political candidates and the voting public has never been very conducive to telling the truth.

Consider the candidate who used the Bible to explain to a campaign audience how important his faith is to him. His favorite verse, he said, is John 16:3. No doubt he intended to say John 3:16: '“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”' On the other hand, maybe John 16:3 was more appropriate after all. It reads: '“They will do such things because they have not known the Father or me.”' When politicians start quoting Scripture, be sure to check their references.

One presidential candidate, who has since dropped out of the race, went so far as to say that discussing religion is '“inappropriate on the campaign trail.”' He argued that a man's religion is a private matter that has no bearing on his competence to serve in public office. The problem with this view is that most political decisions have a moral dimension. It is important to know something about a politician's faith commitment because is important because it will have a bearing on his approach to moral issues.

Even if you could figure out which candidate was the best Christian, he might not make the best President. By way of comparison, consider the way you choose a plumber. If you have a leaky faucet, you want to hire a workman who will treat you fairly and honestly. That being the case, you might well be interested to know whether or not he is a Christian. Nevertheless, your primary concern would be whether or not he can stop the leak. The same holds true for public office. A candidate's religious commitment is has some bearing on his position on, say, gun control, or welfare reform. But a public official also has to be competent to handle the affairs of state."

WP Commentary

There is an eRumor going around that claims John Kerry made the John 3:16 16:3 gaffe just as Dr. Ryken describes back in 2000. We researched TruthOrFiction.com and again found it as a campaign hoax that shows up every four years.

http://www.truthorfiction.com/rumors/k/kerrybible.htm

As we all know, all's fair in love and politics. Unfortunately, Christians (as well as all persons of faith) are required to have an additional "filter" to weed out the politicians (or their handlers) who attempt to exploit beliefs to get votes. And finally, I pray for guidance that I vote for the best person to handle the job.

God Bless...