We need a Christian in the White House. A New Testament, Christ loving, Good News bearing Christian who doesn’t believe that Jesus visited the New World to deliver what would become the United States to arrogant rich white folks.
Now – before you jump all over me…….
I think when most people who prefer a religious candidate think about it, they think that a candidates religious affiliation tells them something about that candidate. This isn’t strange at all. Isn’t that how we think about all of a candidates affiliations?
As a Christian, I think I know something about a candidates thinking based on the faith they proclaim. That’s why I prefer a Christian who evokes the teachings of Christ, to one who evokes the vindictiveness of the Old Testament, or the wrath of Revelation, and why I would be very nervous about a candidate who preached the Rapture.
Does that mean that I would not vote for a candidate of a different faith, or no faith? Of course not. It means that I am most knowledgeable about Christianity and feel that I can get a sense about the candidates mindset by the faith they espouse. But that is just one, aspect of a candidate.
For me it does mean that I want a candidate that is not egocentric. (Sorry Mittens (and Mr. Ryan) – you could never pass that off in a debate, no matter how much you smile while lying.) I am looking for someone who believes there is something bigger than us, be that nature, some form of a goddess or god or combination thereof, or an ultimate truth. I don’t know how that plays out in Judaism, or for Muslims or Buddhists, or for atheists, but if you can convince me that you understand that human beings, and Americans are an integral (but not ultimate) part of the universe, I can see you as a viable candidate.
As someone who had been involved with a local church for almost 25 years as parishioner, layman administrator and all sorts of stuff in between (and both sides having washed our hands of each other two years ago) I must voice my concerns.
I don’t want the person whose finger is on the red button to be listening to little voices in his/her head. Having our own version of Ahmadinejad does not comfort me in the least. I am sick and tired of the societal damage being perpetrated by fire-breathing evangelist Christians, maniacal ultra-orthodox Jews and whack-a-doodle Islamists.
Spirituality is one thing. Devotion to a socio-political structure with ranks, uniforms and its own hierarchy is something quite different. It’s charming in its own way, but has absolutely no place in a civil government of All The People.
I hoped my opinion would be clearer. I do not wish for a wackadoodle who listens to the voices in his/her head, any more than I wish to go back to one who listens to his wife’s psychic. I am not calling literally to vote for a Christian. I am looking for a candidate that cares about all Americans, including, and perhaps most importantly, the least of these. For a candidate with humility e and respect for the natural world. A candidate that is willing to look far into the future, and not just to today’s profits.
I am looking for someone who displays those values, whether the person be of a specific religion, or agnostic, or atheist.
I had hoped to illustrate, that for me, a candidates religious affiliation, can help to inform that decision.
-GC
Every once in a while I’m reminded why we made good friends so many years ago. This is one of those times.