Faith-Based Politics

A new book has been causing quite a storm in the religio-political realm of late. I don't know much about this book seeing as I haven't read it. But I have seen interviews with the author (whose first name escapes me for the moment, but his last name is Kuo, so that's how I'll refer to him), and he seems to be an even-keeled person. He's a conservative evangelical Christian who was second-in-charge in the office of the Faith-Based Initiatives. Apparently, Kuo overheard derrogatory comments made about certain prominent evangelical leaders by members of the Bush administration. According to Kuo, the Bush administration is using the conservative Christian constituent as pawns in a much bigger game of political pandering. Kuo seems to be saying that some members of the Bush administration have absolutely no respect for evangelical leaders, calling them "kooks", "insane", and "needs to be controlled", the latter moniker placed on James Dobson. The accusation leveled by Kuo is that the Bush administration doesn't really care about their religious right constituency, as long as they help Republicans win key elections throughout the country. In other words, the Bush adminstration is using the whole idea of faith-based initiatives, promising billions of dollars in funding, in order to garner support for Republicans in general, and his administration in particular.

Aside from the latest shenanigans portrayed in this book, this whole faith-based initiative has been a stinker from the beginning. Anytime Washington gets involved with a cause, that cause becomes politicized, and it doesn't matter which political party is behind it all. Also, when something becomes politicized, it's only a matter of time before the cause forgets its very essence and purpose for its existence. The same can be said about religion, as there are many who see the whole faith-based effort as an attempt to marry Church and State, 'til death do they part. Is the separation of Church and State constitutional or not? Some say yes, citing the 1st Amendment. Some say no, citing the 1st Amendment. To me, its constitutionality doesn't matter. The separation of Church and State is a damn good idea and is just common sense. All one has to do is study the many empires that have come and gone throughout human history to see the fallacy of Church and State becoming bedfellows. It's a disaster waiting to happen, and when it does it falls with a large crash (apologies to Jesus). Consider for a moment the Jerusalem temple. If there was ever a place where religion and politics created a very caustic mish-mash, it was the temple. The temple was destroyed for good in AD 70. If you have ears to hear, then hear!

One thing that disturbs me is that conservative evangelical Christians seem to view the Church as the institutional guardian of the moral underpinnings of the nation. This is why they seem to be so myopically focused on hot-button issues such as abortion and same-sex marriage. They can't seem to change peoples' hearts and minds through preaching and teaching, and so they rely on legislation as the necessary vehicle for their moral advocacy. That's why so many see the Church as attempting to impose its morality on the entire nation.

I would love to see the day when the Church gets out of national politics altogether. It doesn't mean that Christians individually can't be involved in political processes, or run for office, or speak out when the State become oppressive and tyrannical. But the Church as a whole should stick to the purpose for its existence-- giving liberty to the captives, opening the eyes of the blind and the ears of the deaf to the very reality of Christ in us, among us, with us, and for us, Emmanuel-- being the flesh-and-blood, provisional display of Christ's presence. And stop worrying about whether or not city hall allows a manger scene at Christmastime!!