I agree. Even with the assumption that each candidate is telling the truth in their profession of faith, that is in no way a guarantee that the candidate would make completely godly decisions regarding every policy. God is not a Republican or a Democrat. Those professing Christian faith very well may be one or the other, or neither as well. As a body of believers, we do not seek to place any single one on a pedestal of privilege and responsibility. Only Christ Jesus belongs there, and until the King returns, there will never be full peace and completely righteous policies. We need to prayerfully prioritize and carefully select the candidate who seems to understand what is going to work in real life situations and glorify God in the long term.

Personally, I may be voting for Ron Paul.

absolutely.

i am canadian, therefore won't be voting for president, but have been following the race as it is the most interesting, fascinating presidential race in my lifetime (b. 1984).

holly's concern about the church being used as a political pawn struck a nerve. i am from quebec, which has a tortured history of the church telling people how to vote, threatening parish consequences if they don't vote the way their priest did. this led to a rebellion against the church that continues to this day. it was an abuse of power. it unfortunately proved the need for the separation of church and state.

why isn't anyone in the u.s. media complaining that candidates using the church as a political tool is a violation of the separation of church and state, instead of making a circus out of it?

i'm predicting an ultimate obama-huckabee smackdown. at least, it'll be the most interesting.

It is my belief that we as Christians should pray that our leaders are people of faith and well grounded in Biblical Truths.We as A christian Community have moved so far to the left that we are only concerned about our pocket books.
If we as a Nation return to the Truths of the Good Book and elect like mined,Kindered Souls we will once again be Blessed by our Loving and Guiding God.

Thanks for such an insightful column. I completely agree with all of your points! I personally try to look at the person's track record (if he or she has one) on how he or she voted on particular issues that I find important. I also tried to look at the person's take on all issues--not just a few.
Thanks again for your column!
Tina

I can see a church arranging for a series of candidates to speak over the course of a few weeks. But anything that has even the appearance of endorsing one candidate or political opinion over another, should be "preached" from the pulpit only if it is a matter so critical that it is worth dividing the church over. The abolition of slavery met that standard; giving one political candidate preferential treatment (e.g., a free soapbox), or endorsing one political philosophy, do not. Rather, they should be grounds for loss of tax exemption, because they are now acting as a political entity, not a religious entity.

Preach it, sister!

Yes! Yes! Yes!

Thank you.

I like to think of it this way: I am looking for a President, not a Pastor.

My vote goes to the person who will vote to protect the unborn and to protect marriage as God has made it (between on man and one woman).

God Bless

I must respectfully disagree Holly.

Our Founding Fathers were men of powerful faith and that faith guided them to create a government unheard of in our world. This government has succeeded due to the guidance of God sought out by those great men of faith.

It is, and has been, incumbent upon the citizens of that government to chose godly men as the leaders to maintain a steadfast adherence to the guidelines set by the Founders.

Though these men have never proven to be perfect in following their faith, to take a secular view of our leaders, not taking account of the candidates faith, in my opinion would be to discount God's role in the effectiveness of liberty and freedom we have enjoyed as a nation.

While it is true that we can never know with a great degree of certainty that the men that we elect are in fact the men of faith they profess to be, if we shrug our duty to consider their faith as we vet each of them we will certainly end up with an even more secular society.

I will always consider the professed faith of the individual I am willing to call my leader.

I applaud this article. I believe you are so right, and the candidates are squaring off to gain ground with the religious community. It doesn't make sense to me to stand with one candidate based solely on their religious beliefs. I feel that we need to study a candidate's qualifications and judge his take on all of the issues. And I agree with you that the church has been perceived as a political pawn, not only with this upcoming election, but with past elections also. My husband, who is not a Christian, really frowns on this. He strongly disagrees when a religious group or community endorses a candidate, seemingly intent on swaying the Christian public to that candidate.

Thanks for the article!

I do believe a stong faith is a good quality to have for a Presidential hopeful. I will vote for a candidate who will preserve the sanctity of life for all US citizens and appoints Constitutional Judges who will not legislate from the bench. Our Founding Fathers knew what they were doing when they drafted the Constitution and started with "We the people...." We will decide for good or bad.

Holly says: Independencenana, I'd say we're pretty much in agreement. You might even find we agree more than you think.

I'll reiterate my point through the last sentence or two:

"I'd prefer our country’s leader believe in God. But if faith is all we're demanding in a president, we're demanding too little."

Whether or not a presidential candidate is likely to turn to God for wisdom is hugely important to me. This is why I said, "Once candidates have indicated their faith background ... ." I do want to know the candidate's faith, but that's all the information I need. I believe the American people do not benefit from a prove-your-faith contest--it is a waste of time that could be better utilized to discuss the issues affecting our country.

And I believe it does not edify the church for political candidates to rattle off a few Bible verses come election time. Consider the perception these candidates are creating when, having not been vocal about their beliefs in the past, they suddenly start discussing Scripture and hymns during an election. I have a feeling they won't be talking about these things in a year. Will this make faith look like something to be put on when it is useful? Will this make faith appear to be shallow or surface? Will it make Christianity look like a mere social affiliation? This is what I meant when I said, "the overuse of faith as a political buzzword dilutes its real meaning."

My discussion here is to say, simply, that we shouldn't be analyzing the perceived depth of faith of a candidate, then choosing based on whoever seems like the "best Christian." If my church were interviewing for a pastor, the candidate's depth of faith would be my primary concern. Conversely, in considering my vote for president, faith may be a must-have quality, but that quality still plays a tiny role in my decision.

Here's a simple illustration of what I mean. If I go out for lunch one day and see I have many choices, I might think to myself, "I want to eat something hot, not cold." I've decided my food must be hot. But beyond that, I have a lot more decision-making to do. I've really only ruled out a few choices.

In the current presidential race, almost all of the candidates profess Christian faith. So we've got a whole lot of choices to make.

(Just an aside: I would mention that most, but not all, of the Founding Fathers were Christians. Benjamin Franklin wasn't a believer. We've had folks running this country from the beginning who weren't believers. All to say, if someone who isn't a Christian happens to win this current election--and quite frankly, I don't think that will happen, but IF it does--we should rest assured that America will continue to be one nation under God.)

Great article! I fully agree with the danger of Christians becoming pawns to opportunists seeking our vote. To me, the main criterion in voting for any candidate is the degree to which he will abide by the Constitution, the government's covenant/social contract with the American people. This is why I am supporting Ron Paul. Unlike the other candidates, Rep. Paul is not using his faith in Christ to court evangelical voters.

A major problem of the Religious Right and the Religious Left is that they both seek to use the power of the state to force unredeemed people to behave in redeemed ways. This is why so many evangelicals support unconstitutional policies such as the failed War on Drugs, censorship, and laws against gambling. On the left, evangelicals want to force taxpayers to fund universal health care and other services, none of which are mentioned anywhere in the Constitution.

Clearly, there is a great temptation among evangelicals to vote for the candidate who promises to use the force of government to create a heaven on earth. Much of this thinking is due to a poor understanding of Romans 13, which states that government was ordained to be a minister of justice. It was not ordained to redistribute wealth, to prevent people from abusing their bodies through the use of drugs, or to ensure equal access to services like health care.

Let us never forget history. When Church controls Government, dissenters are persecuted and killed. Even though I am a practicing Christian who loves the Lord, I would rather have a president who professes no faith than one who is a Christian zealot. It scares me when I hear candidates quoting Scripture and touting their "faith." It scares me when I hear radio or TV preachers giving political sermons. I heard one, not long ago, who said a Christian has the duty before God to be "the salt of the earth," which means, he said, that we must bear influence and sway in the political process. I disagree; Christ's kingdom was (and is) not of this world. The "salt" is to be our Christian witness for the salvation of souls, not to influence the outcome of elections. If the present trend continues (and I believe it will) we will see every precept of our constitution set aside, and religious persecution will rear its ugly head in our beloved America. Those who believe that electing the most "godly" of candidates for public office will result in reclaiming America for God are deceived. We must prayerfully study history and learn from it!! Study the candidates; who is most strong in support of our constitution? It is hardly mentioned by the candidates or the press! No one seems to care about it. If we don't learn from the past, we are destined to repeat it. Think! Pray!

I agree with Debra's response. Our country was founded as a God-based nation which is why so many of us fight to keep "In God we trust" on our money, bibles to swear in our leaders, and "one nation under God" in our pledge. I think the "church community" and the Body of Christ our beginning to separate the wheat from the tares. In other words, either we are people of God or we are not. I do not separate my faith in God from any decision that I make. David, Moses, Abraham, Solomon, (you can name them all), were called by God to lead his people, yet they made some pretty major mistakes. But because they were of God and had hearts after God, God's hand remained on his people. Their only qualification was that they were called by God. We are so far from trusting Him completely. I want a competent president. Competent in his prayer life and ability to humble himself beneath the mighty hand of God. Wise enough to seek God for instruction and radical enough to listen to God's instructiion.

I agree that Candidates are trying to manipulate the Christian voters. I try to look at their past voting records to see exactly how they stand on issues such as abortion, same sex marriage ,etc. As a Christian, I cannot justify voting for someone who votes against God's laws.

Holly,

I know that faith is not the only thing that we should look at when we decide on a potential president, but I do know that having sincere faith in Jesus Christ is extremely important. Many may claim that they are Christians, but when you look at their past voting record you see that their votes do not represent the Christian faith. One of the pillars of not only our faith, but also our nation as a whole is the sanctity of marriage. The large majority of candidates have voted in a way that does not endorse this. They do not have the courage to stand up for what is right. If we do not have a president who will stand up for marriage and also for human life, the economic status or even the war will not matter because our nation will already be destroying itself from the inside out.

Yes, each of these issues is extremely important, but we need a president who looks at them from a strong moral background and makes wise decisions while relying on God's wisdom, not his own. No man is perfect, I realize this, but a man of God would certainly do better in this arena than one of little or no faith.

Even though there may have been a few non-believers who helped found our nation, the majority of them were devout Christian men who started and led this country to be the greatest nation on earth. The reason that we still are is because we have followed their princilpes very closely up until recent times.

I just ask all voters to look at each of the candidates past records and find out if their record is one that will keep this country from sliding further away from what our founding fathers, and God, intended.

"Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord". Psalm 33:12

Thanks, Holly. I'm so eager for insight. I agree with your thoughts, I think! I, for one, want nothing more than to have a strong Christian in the White House again who will request the prayers of the people he or she governs (e.g., the Presidential Prayer Team we currently have in place that allows tens of thousands of Christians to lift him up in prayer daily). At the same time, I am torn about my vote, as I watch with dismay the political machine that insists we really don't have a choice in who will win the primaries on Super Tuesday. Do I toss my vote away by standing up for what I believe, with the undesired effect that I basically cast a vote for the guy I least want?!?

I do know that our great God has even this election in His mighty hands and I do just rest in that. But I remain undecided about my vote...

I will have to agree with independencenana on this one. Holly, your intentions I think are in the right place, but I don't know if you really understand. I agree that some people profess faith and claim to be christians and really aren't, but if someone quotes scripture, it may very well be that that person is a true christian and has God's word written in their heart and therefore, will use it as a guide in leading our country. I don't think it's something to look down upon if someone quotes God's words. You are wording it as if this is some sort of a let down. If someone is a true Christian then they will show it. They can't hide it just because they are running for president. That would mean that they really were putting on some kind of an act if they were able to turn it off and on so easily! I want someone who is led by God and has the holy spirit guiding his every move to be our president. Our nation has gone downhill. Even christians accept things and call it ok that God says is sin. It scares me to think that we could have a ruler who won't even swear in on the Bible! He wants to use the Koran! Like I said, I think you have good intentions Holly, but I think it might've come out wrong.

Holly,

Your comments are very similar to thoughts I've had. Although I certainly would prefer a person who truly places God in the center of his/her life to lead the country, it does seem like a person's faith may easily become a marketing tactic.

Sure, we may want to know the faith of our future president...but, we also need to know where they stand on other important issues of the day.

I always seek to support Pro-Life candidates. And, there are times that that is all I looked for...now, I'm looking at all issues (being Pro-Life is still a requirement for me).

Thanks for keeping it real.

I also think we have to be EXTREMELY careful of candidates who profess to be Christians but in reality are far from the heart of God. Few people are aware of this, but Hitler claimed to be a Christian. In many of his speeches, he made reference to Christianity and even referred to Jesus as Savior. He was obviously pandering to the Christian voters, who were sadly duped by his rhetoric.

Holly,

I am so glad to hear someone talk about the qualifications of a president in light of a job. Ever since George W. Bush came to office 7 1/2 yrs ago I believe that politics have used our beliefs on a few topics (however important they may be) to get our loyalty and in turn our vote. I do not need a law to allow me the right to pray and as important as the unborn child is I am just as passionate about the mother and the children already born and being neglected & forgotten and when it comes to marriage and our sexualites when can fight those fights on our knees and in the local grass roots organizations. We have allowed the religious right to deceive us into thinking that just because they believe in God they will operate in our best interests better than anyone else. (that just is not true as we have seen) The very same politicians who claim the name of Jesus Christ have lied to us on many issues and have apparently not allowed basic moral disciplines of the faith to guide their actions. I believe what I see from mankind over what I hear from the mouth of human beings. I wish Christians would wake up, just because someone professes Jesus Christ as Lord does not necessarily mean they are truly His. We are to test the words by the fruit of their actions. I can support a president who has good judgment but may not be a Christian over a Christian president who does not have good judgment. That president is not in charge of my spiritual well-being, but he is supposed to be in charge of my physical well-being as a citizen of the U.S.

Holly, I continue to be appalled at the self-induced ignorance of American history on all sides. Your comments are right on. You might like to look at our religion page coming up on Feb. 16, which deals with the question of the Founding Fathers and Faith as well as current challenges to that First Amendment from both sides. You may access it Feb. 16 at lubbockonline.com. The religion cover is in the Living section.

Let's go one step farther. What about God-Fearing, Blood-bought, Spirit-Filled Christians(mainly laity) getting out of the pew and into the public arena. I am a member of an Assembly of God at Delphi, Indiana who serves on the Board of three local organizations there--one historic, one civic, and the third centered on cancer as a disease. I happen to be a part of these groups because I feel that Christ cares about ALL sectors of humanity, and not just about the CHURCH.
My version of John 3:16 is that Jesus came for all the world, and not just part of it. That is my reason for being involved in the public sector. There are lots of areas which the church has surrendered to non-or nominal-believers because they have remained in their comfortable buildings and not served the community in which they are situated.

Hi there,
i've been praying for Jesus Christ to come to america for more than 15 years now. i fasted and prayed for this country for the last 7 years hoping you will someday realise that the God is to be included in all aspects of our life especially government. Finally America has begun to understand the foundation it lays on - In God We Trust.

America's children need protection, not to be sent off to wars to die. Its about time faith came to america. Its time to take responsibility and start prayer meetings in schools where killing is commonplace.

Don't you love your children, America?

America for Christ and Peace
Also, please look at the muslims with consideration. They share the same Bible and no matter their sins, they dont carry guns.

Why did America condemn the Muslims on a Christian platform and now refuse to confront it?

Thou shall not kill. which means build schools and hospitals like britain did, not create wars.

America needs honest christian mom and dad who are willing to pray for the end this violence. It's time to be brave and stand up for what we believe in, a peaceful, Godly world.

Thank You.
Malaysia.

Great article! I agree that having a godly president would be wonderful and what our foundering fathers started. My fear is that, based on past actions of some of those running, these people are claiming something they may not truly be just to get into office. Sadly, anyone can claim to be a godly Christian but till you are living a godly life and setting a godly example you are being honest with God, yourself, or anyone else. So here all we can do is pray for God's guidance and knowledge as to whom to vote for because He is truly the only one that knows the truth and whats best for His people.

Crystal, Shame on you, beliver, for accepting and propagating an emailed lie about someone. I'm not saying I'm voting for Obama, but the comment about swearing in using the Koran has been widely discredited by both liberal and conservative media. Obama, like McCain, Clinton, Paul and Huckabee, is a professing Christian. Stand for the truth, please, and help set us all free.

Holly, your point is well taken. Of course we need to know where our candidates stand on the subject of faith. However, in the light of our current political process, with the wide-spread attempts to pander to various special interests (I'm stopping short of calling it lying to get elected) it would indeed be wise for Christians of all walks to seek legitimate investigative reporting about the faith backgrounds of all major candidates. That's how it used to be done--Christian magazines and other outlets would check into the canditates backgrounds and report on their faith journeys and failings both.

Jimmy Carter did not talk about his faith much in his campaign (the first campaign I'm old enough to remember). Rather, Jimmy let the media do their research and show us what this peanut farmer stood for--still stands for, I might add.

Reagan did talk about faith, but his Hollywood divorce and treatment of his family spoke loudly about how much his faith actually functioned in his life.

Bill Clinton didn't push his faith all that much, but I remember being impressed by an outside article discussing how he and Hillary had continued to go to different churches after their marriage because of their strongly held theological principles--it didn't get him my vote, but it gave me something to think about. When we let the media do it's expository job, we're all strengthened.

Both of the Bushes have been outspoken about their Christianity, but the words haven't always matched up with the actions. I've been living on the mission field in a predominantly muslim culture for a large chunk of GW Bush's presidency, and I can't count the number of times I've had to explain that his actions don't reflect Americans or Christianity as a whole.

I could write an entire blog on this, but I'll stop here. Holly, it's a wake up call to stop patently accepting whatever comeso out of a politician's mouth, no matter how attractive it is. Let us be wise in our consumption of information, friends. They will know we are Christians by our love, not by our politics.

Nan in Papua, Indonesia

Holly:

I completely understand your point and I agree that once faith is established, there must be additional research, including, but not limited to a candidate's stand on abortion and gay marriage. These are just some of the additional areas of concern that the faithful should have. However, I also know that everyone that cries Lord Lord will not enter in. So, as we select a candidate, it’s even more important that, though the candidates faith should not be the end all of our decision making process, our own faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, must sustain us. Outside of that faith, man would be a fool to put his trust in any politician, whether democrat, republican, independent, green party, etc. Special interest groups, lobbyists, and the money men drive the political process, so unless you are one of those entities, you better have your hope in things eternal!

I one studies the issues alone, Alan Keyes has the platform that best represents American values and the constitution.