"Sojourners in the news" articles are from our archive of news clippings that mention Sojourners in any way - whether favorably or unfavorably. Though we provide the text on our site for your convenience, we do not necessarily endorse the views of these articles or their source publications.
Having Faith and Talking Politics
John McCann Herald-Sun (N.C.)7-05-2006
Depending on one's take on Osama bin Laden and weapons of mass destruction, what you celebrated Tuesday while partaking of hot dogs and fireworks meant different things to different people.
Some would argue that there'd have been no Fourth of July from 2002 onward if President Bush hadn't declared war on Iraq -- the terrorists would have made sure of that.
But others might suggest a redefining of Independence Day, because while it's our habit to have our soldiers take the war to foreign lands, don't mistake the absence of tanks on American soil with the notion that there's no battle going on right here.
Durham's Tom Hadzor and his wife, Susan Ross, would tell you this so-called land of the free is anything but when the president calls for tax cuts while millions of Americans go without health insurance, or just plain don't have jobs, period.
Hadzor and Ross are part of a national movement called "State of Our Values," sponsored by both Sojourners, which takes a biblical approach to social justice, and Call to Renewal, a faith-based organization intent on overcoming poverty.
In other words, while Bush and his crew got votes by moralizing against homosexuality and abortion, folks in this country still were starving. But the Bible also talks about helping those very hungry people and widows and orphans.
Which begs this question: Would God be OK with an atheist in the White House who actually delivered a chicken in every pot?
At the end of the day, God is sovereign, whether the U.S. president is Billy Graham or Hugh Hefner. But He does allow us humans, shall we say, to manipulate the pieces on the chessboard.
Granted, we've chosen to turn freewill into politics, and sometimes that's the politics of faith. And Hadzor isn't ready to impeach Bush. But he does take exception to the president's people having so tailored their message to where there's the underlying belief that to be Christian is to be Republican.
"Christians don't solely belong to the Republican Party," Hadzor said.
Illinois Sen. Barak Obama and other Democrats have been preaching that sermon lately. When you think about it, former vice presidential candidate John Edwards was talking about all the social justice stuff Hadzor and his wife hold dear. It's just that Edwards wasn't on the campaign trail couching it in terms of faith.
And maybe that's to Edwards' credit, because anybody can claim to be a Christian and appeal to other believers for the sake of a vote. At the same time, a politician shouldn't hide his faith thinking it'd cost him one.
See, faith neither qualifies nor disqualifies someone from being president of the United States. But let's agree that no one person truly is qualified to lead so many people, so faith really ought to have a place in politics.
And what Hadzor is forcing us to wrestle with is whether Christian voters must speak with one voice.
"I disagree with the president on a lot of things," said Hadzor, 51, a Democrat -- and Christian -- who did not vote for Bush. "But would I pray for him? Absolutely."
If you -- like me -- are one of those Christians who saw some sort of messiah in Bush and voted for the man because he said he was saved, Hadzor's homily should make us feel less like Simon Peter when the person sitting next to us in church says we're traitors for giving our vote to the devil.
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