Thursday, February 26th, 2015
Baton Rouge, Louisiana
LIKE OIL AND WATER RELIGION AND POLITICIANS DON’T MIX!
I guess the good Lord has to put up with politicians. Nary a week goes by when some governor or other political type is holding a prayer rally and declaring that the ills of the nation can be cured by America being “born again” through embracing a Christian evangelical fervor. So the question is, do the Gospels need politicians?
Texas Governor Rick Perry seized the mantel of political-religious activism last month when he co-sponsored a prayer rally in Houston that reportedly attracted some 30 thousand fundamentalist Christians. “Our agenda is a salvation agenda,” he told an admiring crowd. Perry put aside any constitutional concerns over separation of church and state making it a governor’s certified state sponsored rally, using his official Website, stationary and other resources in the promotion.
Not to be outdone, Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal led a similar rally at LSU’s basketball arena, calling for a national spiritual revival and telling the crowd that “our God wins.” I guess I’m okay with such a victory as long as everyone shares the same God. But what if the rally was not evangelical in flavor, but was sponsored by the governor in support of Mormonism (who believe they are the only true form of the Christian religion), Unitarianism, (that perceives Christ as human, rather than divine), Hindu (Jindal’s parents were Hindu), or even, pray tell, Islam? Would you be okay with a governor sponsoring a prayer meeting dominated by another faith?
The test is not what religious beliefs a politician accepts in private life. But when that same politician organizes and leads a religious rally in a public capacity, has he or she crossed the line into public endorsement? And if so, is that the job of a governor in his or her public capacity to validate particular religious beliefs? Continue Reading………….