Last weekend, Republican presidential hopefuls and other conservative leaders gathered for an event hosted by Ralph Reed's Faith & Freedom Coalition (FFC) in Washington, D.C. (the photo is one I took of Reed at the 2011 FFC conference). In earlier posts I have noted the role this group played in the last presidential cycle (amp;here and here) and how Reed has used the group to mount his political comeback (here). I also attended the 2011 version of the FFC's conference and wrote articles for Ethics Daily (here, here, and here). Thus, it should be no surprise that in our age of confessional politics , Republican presidential hopefuls once again head to the conference in hopes of finding political salvation. Among the rumored 2016 presidential candidates who addressed the group: Jeb Bush, Ted Cruz, Rand Paul, Rick Perry, Senator Marco Rubio, Paul Ryan, and Rick Santorum. That all of these potential candidates made the pilgrimage shows the importance of Reed and other conservative Christians leaders in contemporary politics. The politicians worked to show off their knowledge of faith as they peppered their speeches with biblical references, although they did not always do so to support the same policies. Senator Rand Paul urged the U.S. to stop supporting Muslim nations where Christians are persecuted. He explained:

It's clear that American taxpayer dollars are being used in a war against Christianity. These countries are not our allies, and no amount of money is going to make them so.

He borrowed the "war on Christianity" language that conservatives often use to describe their situation in the U.S. (which seems like petty whining compared to Christians in other nations like the ones Paul references). Taking a different approach, Senator Marco Rubio argued that the U.S. cannot withdraw from the world because the U.S. the "salt of the earth." Rubio's rhetoric is interesting because while it gives a nod to Christians by using biblical language, it is actually blasphemy by replacing God's Kingdom with the U.S. Yet, such references are used to prove that Rubio is a good Christian because he can use biblical allusions. 

Joining the potential 2016 presidential candidates with prime billing at the conference were conservatives whose political stars quickly faded (and thus probably do not represent the future of the Republican Party), including Sarah Palin and Herman Cain. The two offered their typical partisan quips that come include little political or religious substance. The FFC also featured Donald Trump - as they did in 2011 - to offer his political rantings (because they clearly did not invite him to talk about religious devotion or wholesome living). And if the rest of the lineup did not make it obvious that Reed's group is more about preaching the Republican gospel than it is about uplifting Christian beliefs, they also included Mark Sanford among the speakers. Although Sanford recently made a political comeback (see post here), apparently the crowd at Reed's event did not share Reed's enthusiasm for the man now best known for his affair than his political positions. But what did the crowd expect? The event is designed to support any conservative Republican regardless of their faithfulness and attack any liberal Democrat regardless of their faithfulness. One should not let the word "faith" in Reed's organization be distracting; it must mean faith in the almighty elephant, not the divine. Overall, the FFC event seems to have been about par for the group as they mix religion and politics for political purposes.

Super Christ?

The new Superman movie soared at the box office over the weekend. I have not seen it since I generally only watch movies as a cheap/free Redbox rental or a free TV viewing. Yet, CNN posted a couple of articles about how the movie portrays Superman as a Christ figure. One article features comments by director Zack Snyder on why he decided to make the Christ-like parallels in the movie. Another article notes how the studio is marketing the film to churches, hoping pastors will use the Christ-like parallels in sermons (and, of course, therefore provide more buzz for the film that will increase ticket sales). The use of a Christ-like figure is nothing new in literature or movies, as in John Steinbeck's The Grapes of Wrath, C.S. Lewis's The Chronicles of Narnia, Steven Spielberg's E.T., and many more. Such fictitious ways of considering Jesus can bring a fresh perspective, perhaps even helping some people appreciate the old story in a new way. The divine cannot be completely captured within any one humanly-created image, but each of these may help highlight some aspect of Jesus. The danger, however, is that they may also add some nuance to the Christ figure that we should not bring to our reading of Jesus. My friend - and movie aficionado - J.R. Forasteros already watched the new Superman movie and tackled the problematic way Superman is featured as he turns to evil ways to defeat evil (which is quite different from how he outsmarted the same villain in the classic Christopher Reeve version of the story that I enjoyed watching repeatedly as a child). A violent Christ figure who defeats evil with evil may not give us quite the right focus. Additionally, I fear that it might not be helpful to focus so much on Jesus being like some superhero from another planet. After all, Jesus did not just come down to Earth, but he became a real person. Let us not make him so superly divine that we make him alien.

A Parable

Yesterday, I preached in the Sanctuary Fellowship service at Harrisonburg Mennonite Church. The sermon, titled "A Parable," was on 2 Samuel 12:1-10 (which is where Nathan the prophet rebukes King David with a story). You can listen to the sermon here (other than the opening few seconds).

Two Books

I recently read two books that cite my Ethics Daily news articles about a key 1980 religious-political rally in Houston (that I wrote for the 30th anniversary of the rally in 2010). The first one is God's Right Hand: How Jerry Falwell Made God a Republican and Baptized the American Right, which cites my article about evangelist Bailey Smith claiming at the rally that God does not hear the prayers of Jews. This books is well-researched and well-written. The author, a journalist who has written for religious and mainstream publications, provides a balanced view of Falwell as he both notes when Falwell lied or made mistakes and when Falwell's critics falsely attacked him. The book demonstrates that regardless what one may think of Falwell, he clearly impacted religion and politics in the latter part of the 20th Century. The book also paints a strong picture of how problematic it can be for preachers to morph into politicians. The second book is A Thorn in the Flesh: How Gay Sexuality is Changing the Episcopal Church, which cites my article that noted remarks at the rally by then-presidential candidate Ronald Reagan (and that featured my first interview with evangelist James Robison). The book does a good job of merging scholarly concepts into a style friendly to non-academics, and should be of particular interest to Episcopalians. The book clearly comes with an agenda as it critiques the conservative movement that attempted to block the Episcopal Church's efforts to become a welcoming and affirming body.

            

Mennonite in Homeland Security

A couple of months ago, I attended a talk by David Myers, Director of the Department of Homeland Security's Center for Faith-based & Neighborhood Partnerships, at Eastern Mennonite University (EMU). In his presentation, titled "Losing my Faith, Gaining my Religion: A Mennonite Minister in the Belly of the Beast," he spoke about how his Mennonite background prepared him to serve in the Department of Homeland Security (the photo is one I took of him during that talk). It was an interesting presentation that offers some unique and provocative ideas for thinking about the connections between faith and public service. For some background, Myers has been profiled in The Mennonite (here) and Mennonite World Review (here). You can watch a video of much of his talks at EMU here.

Richard Land Exits SBC Leadership in Partisan Form

Ethics Daily ran my latest article today, which is titled "Richard Land Exits SBC Leadership in Partisan Form." It covers remarks by Land and a tribute video about him from this week's Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) annual meeting. Also included in the piece are comments by Land's successor at the SBC's Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission, Russell Moore. The comments from Moore not only provide a contrast in tone from Land, but offer some important insights for thinking about religion and politics.

Partisan Politics in the Pulpit?

On Monday night, pastor-turned-politician Mike Huckabee seemed to be confusing his two professions (the photo is one I took of him during the 2008 presidential campaign, with a Christian flag in the background on his political stage). Speaking at the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) Pastors' Conference that is held in conjunction with the SBC's annual meeting, Huckabee urged pastors to consider giving up the tax-exempt status of their churches and institutions in order to preach politics. A former Southern Baptist pastor himself, Huckabee should know better. During his "sermon," the Fox News host declared:

The recent revelations that the Internal Revenue Service has been targeting people of faith - people who are conservative, people who are pro-Israel - and have been picking out the parts of belief and speech and faith that government seems to approve and that which it doesn't approve has brought up a very important reality that I think, sooner or later, as believers, we need to confront. ... You may not clap real loud for this, but at least hear me out and think about it and pray about it. ... I think we need to recognize that it may be time to quit worrying so much about the tax code and start thinking more about the truth of the living God, and if it means that we give up tax-exempt status and tax deductions for charitable contributions, I choose freedom more than I choose a deduction that the government gives me permission to say what God wants me to say.

Huckabee added that church may need to say to the government:

"Keep your deductions. Keep the exemptions. We stand more faithful with what God would have us to say, and we choose our freedom more than our financial benefit."

Huckabee's comments are problematic for a couple of reasons. First, pastors are actually allowed to talk about issues from the pulpit without endangering a church's tax-exempt status. What the pastors cannot do is make partisan endorsements in campaigns. So there is nothing in the IRS code stopping the prophetic, just the partisan. Second, churches must not become partisan tools of politicians. What Huckabee is encouraging is for churches to abandon their spiritual, prophetic birthright for a mess of partisan pottage. I critique this attitude in my books For God's Sake, Shut Up! and Presidential Campaign Rhetoric in an Age of Confessional Politics. To his credit, Huckabee claimed he was not trying to put politics in the pulpit:

I would never suggest, ever, that you would turn your pulpit into some political podium. But I would urge that the pulpit would be a powerful, prophetic and purposeful punch in the gut to a culture that is ungodly and unholy.

By "political podium" he probably means "partisan podium" as those two terms are too often used synonymously. Prophetically speaking out on cultural issues would be inherently political, but not necessarily partisan. But his disclaimer here does not make sense since pastors can already speak out in that manner without needing to give up tax-exempt status. The only reason to give up the tax-exempt status would be to become even more political in a partisan manner.  

Huckabee also made an odd comment during his remarks. Although apparently attempting to show he could criticize both parties, the former Republican governor and presidential candidate instead sounded a bit of a messianic tone. Huckabee declared:

Well, I've got a news flash for the GOP: I plan to take my last ride in life on a white horse, not on an elephant and not on a donkey. And I will stick with the word of God. And if the party, any party, goes a different way, I stick with Jesus. I believe he is forever.

Apparently Huckabee sees himself as a member of the heavenly army mentioned in Revelation. That may be so, but until then it might be good to call off the crusade and not drive people away with partisan pulpits. Interestingly, the day before Huckabee's remarks, the Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) held its sixth annual "Pulpit Freedom Day." This is a day when pastors are encouraged to deliberately violate the IRS tax-exempt rules and endorse a partisan candidate (I have critiqued this effort in previous years in blog posts here and here). This year, however, the ADF apparently showed they do not understand the tax code and merely urged pastors to speak about moral topics instead of endorse candidates. But that is allowed under tax-exempt rules. Not sure why the ADF pulled its punch this year, but it is good that they were not encouraging partisan endorsements (although it is unfortunate they were misleading people about the nature of the tax rules). The ADF's efforts and Huckabee's comments demonstrate that confusion exists about what pastors can say politically. And these two examples unfortunately show that confessional politics remains alive.