While doing some research for a paper, I came across
this article, by John Blake. It's all about "Why a President's Faith May Not Matter." But, if you read it with the right worldview, it really proves why a presidents faith
does matter. And matters so, so much.
First of all, I want to look at the presidents he was mistaken about...
Abraham Lincoln:
Blake says one of the nations most popular presidents, Abraham Lincoln, was not a Christian. And for most of his presidency, he wasn't. He admitted it himself.
But, things changed. Here's a quote you won't find in most History textbooks today, "When I left Springfield I asked the people to pray for me. I was not a Christian. When I buried my son, the severest trial of my life, I was not a Christian. But when I went to Gettysburg and saw the graves of thousands of our soldiers, I then and there consecrated myself to Christ. Yes, I do love Jesus.” It was after this transformation took place in Lincoln that he signed the Emancipation
Proclamation. It was after Gettysburg that he did most of the work to free the slaves
and give equal rights to blacks. But many people, including Blake, will take a quote from Lincoln's early life when he openly admits he was not a Christian and use it as evidence that he was never a Christian.
George Washington:
Blake says,
"Washington, the nation’s first president, was not a Christian but most likely a Deist." I'm not sure where he got this, other than all the liberals stuffing it down our faces that none of the Founding Fathers were Christians. I'll let GW answer this one for himself.
From prayers that George Washington prayed:
"Most gracious Lord God, whose dwelling place is in the highest heavens, and yet beholdest the lowly and humble upon earth, I blush and am ashamed to lift mine eyes unto thy dwelling place, because I have sinned against thee."
"Holy and eternal Lord God who art the King of heaven...therefore will I call on thee as long as I live, from the rising of the sun to the going down of the same let thy name be praised."
"Oh most glorious God in Jesus Christ, my merciful and loving Father...increase my faith, and direct me to the true object Jesus Christ the way, the truth and the life."
From George Washington's Farewell Address:
"Of all the dispositions and habits which lead to political prosperity, religion and morality are indispensable supports...reason and experience both forbid us to expect that national morality can prevail in exclusion of religious principle."
Study George Washington's life from somebody who tells it like it is, and it'll be hard to find any sliver of evidence that he was not a Christian.
Barack Obama:
Well, this article claims he's a Christian. Obama has publicly made statements in support of same-sex marriage and abortion. I cannot reconcile that with what the Bible says. Also, Obama has not lead America in a way that is consistent with the biblical form of government and in a way that would coincide with a Christian worldview.
Now of course, neither I or John Blake are in the position to determine who is a Christian and who isn't, but I think you can look at the way a president governs and gather evidence that leads you to lean one way or the other.
Blake lists a few presidents and says why their faith didn't have an effect on the way they governed. But, here's my take on it....
George W. Bush:
Blake quoted Darrin Grinder, author of "The Presidents and Their Faith." Grinder answered the question "Does a president's religious faith make any difference in the way they govern?" by saying, "I don't think so. If I asked George W. Bush what he thought about torture, I think outside the presidency he would say he hates it. But he'd do it for the country if he thinks it's right in terms of American security."
But, I think, what Blake and Grinder fail to notice is this is just the reason why Bush's faith does matter. Government officials are appointed by God and have certain duties to perform. Romans 13:1 and 4 says, "Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God... For he [the one in authority] is God's servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword in vain. For he is the servant of God, an avenger who carries out God's wrath on the wrongdoer." And looking through the Old Testament, it is obvious that God views the role of a governing authority differently from that of an individual. Crimes like murder and theft must be punished, but not by an individual, rather by the governing authorities whom God has placed in the position to carry out His wrath.
Which is why apart from the presidency, George W. Bush would most certainly be against the tactics he used in the White House. As an individual human being he has no authority whatsoever to water board. But, as the American President he has been appointed by God to protect his country.
Franklin D. Roosevelt:
Blake suggests that it was not his faith, but his physical disabilities that drove Franklin to care so much for people. Eleanor Roosevelt said his sickness "made him more sensitive to the feelings of people." That certainly sounds like a Christian, doesn't it? I mean, aren't we called to put others above ourselves? What about "love your neighbors as yourself"? That sounds like what Roosevelt did with all his government programs designed to relieve the hunger and poverty stricken families of the Great Depression.
But once again, let's look at the Biblical role of government. In the Bible, individuals are given certain roles, and then the government is given certain roles. It's important to know the difference. We, each individual person is called to help the distressed. The government is never told to this. (Or at least, I've never seen that command anywhere. If I'm wrong, tell me.) So while FDR's efforts to relieve the poor and feed the hungry are good tasks for individual's to perform, it's not, from a Biblical (or Constitutional) perspective, a job for the government.
Thomas Jefferson:
I'm getting real tired of hearing he argued for the separation of church and state. He did. It's true, but
not in the way the secular world wants you to think he did. Here's a link to
Jefferson's letter to the Danbury Baptist. This letter is where the phrase "a wall of separation between church and state" originated. Go read it, it's not long, and you'll see that Jefferson is assuring the Danbury Baptist that the government will not interfere with their religious practices. It's
not saying that anything remotely related to the government can't have anything to do with anything remotely related to religion. And by the way, the words "separation of church and state" do not appear
anywhere in the Constitution.
But let's just say Jefferson is everything the article says he is (which is basically a pagan and Christian hater). Even this means that his faith, or lack thereof,
does effect the way he governs. They said he wanted to go around the country and burn family bibles. If this is true,
then his repugnance towards Christianity--his own religion of secularism--had a major impact on the way he governed. People so often make the mistake of thinking secularism is not a religion, when in reality a lack of religion is a religion in itself.
If you are a Christian, you realize that "all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." (Romans 3:32) Therefore we realize that too much power in the hands of man is a bad combination. Even the "good" programs aren't really good. It is not the job of the government to come in and fix everything. FDR, Lyndon Johnson, Barack Obama--all these presidents that have instituted programs designed to help people out have stretched the bounds of the government farther than the Bible (and the Constitution) say they should be stretched.
Don't be fooled to think that a lack of religion doesn't affect things too. A lack of the understanding of the depravity of man will impact the way you see the role of government. If you fail to realize the sinfulness of man, and fail to realize the providence of God, then government will turn into an ultimate "fixer." People will turn to the government instead of God, and that's a scary thing.
As a Christian, you also realize that God has laid out in his word different jobs for different roles. Christians are called to serve others, feed the poor, and turn the other cheek, but these commands are never given to any form of government. The differing roles of individual versus government official is hard to distinguish unless you come at it from a Christian perspective.
A clear understanding of these principles will most definitely effect the way an official governs. A
lack of understanding will effect it too.
See, worldview matters. Like, a lot. And if you understand the biblical role of the government, and if you understand that man is sinful, then you are going to look at things vastly different. This is why faith, or even the lack thereof, is such an important part of anyones life. It effects the way we live our lives and treat the people around us, and it especially impacts the way a government official will lead the country. Don't be fooled by CNN and fellas like John Blake and Darrin Grinder who want you to believe faith doesn't matter. It does.
