I have a request of all our pontificating politicians: Leave God and me alone to work out our relationship.
I consider myself a religious person, but I don’t wear my faith on my sleeve or preach to my neighbors. I have a “comfortable” relationship with the Good Lord. But it’s personal. It’s private. And I want to keep it that way. Political battles are not going to lead any of us to salvation, but that message seems to be lost on Republican and Democratic politicians alike.
American politicians today are saturating their rhetoric with religious references for the purpose of bolstering a particular political point of view. According to a recent Pew Research poll, some 60% of evangelical Christians support the use of torture against suspected terrorists. Among regular, once-a-week churchgoers, the approval rate is 54%. And according to a recent Rasmussen poll, 55% of Americans think hate is growing in this country. What gives? Why have so many mixed their political rhetoric with their religious beliefs?
In many instances, Christians point to the New Testament as the source for their beliefs on numerous public issues. Whatever happened to “Render unto Caesar the things which are Caesar’s, and unto God the things that are God’s” (Matthew 22:21)?
I’m a Thomas Jefferson fan and can make a compelling argument that he was America’s most outstanding president. Jefferson was surprisingly private concerning his religious beliefs, but he was a professed Christian and studied the Bible extensively. His personal Bible is currently on display at the National Museum of American History in Washington, D.C. What is unique about it is that it has been carefully razor-cut, with a series of small sections missing. Jefferson cut out what he believed to be the actual teachings of Jesus and pasted them into a slimmer, different New Testament.
Jefferson made clear his purpose: “We must reduce our volume to the simple evangelists, select, even from them, the very words only of Jesus.” He hoped to end up with “the most sublime and benevolent code of morals which had ever been offered to man.” In his fine-tuning of the biblical passages, Jefferson discovered the simple Jesus that so many with political agendas either have missed or purposely ignore.
Jefferson’s premise was simple. Why does religion have to be made so complicated? If one is a Christian, doesn’t it all boil down to two things — the only two — belief in a Supreme Being and doing good works? That’s it. That should be what faith is all about and nothing more.
Such faith is the same foundation not only for Christians, but for Jews and Muslims alike — the simple acts of believing in a Supreme Being and helping those in need. But too often, internal strife within many denominations continues to divert attention from these two basic principles.
Andrew Sullivan, writing in the London Sunday Times, laments that politics and religion, like oil and water, do not mix well. He wonders if many religious denominations are straying from their basic goals. “The saints, after all, became known as saints not because of their success in fighting political battles, or winning a few news cycles, or funding an anti-abortion super PAC. They were saints purely and simply because of the way they lived.”
And this, of course, was Jefferson’s deeply American insight: “No man can conform his faith to the dictates of another. The life and essence of religion consists in the internal persuasion or belief of the mind.”
Remember the Waylon Jennings song “Luckenbach, Texas”? The key line is, “Maybe it’s time to get back to the basics of life.” No one is going to find salvation by carrying on political battles. There is nothing wrong with picking a good political fight and going to the mat for a worthy cause, philosophy or a candidate. But the effort should be secular.
When the political smoke clears, winners can crow and losers can lick their wounds. Then it’s time for both sides to get back to the basics.
The simple obligation of acceptance and commitment. Believing in a higher being and offering a helping hand. Why do we make it all so complicated?
Peace and Justice Jim Brown
Jim Brown’s syndicated column appears each week in numerous newspapers throughout the nation and on websites worldwide. Readers can find past columns and updates at http:// www. jimbrownla.com. Books by Jim Brown and others are available at http:// www.thelisburnpress.com
