I would love to begin this article by asking for all the faithful Christians to vote for the Jesus candidate come Nov. 6. Such rhetoric is certainly nothing new in our religiously-charged culture and I have heard many pastors, despite laws forbidding such practice, proclaim just that from local pulpits across my town while attaching these appeals to their candidate of choice. Not only does the call to “vote for Jesus” remind me of the cheesy T-shirts in Napoleon Dynamite to “vote for Pedro,” it is time we all acknowledge that this is impossible and, quite frankly, an irresponsible use of Jesus’ ethical teaching.
By now, we have watched countless debates, seen our intersections littered with signs and been assaulted with angry campaign ads while trying to watch our favorite television programs. For many of us, we have also witnessed too many arguments between friends on social media outlets and been subject to ridiculous fact and figure charts which rarely add up to reality. Needless to say, for the rational-minded American Christian, we’re just about tapped out politically speaking, so you must understand my cynicism when I hear religion, morality and Jesus brought into what has felt like each and every discussion regarding the upcoming election.
Alex Gallimore
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It is my prayer therefore that this article will serve as a last-ditch effort to remind all of us the religious realities present in the 2012 campaigns and communicate that it just isn’t as cut and dry as we like to pretend.
An issue I am trying to remind many is that there really isn’t a truly “Christian” candidate in the race, at least, not “Christian” in the “all Christians believe the same thing” understanding. No, that is not a subtle stab at Romney’s Mormonism or the myths around Barack Obama being Muslim (which are indeed myths). Both candidates have claimed a connection to Jesus in their personal faith and have both chosen Roman Catholic running mates.
Every politician involved in the race is a Christian ecumenically speaking, have all been influenced by prominent members of the Christian community and have made appeals to Christian Scripture. They are all our Christian brothers, but not one of them practices their faith according to the same tradition as most Baptists, be they mainline or evangelical.
As a Baptist absolutely obsessed with religious liberty, I personally found the lack of a stereotypical Protestant candidate for the first time in American history to be refreshing and, at first, I was even a bit hopeful that this might reduce the mentions of religion in campaign discourse. Sadly, I was mistaken and have found this race to be just as religiously-infused as any other.
Ironically, while there is not a single evangelical Protestant involved in the race, faithful members of these camps are campaigning as if this election will have significant eschatological repercussions. This is the most important election in our history, or at least we have been told, so we must make sure we vote for the most Christ-like and biblical candidate.
However, if Jesus were a legitimate candidate in this race, Americans, including most Christians I know, probably would not vote for him. Humanity had the chance to choose the King of Kings once before and it ended with him executed as a religio-political enemy of the state. Jesus was, if we read the texts about him responsibly, a radical, anti-government, communitarian pacifist who taught us to lay down our lives for others and to turn the other cheek. This troublemaker wanted us to sell all that we had and give to the poor while assuring us that it was better to give than receive. For Jesus, it was the poor and oppressed who were truly the most blessed among us and not the CEOs or politicians. He was certain that the children of God would be known as those who make peace with all people. Jesus even called us to give to Caesar whatever Caesar says is Caesar’s, and this was way before Caesar used that money to provide healthcare for the masses and aid for the impoverished, elderly, handicapped, unemployed and even the starving children of the world.
So if you vote, please don’t say you are voting for Jesus, because you are not. Jesus isn’t allowed in this race. We kicked him out long ago. There are issues on the Republican and Democratic platforms which agree with the politics of Jesus and those which are contrary to Christ. As his followers who participate in the political process, our call is to use our God-given reason and conscience when electing our national leaders without discrediting and distorting Jesus’ message by attaching to it issues he just doesn’t care about.
Alex Gallimore ([email protected]) is pastor of Hester Baptist Church in Oxford, N.C.