Wither the Bible in Liberalism...?

After the election last November, many Democrats were left feeling discouraged -- wringing their hands and cursing God, because they had cursed God... Another election lost.


After the November 2, 2004 election, those of us who are Christian and left of center politically, were left to stand and stare in disbelief as more secularist Democrats feign being shocked at how religion shaped the outcome of the election. One thing some Democrats should remember is that though you can try to separate religion and politics into private and public spheres -- with the two hopefully never meeting -- a voter's religious impulses cannot be purged from affecting his or her vote. Our actions are driven by the core of who we are, and religious beliefs often come into play.


For myself, I have a faith firmly rooted in the Bible: the witness of the prophets, the ministry of Jesus (that includes life, teachings as well as death and resurrection, Mr. Gibson), as well as the writings of Paul and other epistles. I have to agree with Jim Wallis and Sojourner magazine's campaign that "God is not a Republican... or a Democrat." There are parts of the Bible that could easily point in either direction; but as the Hebrew people remind us, God is ultimately unknowable, and is not to be constrained by our fabricated categories.

If the Democrats want to "get it" about religion and politics, it's going to have to start with just more than talking about it. Might I start with recommending the Bible; though I like the whole book, Genesis, Job, Psalms, Isaiah, Amos, Micah, the Gospels, Romans and James are good places to start. I might also suggest that the Democrats re-read their history books, and recall how the struggle to end slavery was waged by clergy, and how suffrage had deep religious roots. Does the title "reverend" in Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. mean anything? What about the Social Gospel in the 19th century, or even the Liberation theologies of the 20th century?

As a deeply religious person, I am often compelled to vote Democrat. As reminds his followers, the two greatest commandments are: love God with your whole being, and love your neighbor as yourself. Jesus may be beyond the labels of Democrat and Republican, but it seems the actions of the Republicans these days are not neighborly; can the Democrats get that?