God and American Politics

H

huisache

2,500+ Posts
The matter of God advising politicians to run for office came up on another thread and, not wanting to highjack it further, I thought I would start another.

I don't think God tells politicians to run for anything. This is in part because I have doubts about His existance. Or Hers, should that be the case.

But also, I don't see a lot of evidence of God's involvement in matters of state, more particularly in matters of war. I prefer the idea that God, assuming His existance, just cranked the broken toy that is our universe up and put it on the floor and let her rip. If He has a sense of humor, maybe He comes back now and then and feeds the kid some booze for the laughs provided when the kid stumbles around breaking things.

But here is my question: Lots of pols have suggested they are running on God's advice---some are running against each other.

How would we be able to tell which ones are telling the truth and which ones are either lying or delusional? When I think of godly people, I think of Mother Teresa or Francis of Asissi, not this pack of feral monsters we elect to public office.

So how do we tell, or do we just assume they are all lying?
 
There are generally three things I NEVER let myself discuss...one's choice of a spouse, one's religious preference, and one's choice of political affiliation. Those three things are guaranteed to lead to an argument that can't be won.

I will answer the question this way...if a politician's lips are moving, he's telling a lie, and you shouldn't believe him. As for God's involvement in politics, I'd imagine God has much bigger fish to fry than what goes on down here on this piddly planet.

I grew up an old dixiecrat, but these days, I don't see much difference in either political party. The democrats have continued their drift way too far to the left for me to be comfortable, while the republicans have sold their soul to the tea party and the religious right...speaking of which, they're not very religious, and rarely right. There is an "us against them" attitude over at the state Capitol, and in Washington. The two parties refuse to cooperate on any measures introduced by the opposite party, whether or not it's good for Texas or the country. The two parties won't even talk to each other...they're only good at talking AT each other. I get the feeling members of each party would like to get members of the opposing party arrested for their political beliefs.

God and politics makes good sense in the red states I guess. The voters delude themselves into thinking they're doing God's work by voting for whoever beats the Bible the best, and most. The electees, after they get caught with their hand in the cookie jar, or themselves with somebody else's wife, can claim the devil made them do it, and beg forgiveness in the name of the Lord.

The last thing anybody needs to know about modern Texas and American politics...do NOT expect any statesmen, any common sense, or any votes for the common people. Virtually everyone in our state and federal legislative branches has been bought and sold in the name of special interests, and there's no door number three behind which is someone to represent the middle class. If you are a member of the middle class, as I am, you should know that both the state and federal governments have decided that you will tote the bill for the poor...and the rich. It's not gonna change...no matter who gets elected.
 
Every person, whether they are a politician or a pilot, a scientist or a social worker, has beliefs and values. There are many beliefs and value systems, of course, but many are based on a religious faith/persuasion.

People have a tendency to favor others who believe the same things (duh). Gays obviously favor candidates who support gay marriage, while evangelical Christians are likely to support candidates who oppose it. It's fairly straightforward IMO, although there is always the issue of candidates pandering to a group out of political expediency rather than true shared beliefs.

In terms of God advising politicians to run for office, that's obviously a personal thing that no one else can be privy to. We all hear different voices in our head and heart, and while it may reflect our own wishful thinking, I do believe are times when an almighty God does speak to a person.
 
Very well stated, coolhorn.

huisache, don’t you find it interesting that the will of god usually corresponds pretty closely to the will of the believer—especially as it tends to confer power or some other material benefit. What we often find bound up with “faith” is that one’s cause is also god’s cause.
 
I think anyone who believes (or at least almost anyone who believes) wants to try to live their life according to his or her understanding of God's will. Believers who happen to be politicians are no different. There's certainly a difference between trying to live out God's will as best you understand it, on one hand, and claiming that God told you to run for office, on the other. Plenty of politicians fall into the first category, who are being quite sincere, I'm sure; not too many fall into the second. That distinction is lost on the original poster, in whose interest it is to blur the line between authentic faith and apparent faith.

The apparent point of the original post was to expose the hypocrisy of people who claim to do a thing (run for office) for one reason, when the real reason is quite different. The authentic point of the post was to provide a vehicle for a joke that he heard and wanted to repeat about God having a sense of humor and returning to booze up his kids, a joke which the original poster found attractive and which he calculated to offend and thereby provoke an argument with believers.

I appreciate the irony in all that. I do.
 
I always pray before making a big decision. I never understood why that was so offensive to people. You don't believe in God. OK, I understand that. That is your choice but you need not be so bitter about those that do.
 
Dheiman, sometimes when people need to make a decision, they pray about it and then sit down with scripture to see if scripture "speaks" to them about their issue.

Did someone claim that Yahweh rang their doorbell to request a chitchat?
 
I would love just once that when a politician claims something like this, that someone would actually ask the follow-up: "When you say God told you, do you mean that you got the sense that it was God's will through study and prayer or some other indirect method, or did you actually hear God speaking to you and literally telling you to run?"

Scripture gives us a long history of people claiming that God told them to do something when He did not. I am not surprised when/if it continues to happen today.
 
It was not a joke I heard and wanted to repeat; it was an analogy I drew based on something that happened to me when I was a toddler. I went around finishing off the drinks of the adults at a party my parents threw and drew good laughs when I staggered around bumping in to things and laughing my head off. I have often thought that is kind of where we are with God: he created a situation we really are not capable of dealing with intelligently with the limited intelligence available to us. I'm not sure that is a joke.

I recently read of a theory that our God was a minor god who was given some not very useful materials and allowed to take a shot at making a world. He did the best He could.

All of religion is a mystery to me; I am a doubter but inclined to believe the key aspect of God is that He is a mystery. Beyond my or anybody's clear understanding. We want to be certain and some of us accept dogma as a way of attaining it. I did for a long time. I don't begrudge those who still do; we seem to be wired for it.

As for pols, some seem to go way beyond asking for God's guidance and then following His suggestions as they divine them from scripture. Some seem to think He really is telling them to run or to oppose tax increases or to bomb Iran, etc.

Or, on the other hand, to give more liberal public assistance, set up elaborate affirmative action programs, etc.

I have a hard time believing God would give advice that would lead to the present situation.

Recall that God told the abolitionists to fight slavery and told the slaveholders that slavery was a biblically approved institution. We do hear what we already believe, as one poster commented.
 
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