Political parties don’t have monopoly on God, ad proclaims Aug. 31, 2004 A UMNS Report By Steve Smith* Several prominent United Methodists are among 40 Christian leaders contending in a full-page ad in the New York Times that the Religious Right doesn’t have a monopoly on deciding God’s political party or candidate for president. The ad appeared in the Aug. 30 Times with the headline, “God is Not A Republican. Or a Democrat.” Sojourners, the national Christian magazine and organization, bought the ad. Sojourners
and its supporters say evangelists Jerry Falwell and Pat Robertson have
no business telling people that President Bush was chosen by God to be
president. The ad lists information about a Sojourners-sponsored
petition that people can sign to “take back their faith” and donate
money to get the ad in newspapers across the country, according to an
organization news release. United
Methodists signing their names to the ad include Jim Winkler, top staff
executive of the Board of Church and Society in Washington; Bishop
William Willimon, new leader of the church’s Birmingham (Ala.) Area and
former head of Duke Chapel at United Methodist-related Duke Divinity
School in Durham, N.C.; Duke Divinity Professor Stanley Hauerwas; and
Philip Amerson, president of the church-related Claremont School of
Theology near Los Angeles. “We
believe all candidates should be examined by measuring their policies
against the complete range of Christian ethics and values,” the ad
states. “…We also admonish both parties and candidates to avoid the
exploitation of religion or our congregations for partisan political
purposes.” Amerson said he signed onto the ad because of ways he believes religion and politics are mixing inappropriately. “I
believe that Jesus Christ is not partisan in his politics,” Amerson
said. “Frankly, in recent years, we’ve taken the Gospel, bent it, broken
it and wrapped the American flag around it. I’m disappointed that some
folks are using churches in partisan ways as they’ve never been used
before. “The
Gospel has been subverted and reshaped so it can fit into political
party agendas. Neither political party captures the fullness of the
Christ who spoke about loving your neighbor as yourself.” By
Aug. 31, nearly 44,000 people had signed the online petition, and 3,500
had donated money to expand the ad campaign to other newspapers,
according to the Sojourners Web site, at www.takebackourfaith.org. The
ad takes issue with statements by Falwell in July that “Evangelical
Christians ... need to get serious about re-electing President Bush,”
and by Robertson saying earlier this summer that “George Bush is going
to win in a walk. ... the Lord’s just blessing him.” The petition also appeared in full-page ads in Aug. 30 editions of The News & Advance newspaper in Lynchburg, Va., where Falwell lives, and The Virginian-Pilot in Norfolk, Va., near where Robertson lives. In
previous interviews, Falwell and Robertson said they have a right to
state their political opinions and urge Christians to vote a certain
way. Falwell told the New York Times that he was speaking as a
citizen, not as a representative of his church, and accused his
opponents of trying to “silence” evangelical pastors. Sojourners
spokesman Deryl Davis told United Methodist News Service that the ad
and the petition aren’t endorsements for U.S. Sen. John Kerry, Bush’s
Democratic rival for the presidency. The ad states that “sincere
Christians and other people of faith can choose to vote for President
Bush or Sen. Kerry—for reasons deeply rooted in their faith.” Throughout the years, Davis said, Sojourners
has criticized Democrats, such as in editorials earlier this year that
condemned party leaders for not taking seriously religious issues,
poverty, hunger and other social problems. “We
simply want Christians to know that they have a choice among candidates
and they should consider all moral issues, not just a single issue,
before voting,” Davis said. Figures on how much the Times ad cost were not readily available, he said. In the press release, the Rev. Jim Wallis, editor of Sojourners,
said, “When poverty has risen each of the past three years, that’s a
religious issue. The war in Iraq, that’s a religious issue. Taking care
of the environment, that’s a religious issue. This behavior by the
Religious Right — ordaining George W. Bush as ‘God’s candidate’ — is
theologically outrageous.” Well-known
Christian leaders signing the ad include evangelical author Philip
Yancey; Glen Stassen, an ethicist at conservative Fuller Theological
Seminary in Pasadena, Calif.; Robert M. Franklin Jr. and Alton B.
Pollard, professors at United Methodist-related Candler School of
Theology in Atlanta; Duke Divinity Professor Richard Hays; and Baptist pastor and evangelical speaker Tony Campolo. *Smith is a freelance writer and former associate editor of The United Methodist Reporter newspaper in Dallas. News media contact: Tim Tanton, (615) 742-5470 or newsdesk@umcom.org.
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