Faith and politics has played a prominent role in this presidential race, but some are wondering if the biggest religion card player – former Baptist minister Mike Huckabee – has gone too far with mixing religion and public duty.
A look at the former Arkansas governor’s records shows that he didn’t shy away when he felt God needed to be defended in legislation.
In 1997, after a tornado ripped through the town of Arkadelphia, Ark., the then Gov. Huckabee had spent over three weeks battling his state’s legislators over legal terminology in a disaster insurance bill that referred to natural disasters as “acts of God.”
Huckabee argued that God could not be blamed for the region’s destruction, countering the centuries-old legal terminology and the state’s legislature, the General Assembly. The dispute made local headlines and created tension with other state legislators, some of which called him “petty.”
“‘Petty’ is the best word to describe him,” said Dennis R. Young, a state representative at the time who sponsored the relief measure, according to the Los Angeles Times. “In these kinds of things, he’d make mountains out of molehills.”
Yet the small-town pastor turned Arkansas governor did not give in and in the end the two sides agreed on the substitute term “natural causes.”
The faith of Huckabee, unlike most other politicians, has always been the centerpiece of his politics – as seen on day one of his tenure as Arkansas governor.
His inaugural day began with a prayer service at a Baptist church in Little Rock which he later recalled as “almost like an ordination service.”
During his time as governor, 1996 to 2007, Huckabee banned smoking and swearing in the governor’s office and used the Bible to explain his concern for the environment, his stance against abortion, and his efforts to improve the lives of African-Americans in his state.
“When I became governor of Arkansas in 1996,” Huckabee wrote in his book “Character Makes a Difference,” published last year. “I recognized the same moral authority – God’s authority – that I did as a pastor … I not only want to know Him, I want others to be able to see Him through the decisions I make and by the way I make them.”
Others, however, disagree with Huckabee over the idea of how personal faith should play that big of a role in public office or in the presidential race.
Mark DeMoss – a fellow Southern Baptist leader and outspoken supporter of former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney – argues that the most important qualification when electing someone to public office is proven ability to manage the country rather than the religion litmus test.
“I believe faith plus character plus experience plus competence is a recipe for the ideal presidential candidate,” wrote DeMoss in an opinion piece posted on the Web site Beliefnet.com. “But faith alone should neither disqualify one from getting my vote, nor guarantee that they will.”
The Christian public relations guru added that a candidate’s “character cannot be overstated” but that his or her “faith can be” and in “this election probably has been.”
While DeMoss’s candidate, Mitt Romney, has been fending off suspicions over his Mormon faith, Huckabee has been soaring in polls in Iowa and South Carolina, riding on the wave of support from evangelical Christians.
Conservative Christians have been increasingly shifting their support from Romney to Huckabee due to their expressed discomfort with the Mormon faith, which many Christians view as a cult.
Huckabee, on the other hand, is a member of the largest protestant denomination in the United States – the Southern Baptist Convention, which boasts more than 16 million members.
However, voters will ultimately decide whether faith will play a large role in determining a president’s electability.
Huckabee’s “Christian leader” campaign will be put to the ultimate test this Thursday during the Iowa caucuses – the first GOP nominating state.
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star,
Exactly. That's why Huckabee's actions got my attention. If he's willing to be that way publicly, then most likely his actions privately will mirror them. Unlike these other candidates who "claim their faith in God" and then their actions prove otherwise, he claims his faith in God and proves it. That's what I admire about him.
Prophet:
President Bush was hired by the American people to be the President of the USA and to carry out the duties of that office. He was not hired to be the Pastor of the USA.
President Bush reads his Bible every day, attends Bible study, encourages his staff to read the Bible, and prays on more than one occassion during the day in the Oval Office. He prays with people when the opportunity is there.
Though he is silent about God for the most part in the public he is not behind the scenes.
If Huckabee wins his party nomination and if he wins the Presidency and goes to the White House he'll be no different in the public eye then Bush is. If he brings his personal faith to much in the public eye then this country will go balistic and scream "separtation of church and state". No God please.
I feel like Bush's faith does play a role in his decision making. Many of his policies are based on his Christian convictions.
star,
I reacted the same way. I wish his public life reflected that compassion and faith a little more.
Prophet:
I went to your blog. The story about the man who had a chance to meet President Bush touched my heart.
star,
Just because a person claims to have some kind of faith in God, doesn't make them a Christian. We will know them by their fruit. And the fruit of many of these politicians is rotten. That is why Huckabee strikes me so. He doesn't just confess his faith, he lives it.
I have been alive long enough to see many Presidents who claim faith, but yet don't live it. They use it as a springboard to the White House, and once it's usefulness is gone, they toss it aside. George W is one of them, too. But he's not as bad as some. I came across a story of a man that had the chance to meet Bush in person, and the events that transpired. It shows what type of person Bush can be, if only he would live it more.
I posted it on my website www.isaiahscry.blogspot.com. I would encourage you to check it out.
Prophet:
You said, "But you judge him, by saying that God didn't tell him to do what he's doing. God has done stranger things."
I do not judge Huckabee. I do not know whether he was called into the ministry or not. There are a lot of Christians and some non-Christians in the ministry and God did not call them to that line of work in the Kingdom of God. I had a cousin that was in the Pastorate but left. He said that he was never really called. He became a Pastor because his father was a Pastor and it was expected of him.
Romans 11:29 says that the gifts and calling of God are without repentance. IF Huckabee was called into the ministry then God is not going to repent of His calling on Huckabee's life and Huckabee is in rebellion against God because he is disobedient to God's call on his life.
"But you judge him, by saying that God didn't tell him to do what he's doing." I believe that would be out of God's character to call Huckabee into the proessional ministry and then tell him to go do something else that is not ministry related. (based on Romans 11:29)
But you judge him, by saying that God didn't tell him to do what he's doing. God has done stranger things.
Prophet:
You asked the following: "So, you feel like Christians need to stay out of politics where they can influence even more?"
Answer: No, I did not say Christians should stay out of politics. I said those who have been called into the minstry should not leave that calling to go into politics. If they do, then they are in disobedience to that calling and therefore are in rebellion against God.
You also asked, "And that we should vote in humanistic athiest so they can continue to take away our rights?"
Answer: I haven't heard any candidate say that he/she is an athiest. They all make some claim to have some kind of faith in God. Now there are humanistic Christians running for office. I say "humanistic" because they look to man for the solutions to the problems of our nation instead of looking to God.
star,
Answer it.
Prophet:
Pray about it.
And yes, many times what we say in jest, is a peek into our soul's desire. And if that is true, then apparently his soul's desire is to win people to Christ. And yet, you say that he's lost that love.
So, you never answered my question.
But let me pose it this way...do you have a job? If so, why have you left your first love? You're first love is the salvation of souls, right? Then why aren't you doing it? That question of course is ridiculous, since God uses us in whatever venue He chooses (yes, even politics) to accomplish His cause. How many politicians can you influence? How many politicians can a passionate Christian President influence?
Prophet;
You said, "But, I am seeking the wisdom of the Holy Spirit in my decision. "
I appreciate what you said. I believe that is the right thing to do.
Prophet:
Sometimes what we say in jest is really a glimpse of what is in our soul.
I really believe that he has lost his first love.
There is nothing more important than winning lost souls to Christ and helping Christians in their walk with God. Any man/woman of God that has abandoned that calling on his/her life to pursure some secular endeavor that has nothing to do with helping people get ready for eternity is a man/woman that has left his/her first love. If that is the case for him then he needs to remember from where he has fallen, repent, and do the first works he was called to do. If he does not then God will remove his light. (Rev 2:4-5)