LOUISVILLE, Ky. (BP) -- Addressing an issue on the minds of many evangelical voters as a Mormon runs for president, a Baptist seminary panel said Tuesday that evangelicals must jettison -- for the good of their faith -- the idea that the White House occupant must be a "religious mascot" for Christianity.
Southern Baptist Theological Seminary hosted the panel discussion, less than two months before American voters will choose between President Obama and Republican nominee Mitt Romney, who is Mormon.
"I heard someone in recent days say, 'I would never vote for anyone who is not an authentically professing evangelical Christian,'" said Russell D. Moore, dean of the school of theology at Southern Seminary. "Well, if that's the case, then as far as I can see, you have about three candidates in the last 100 years or so ... that you could possibly vote for: William Jennings Bryan, Jimmy Carter and George W. Bush.
"The question is not John 3:16 in terms of reading the regeneration of the person's heart," Moore said. "The question is Romans 13: Does this person have the kind of wisdom to bear the sword on behalf of God's authority that He has granted to the state? And can I trust that person to protect society? That's the fundamental question."
American Christians too often, said seminary president R. Albert Mohler Jr., have seemingly assigned a "priestly role" to the White House, hoping the president will represent and promote the Christian faith. But that is a uniquely American idea, Mohler said, and unhealthy for Christianity.
"I had a pastor say to me, 'You just can't be faithful and vote for someone who represents such things or believes such things [as Mormons believe],'" Mohler said. "And I said, 'What if you're a Christian in Utah? Do you just not vote? What if your decision is between two Mormon candidates?'
"Throughout most of Christian history, folks haven't struggled with this question because they didn't have the luxury of struggling with it. ... The separation of the priestly role from government is something that has to happen in the minds of American evangelicals," Mohler said, warning against viewing government as an idol.
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Southern Baptist Theological Seminary hosted the panel discussion, less than two months before American voters will choose between President Obama and Republican nominee Mitt Romney, who is Mormon.
| "We are going to have to give up -- on both sides -- the idea of president as religious mascot." --Russell Moore |
"The question is not John 3:16 in terms of reading the regeneration of the person's heart," Moore said. "The question is Romans 13: Does this person have the kind of wisdom to bear the sword on behalf of God's authority that He has granted to the state? And can I trust that person to protect society? That's the fundamental question."
American Christians too often, said seminary president R. Albert Mohler Jr., have seemingly assigned a "priestly role" to the White House, hoping the president will represent and promote the Christian faith. But that is a uniquely American idea, Mohler said, and unhealthy for Christianity.
"I had a pastor say to me, 'You just can't be faithful and vote for someone who represents such things or believes such things [as Mormons believe],'" Mohler said. "And I said, 'What if you're a Christian in Utah? Do you just not vote? What if your decision is between two Mormon candidates?'
"Throughout most of Christian history, folks haven't struggled with this question because they didn't have the luxury of struggling with it. ... The separation of the priestly role from government is something that has to happen in the minds of American evangelicals," Mohler said, warning against viewing government as an idol.
Read more.
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