Monday, June 04, 2007

Democratic candidates talk about their faith

Well, I don't know how many of you on this blog are interested in politics, but I found the following news story interesting. In a special forum, the democratic candidates talk about their faith. Hillary Clinton shares how her faith helped her through her husband's affair, and John Edwards talks about how his faith helped him through his teenage son's death in 1996.

Read the full story here.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070605/ap_on_el_pr/democrats_religion_10;_ylt=AgThCjHdx1LHJ17LXawfhlUE1vAI

In general, Americans want their candidates to have a strong faith, but for them to be governed by American principles first and foremost.

Do you think candidates should talk about their faith? What are you looking for faith wise in a candidate? Should Christians put their hope in politics?

Also, Edwards talks about poverty in relationship to his faith. Where do most Christians place this concern in their assessment of candidates?

2 comments:

John said...

I am sometimes uncomfortable with this when it comes across as bragging, or politicizing faith. What I am most interested in is how faith informs the public life of the candidates. I have heard some public figures make the claim that they are religious, yet claim that religion should have no bearing on public policy issues. That seems to be hypocritical. A believer doesn't stop becoming a believer when they go to work every day. I would be scared of someone who was no consistent. They would be unpredictable, and the basis of policy decisions would be based on.... well what would it be based on other than perhaps the largest donors, public opinion, politics, etc.?

James Nored said...

Yes,

Americans want polititians who set aside their faith when making decisions. This vow from JFK was what assured the American public that they could vote for him. He vowed to not follow the pope or his religion, but the US Constitution.

I don't know the right answer to this one. There are things that a state can do that a Christian can't, like execute. It would seem to me that being a politician would be a difficult task for any Christian, though I'm thankful for those politians who have a strong faith.