Pick your poison
(Editor's note: One year out from the US presidential elections, there has been much speculation in the media and on various blogs about each of the candidates. Marty Sweeney, our American correspondent, gives us his take on one of the Christian candidates.)
The Republican Party—the party of which President George Bush is a member—is in trouble: they are entering an election year with no clear-cut favorite to take on likely opponent Hillary Clinton in the 2008 Presidential election.
For months, most presumed that former New York City mayor Rudy Giuliani would win the Republican nomination. But there were always grumblings from the Republican base (i.e. Christian conservatives) because Giuliani is rather liberal in his social views. He is not as staunchly set against abortion and gay rights as some Christians would like. Furthermore, he is onto his third wife, and appears to profess no deep-rooted conviction about Christ. However, he is supported mainly because of his strong stance against taxes, big government and terrorism.
Recently, a surge in the polls by former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee has caused excitement in some evangelical circles. Governing over the same state as Bill Clinton did, he has emerged as a kind of anti-Clinton. He is a former Baptist preacher who professes a sincere faith in Christ, and who has, from what we know, been a faithful father and husband all his life. He is pro-family, pro-life and pro just about anything else Christian voters like their candidates to be for. The pundits have labeled Huckabee as the only ‘valid’ Christian in the Republican race.
The other day as I was flipping TV channels to the morning sports news, I came across Huckabee's face on a show I had never watched before. He was sitting at a table, chatting with someone about the usual political issues of the moment. As the camera panned back, I was surprised to find that his table mate was Kenneth Copeland. Yes, Kenneth Copeland, the noted televangelist and word-of-faith preacher. I later found out that this had not been a one-time visit; Copeland and Huckabee are reportedly close friends.
I have not heard or read about too many rumblings within the evangelical camp about this association. One reason for this could be that a large number of charismatic and prosperity-gospel Christians are counted as part of this all-encompassing political grouping known as ‘Evangelicals’, and thus have no problem with this association. Another reason could be that disgruntled evangelicals are not quite sure what to do. The lack of excitement over Giuliani is largely due to his lack of Christian faith and values. Huckabee shines brightly in this role. But what about those evangelicals who think that Copeland is a false teacher (or, at least, a terribly deficient teacher)? Would you rather have a seemingly sincere professing Christian who may believe in the false prosperity gospel and a mystical ‘power of faith’ (Huckabee), or a guy who is dead-on with his fiscal and foreign policy views, but who may be no Christian at all (Giuliani)?
Stay tuned ...