Posted on Jul 26, 2007

ALEXANDRIA, La. (BP)--The media is bristling with political banter. Most of us already are sick of all the talk and posturing. However, in a little more than 16 months, Americans will go to the polls and cast their votes for a new president. Will he or she represent our biblical values?

Next year's presidential election could be the most strategic one since the 1960 race between Kennedy and Nixon. Perhaps the most ominous issue for this year is the reality that the next president will select as many as three new Supreme Court justices. This court makes decisions that impact our lives, and, consequently, responsible Christians must look past the war in Iraq and the state of the economy, and vote their values on who will become the next leader of the most powerful, most economically blessed nation in history.

If things hold true as they have in the past, prior to the election, pastors across America will received a letter from a pseudo-authoritative source for church and state issues. Americans United (AU) touts itself as the last word on First Amendment rights. The letter will use scare tactic claims such as "your church will lose its tax exempt status."

In the 2000 election year, Barry Lynn, AU executive director, wrote, "Federal tax law, which governs the activities of houses of worship, prohibits churches from engaging in partisan politics on behalf of or in opposition to a presidential candidate."

Did you see what he said? "Federal tax law, which governs the activities of houses of worship...." What is the government doing policing the activities of a church? If the federal tax law determines what we do in our churches, then it is the foulest breach of separation of church and state imaginable. A government entity determining what is acceptable or not acceptable in a church sounds like something from a totalitarian strategy book.

Looking at its track record, the Americans United organization is not as interested in separation of church and state as it is in using its influence to silence the voices of American pulpits and organizations that disagree with a leftist vision of religious liberty. With its letter in 2000, AU attempted to intimidate pastors into thinking they must become homiletic wimps or lose their church's tax exemption.

During a presidential election process, the idea of a church being silent on significant moral issues rubs across the grain of American history. Can you imagine the great preacher Charles G. Finney refusing to speak about abolition? Rather, Finney openly encouraged his audiences to vote for abolition and even added that Abraham Lincoln would be the best candidate to support abolition. Our history is seasoned with men of God who stood in the pulpits and streets and preached for civil rights, and against certain military actions, injustice, child labor, and the barbaric practice of abortion. If we are to maintain any vestige of liberty, the government must never police the pulpits.

The First Amendment protects the right of pastors to preach about moral issues. As your pastor courageously speaks to the significant social/moral issues of this day, encourage him with your support.

Many politicians have treated evangelical Christians as a simplistic electorate. Part of the reason is because we refuse to look past the sanctity of human life issues. This one issue says more about a person's decision-making process than any other statement a candidate makes. Political handlers think evangelicals are gullible. How many times have conservative Christians placed their trust in elected leaders who use "values rhetoric" on the campaign trail but abandon those values once in office? Sometimes, we are enamored with those who speak "God talk."

We must do better at distinguishing between actions and talk before the election. How can we do that? Look at the candidate's record in relationship to what you believe is morally important. Examine how his/her record measures up with key issues. Recognize that the secular media has a general bias against your Christian values. Study the issues. Listen closely to debates and campaign speeches -- are there any lifestyle choice discrepancies in a candidate's position on key issues?

Most importantly, pray. Pray for godly wisdom, and vote.
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John L. Yeats is the SBC recording secretary and director of communications for the Louisiana Baptist Convention. This column first appeared in LBC Live, a publication of the Louisiana Baptist Convention.