In one of the most explicitly theological questions of Saturday night's "Saddleback Civil Forum," Pastor Rick Warren asked both candidates, "Does evil exist in the world today? If so, what should we do about it?" While both Obama and McCain affirmed their belief in the existence of evil, their responses revealed deeply different theological orientations in two major areas that have direct policy implications: human responsibility and the location of evil in the world.

Obama began his answer by declaring that we have a clear responsibility to confront and resist evil, but that it is "God's task" to ultimately defeat evil. . Obama went on to clarify that we can be "soldiers" in that effort but that we must have humility to realize that good intentions are not enough to guarantee good actions. McCain, on the other hand, interrupted Warren's question to flatly state that we should and can "totally defeat evil" in the world.

While McCain's bravado garnered more applause among Saddleback's evangelical audience, it is theologically problematic from a Christian point of view. If America is in charge of defeating evil in the world, this literally puts America in the role of God, a position that theologically speaking is blasphemy. Despite McCain's popularity at the evangelical Saddleback forum, it was ironically Obama's worldview--where God guarantees the defeat of evil while we have faithful parts to play--that reflected not only the more orthodox Christian worldview but also the best of American public theology. This more chastened position, which is rooted in a theological understanding of human finitude, reflects biblically based Christian thinking from St. Augustine through Martin Luther. This stance is also reflected in what is perhaps the greatest theological statement by an American President, Abraham Lincoln's (a Republican) second inaugural address, where he declared at the end of a war where both sides had claimed divine favor that "the Almighty has his own purposes."

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You can read the rest of the article posted on Beliefnet's Progressive Revival Blog here.

Labels: election, evangelicals, evil, mccain, obama

posted by Robert P. Jones, Ph.D.   @  11:18 AM (permalink)

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