2010-05-03
God, Prayers, and Democracy
It was January 3rd, 2008 and I was in Huckabee campaign headquarters in Des Moines, Iowa. Yes, that was caucus night. I had just been given "Staff" credentials and the caucusing had just begun. I was one of a dozen people answering phone calls from Iowa volunteers reporting on how their precincts voted. Well, in the calm before the storm, a pastor (from Texas as I recall) led a prayer in which he asked the good Lord for several things including "victory for Governor Mike Huckabee."
Why am I telling you this? Well, I'm always on high alert with group prayers because even between Christian denominations, there are a lot of variations in just how God works. I think we can all agree on "Strange Ways" but beyond that, there's a lot of differences. As a Catholic, I believe in the concept of "Free Will" - that God has given us the choice of whether we sin or not, and that every decision we make is a decision we are responsible for. God KNOWS what we are going to do (because He's God), but it isn't predestined.
To my understanding, most, but not all, Christian denominations share this belief in "Free Will." The Prophet Mohammad bought into this as well and made it a part of Islam, so the overwhelming majority of the spiritual decedents of Abraham are subscribers to this theological point of view (almost half of the world's population).
The problem is that we don't always consider this belief when we ask God for things. For example, Caucus night in Iowa, the preacher asked for God to give Mike Huckabee a victory. Let's say God delivered... how would that happen. Well, if Mitt Romney was going to win that night, God would need to change the actions of the voters to give Huckabee the win. However, this would then violate the "Free Will" clause.
Now, as we already stated, "God works in strange ways." So there are other things God could have done. For example, there might have been a lot of Mitt Romney supporters who went to their cars that night and found they had not one, but TWO flat tires. And if you were there, I'm sure you remember how cold that night was... maybe they slipped on some ice and got seriously injured or killed?
The thing is that if our God was truly a God who flattened tires and injured or killed people so they couldn't vote, He would be a card carrying member of the SEIU and that just doesn't make any sense. Granted, He is God and He can do whatever He wants. If God wants to tamper with ballots, He can do that. As a Catholic, therefore, I believe that the democratic process significantly limits the influence of God because it is the Free Will of the voters that ultimately decides who gets into office and who doesn't.
A lot of people have told me that they're praying for me to win. I try to make it a point to explain this to them... but I often find myself stressing that I don't want anybody letting air out of tires at the end of the discussion.
If you're going to pray for my candidacy, pray that our efforts have been enough to get our message out to the voters effectively and that they are able to understand that message clearly enough to be able to make an informed decision tomorrow. Pray that my supporters get to the polls safely and without conflict. Pray that my supporters, family, friends and myself all have the health and strength to do what needs to be done and pray that we are able to see what needs to be done as it needs doing. More than anything else, I find myself praying for guidance.
This isn't meant to seem ungrateful to the fine people who are praying for me to win and if you are a predestination Christian, this was by no means meant to be offensive. I just feel that, on the day before my first primary, it was a good topic worth discussing on this blog and something worth thinking about for the faithful who are awesome enough to read this blog and our rantings.
If you disagree, feel free to pray for my victory anyway. I'm not privy to the God Handbook, so I could be completely wrong about all of this.
As with all religious topics, please include your religion including denomination if you're a Christian with your first comment on this post. If you're "Non-Denominational", please include the name of the church you would normally attend. We don't censor comments based on a person's religion or denomination or church. We do this simply so readers have a better idea of where you're coming from. (MSNBC sometimes has hour-long panels on Catholicism without a single Catholic on set... that's what we're trying to avoid)
