As I discussed here and, towards the end, here, and as others have also noticed, it seems to be an article of faith with Sen. Kerry that he cannot act in the public arena according to his faith. Thus it is more than a little odd, or at least interesting, that the one passage from the Bible that he cites over and over, usually in black churches but also in the recent debate, is that “faith without works is dead.” As the Washington Post has noted, this “is Kerry’s way of calling into question Bush’s commitment to the teachings of the New Testament.”
Although this God gambit has been widely noted in the press and the blogs, I have yet to see anyone point out that, no doubt unwittingly (he seems no more a theologian than a political theorist), in making a virtual mantra out of “faith without works is dead” Kerry is articulating a cardinal (if you’ll pardon the pun) tenet of Catholic theology, in fact one of the central tenets against which Protestants protested in the Reformation.
I don’t want to reprise the Reformation here, or the strict Calvinism that gave birth to Massachusetts in the first place. Suffice it to say that against the Catholic doctrine that “good works are necessary in order to help a person persevere in the state of grace,” a large swath of Protestants from Calvin on have insisted on “justification by faith alone.”
If Kerry takes his passivism regarding his “articles of faith” seriously, he should lighten up on his Bible quoting and practice a little more of the separation of church and state that he and followers usually preach.
What I don’t see is how anyone can possibly not burst out laughing when Kerry says faith without works is dead. Excuse me? You just spent an hour explaining to me how you can’t justify using your religious beliefs to actually implement any such ‘works.’ I guess your faith is dead, then?
Can’t think of any to point to now, but it’s been mentioned on some of the Catholic blogs. (I don’t remember if I’ve written about it myself.) I do remember noticing the irony of Kerry quoting a scripture to Protestants that’s been a linchpin of theological controversy between Protestants and Catholics for five centuries. (I even cynically wondered how many in his immediate audience were having that biblical passage called to their attention for the first time.) Moreover, Kerry says quite readily that “his faith” informs his stance on the poor and the environment, for instance. So, he is highly selective about what aspects of “his faith” he forces onto other people. Well, actually, he’s not selective about it at all: he’ll happily force onto everybody else, as far as he can, whatever accords with the faith of the Democratic Party, which is what “his faith” really is.
Kerry is a member of that body of American Catholics who are so scrupulous about “separation of church and state” that they will not even impose their religiously-based values upon themselves.
Please. Politicians and heads of state who use military force should refrain from mentioning Christ as inspiration for their actions; it simply isn’t true. The basic structure of our government- crime and punishment, the armed forces, etc, are opposed to everything Jesus taught.
Neither candidate is any position to claim for themselves a ‘Christian’ candidacy. To draw political capital from the Christian tradition, in our society, is ludicrous.