The Jewish Daily Forward | David Klinghoffer | Wed. Oct 17, 2007

The Disputation

In a strange irony, it has come to be the case that only Democrats now speak up for giving a role to faith in governance. Stranger still, they get away with it — which prompts the question: Why?

In the accepted vocabulary of liberalism, the word “theocracy” functions as a synonym for “Silence them!” The word possesses awesome power to intimidate Republicans.

Yes, occasionally you might hear a conservative timidly voice the opinion that, as was clearly recognized in the America that existed from the founding till less than half a century ago, religion is a source of inspiration for good government.

But we have mostly learned to stop staying such things in public. The liberal media and academics have simply proven too skilled at twisting our words. They would make it appear that we advocate a Sharia state along the lines of Saudi Arabia or Iran.

Can you imagine a Republican presidential candidate inviting the members of an evangelical church to elect him and help build the Lord’s Kingdom on Earth, in which the office seeker himself will function as a self-proclaimed instrument of God? Yet earlier this month, Barack Obama told the congregation of a church in Greenville, S.C.: “We’re going to keep on praising together. I am confident that we can create a Kingdom right here on Earth.” He also said, “I want all of you to pray that I can be an instrument of God.”

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