Hellfire and Howard Dean
As alien as the concept might seem to the sneering editorialists of the New York Times, the words Christian and Democrat are not inherently antithetical. Not even in Europe, that secular socialist dystopia, so slavishly aped by the American left.
In fact, one is far more likely to see the two words joined together in the Old World than in the New. Christian Democrats are one of the major political parties in Germany, Switzerland and Sweden, although the religious reference has, unsurprisingly, been excised from the collective E.U. variant, which is now known as the European People's Party.
Based on recent comments by Howard Dean, it's pretty clear that one of the more astute members of the Dean campaign has read Rod Dreher's brilliant article in Touchstone magazine, titled "The Godless Party." The article is profound, explaining why Christians in general, and evangelicals in particular, have been leaving the Democratic Party in droves.
And why should they not, given how openly hostile the party of the left has become to every social issue embraced by Christians as well as the most trivial public expressions of Christianity? Were significant elements within the Democratic Party to have their way, every mention of Christmas would be banned, every Christian would be barred from public service and every homeschooler would be forcibly thrown to the lions of the public schools.
Indeed, there is no ember of faith too insignificant for a Democrat-appointed judge to stamp out, while the mere hint of sincere religion is enough for the Democratic leadership to justify barring even the most qualified judicial appointee. This is the new secular inquisition.
Howard Dean is many things - he is not a fool. He sees how the secular inquisition threatens to devour itself. It has moved too far, too fast, in a country still predominantly comprised of individuals who have a regard for the trappings of Christianity, even if they do not hold to the faith itself.
And having wrapped up the loyalties of the small, but vicious anti-Christian left, Dean knows he now must tack hard to the religious right to have any hope of winning in November. He cannot hope to win the evangelical vote, but since many are unhappy with George Bush, he may be able to persuade a few million of them to stay home. Like Jean-Francois Kerry, Dean imitates the French; la maison blanche vaut bien une messe.
Therefore, a man who raised his children to be Jewish, who does not attend church and who left his congregation over a petty triviality, now begins to speak of the power and extraordinary example of Jesus Christ. Of course, some of his first words on the subject involve giving to Caesar, which leads one to conclude that the left-liberal media, who never met a tax they didn't like, will not harp on their belief in the unsuitability of candidates who openly discuss their religious faith, as they did with George Bush four years ago.
I suspect many Christians will understandably view Dean as a shocking hypocrite, even as a wolf in sheep's clothes. They will see his talk of Jesus and Christianity to be superficial and insulting, and they will be tempted to condemn him. But they should refrain from doing so, for as the apostle Paul wrote: "It is true that some preach Christ out of envy and rivalry, but others out of goodwill. The latter do so in love ... The former preach Christ out of selfish ambition, not sincerely ... But what does it matter? The important thing is that in every way, whether from false motives or true, Christ is preached. And because of this, I rejoice."
So, I take great joy in the fact that in the Year of Our Lord 2004, even a man who bears the red standard of the American left is willing to publicly preach the gospel of Jesus Christ. But do not be confused, I do not say that evangelicals should support Howard Dean for president - the true metric of a man and his beliefs are his actions, not his words. And by these fruits, Howard Dean has rendered himself utterly unfit for office.
A mass may have won Paris for Henry of Navarre, but a hundred baptisms across the South will not be enough to save Howard Dean from the lonely hell of the defeated presidential candidate.