Watching Politics From the Pew: Herman Cain and "Christian" Political Hypocrisy

Last updated on: November 1, 2011 at 11:43 am by Ben Bartlett

Watching Politics From the Pew: Herman Cain and "Christian" Political Hypocrisy 2011-11-01T11:43:22-06:00 Ben Bartlett

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Each week in Watching Politics From the Pew, Benjamin Bartlett offers a thoughtful Christian perspective on the latest political happenings in the news.

It is pretty awkward watching Herman Cain right now. The man has interesting credentials, is an excellent speaker, and appeals strongly to those who prefer anti-establishment candidates. He has also been married to the same woman for his entire adult life, which is increasingly rare in politics.

But then this happened. I won’t speak to its validity because I don’t know. But I do know that even if the worst things being said about Cain right now are true, he is still on much stronger moral ground than, say, former President Clinton. And if even the best case scenario is true, he has probably lied to us more than once.

So why is it such a big story? Well, the problem is not merely that Cain may have sexually harassed a couple of women over the course of his long career in business, though that is a problem. The larger issue is that his muddled, inconsistent responses communicate duplicity, shame, and a willingness to hide the truth to save his own skin. Whether that is true or not is entirely beside the point. Americans want to trust their leaders, and it is hard to trust a person you know is willing to lie to you.

Our national addiction to creating myths and legends out of our political leaders leads us to some pretty weird places. It would be shocking if Cain were the only candidate for president who had ever had a moral lapse or made a significant ethical mistake. But instead of assuming that all the candidates have these issues in their past, we penalize the candidate who gets caught and reward the candidates who do the best job of hiding it. It’s like we agree to look the other way as long as we can, but bring the hammer down on any leader who forces us to see what we don’t want to see.

What bothers me the most about this, though, is that so many political candidates claim to be Christians. Real Christian leadership ought to be able to confess sin. Real Christian leadership does not claim moral superiority or hide the fact that the sin is always with us. When Paul called himself the worst of sinners, he wasn’t kidding.

Yet people keep hiding because they know what nobody likes to admit: We do not forgive. We do not forget. The American church does not promote wise confession and renewal. It promotes people who seem perfect and penalizes them when they fail.

Sometimes I wonder how different two hundred years of Christian dominance in American politics would look if the church did a better job supporting leaders who display true integrity rather than portraying a false and impossible perfection.

Asides

Politics

Herman Cain

Watching Politics from the Pew

Previous Post

November 1, 2011

When Games Matter: My Wife, Dance Central 2, and the Importance of Feedback

Next Post

November 2, 2011 What Memes Mean: 'Tebowing' and the Complexity of Religious Humor

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Asides Elsewhere Featured Film Games General Culture Headline Literature Music Of the Moment Podcast Politics RetroPost Sports Technology Television Uncategorized Viral

Select a Month February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012 April 2012 March 2012 February 2012 January 2012 December 2011 November 2011 October 2011 September 2011 August 2011 July 2011 June 2011 May 2011 April 2011 March 2011 February 2011 January 2011 December 2010 November 2010 October 2010 September 2010 August 2010 July 2010 June 2010 May 2010 April 2010 March 2010 February 2010 January 2010 December 2009 November 2009 October 2009 September 2009 August 2009 July 2009 June 2009 May 2009 April 2009 March 2009 February 2009 January 2009 December 2008 November 2008 October 2008 September 2008 August 2008 July 2008 June 2008 May 2008 April 2008 March 2008 February 2008 January 2008 December 2007 November 2007

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz