Slate has a interesting article on whether or not George Bush is the right posterboy for evangelical Christians. A couple of key passages:

By most accounts, the president’s basic intellectual make-up was formed long before his faith conversion. If Bush is incurious, it’s not God’s fault.

That is, don’t excuse Bush’s ignorance (which he will tell you about) as a product of his faith in God.

Conservatives are right when they say that the faith-makes-you-irrational idea is a gross caricature. What Bush supporters are less willing to admit is that President Bush has helped to promote this caricature that liberals now exploit.

But in the consideration of reason and faith, we are left with an interesting question: Bush has actively cultivated the image of the simple man of God; how does that reflect on the rest of America’s born-again Christians? Is Bush a helpful spokesman, in the end?

I’d argue that he hasn’t really been a helpful spokesman, at least for reformed types. We’re not prone to over-simplification, and I think a lot of us are willing to put together our political views piecemeal, instead of just jumping on board with a party because of one or two platform planks. And I think Bush’s perspective on homosexual marriage, and the marriage amendment he has proposed, does nothing more than perpetuate the view of Christians are close-minded homophobes that don’t necessarily understand the Biblical concept of sin (as discussed in the space many months ago).

Posted on 27 October 2004