What About an Atheist President?

The Bible tells us in 1st Timothy chapter 2 to pray for our leaders.  We are also exhorted in James 1 to seek Godly wisdom.  These two passages, when considered together, can inspire us to pray for our
electoral choices and to pray for those who are elected. Proverbs 21 says:
1 The king's heart is in the hand of the Lord, Like the rivers of water; He turns it wherever He wishes.
2 Every way of a man is right in his own eyes, But the Lord weighs the hearts.
3 To do righteousness and justice Is more acceptable to the Lord than sacrifice.

I believe that God is interested in who we select as our political leaders.  Christians have a great opportunity to be involved in that process, as we, through prayer and taking the initiative to vote, can play a significant role in selecting who will govern us.  Just think what would happen in our nation if all who professed to be Christians actually voted and voted for men and women who would uphold Biblical principles.   It would be dramatic!  Our vote - and our voices speaking out to our leaders on important issues - can have a strong influence.

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In Proverbs 29, we see a passage that reinforces the notion of the impact that a leader who turns to God and demonstrates His principles:
2 When the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice; But when a wicked man rules, the people groan.
3 Whoever loves wisdom makes his father rejoice, But a companion of harlots wastes his wealth.
4 The king establishes the land by justice, But he who receives bribes overthrows it.

There will likely be a few million people tuned in to Fox News tonight for the first Republican Presidential debate in Cleveland.  There will be plenty of analysis of the answers that are given to what will hopefully be insightful and challenging questions.  I know an area of concern for me, and I would imagine with many evangelical Christians, is the nature of the personal faith of the candidates and how that faith will inform the decisions they make.  I think it's helpful to listen to what those vying for public office say about faith, but if they take positions that are not informed by the Scriptures, or if they have taken action that runs contrary to Biblical principles, then we must take that into consideration.

There were some attention-getting poll numbers that were released by Gallup not too long ago. CNSNews.com reports on the results in an article that opens with these words:

In a nation that based its Declaration of Independence on the principle that all men “are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights,” a record 58 percent now say they would vote to elect “a generally well-qualified” atheist as president if their political party nominated such a person.

The piece points out that Gallup conducted its first poll including the question about whether respondents would vote for an atheist in 1958.  In the first two polls, both conducted in 1958, only 18 percent said they would vote for an atheist. In the first of those 1958 polls, 75 percent said they would not vote for an atheist. In the second, 77 percent said they would not vote for an atheist.  So, over the course of the last 57 years, the percentage of Americans who said they would vote to elect an atheist as president has more than tripled.

Now, there have been times when the pro-atheist position has exceeded the percentage of those who would not vote for an atheist Presidential candidate.  The CNSNews piece points out that it was February 1999 when the pro-atheist position first narrowly exceeded the anti-atheist position—with 49 percent saying they would vote for an atheist and 48 percent saying they would not.

In the next survey, in Feburary of 2007, 53 percent said they would not vote for an atheist nominee. A month later, the positions were tied at 48 percent.  Fast forward to June of 2012, when 54 percent said they would vote for an atheist presidential nominee and 43 percent said they would not.  The recent poll put the numbers at 58 to 40 percent in favor of an atheist nominee.

Alex McFarland, who is also Director for Christian Worldview and Apologetics at the Christian Worldview Center of North Greenville University in Greenville, SC, is quoted in a piece on the Charisma News website, as saying, 'Without God and absolute truth, our freedoms have no secure basis," adding, "Therefore, an atheist could not fully support our Constitution and Declaration of Independence. Americans think they would be comfortable electing a President with no faith convictions or religious beliefs, but they would quickly find that the freedoms and liberties they now enjoy would shift dramatically."

The piece also reports that McFarland said that America's founders would fiercely disagree with electing an atheist leader.  For example, he pointed out that John Locke, whose writings heavily influenced the Declaration of Independence, wrote that atheists should not hold public office.

So, on this Survey Thursday, what do you make of these statistics?

I think for one thing, people are looking for leadership.  And, there does seem to be a void in that area today.  So, Americans are increasingly willing to accept anyone, regardless of religious persuasion, if they can just lead us out of the mess we're in.  Rasmussen earlier this week released a poll that said that 28% of Americans believe the country is heading in the right direction.  66% believe that we're heading in the wrong direction.   And, I believe that Americans are looking for leaders, but have become a bit jaded to the process.  I think that explains why we don't see more Americans voting.  TIME reports that only 36.4% of eligible voters voted in the 2014 midterm elections, down from 40.9% who voted in 2010. That marks the lowest turnout in a national election since 1942.  In the last Presidential election, 58.2% of eligible voters cast ballots.

So, I think that not only are Americans faced with a search for leaders who can effectively address the multitude of issues that we face, but people are looking for hope.  We're in a tough season in our nation's history - people are suffering; not only economically but emotionally.  And, what many seek out to provide them with peace and satisfaction are not effectively bringing those components into their lives.  And, we have the challenge to help point people to answers, solid answers, THE answer, found in a relationship with a person, the Lord Jesus Christ, who can bring His love and abundance of spiritual resources into a person's life and bring hope out of despair and disappointment, and wisdom out of confusion.   We need the clarity of Christ today, and each of us is called to be a messenger to communicate it.