What Kind of Churchman is Fred Thompson?

Now that Fred Thompson, aka Law and Order DA Arthur Branch, has declared his intention to be the next President, and will be campaigning for the social conservative vote -- which is largely religiously based -- the question has arisen: What kind of Churchman is Fred Thompson?

Apparently, according to the reportage at Baptist affiliated Ethics Daily, Fred's heritage is Church of Christ. Now, just for the uninitiated, the Church of Christ is one of three branches of the Stone-Campbell Movement, of which my Disciples denomination is another. The Church of Christ is best known for the lack of musical instruments in worship, which is why they are often called "Non-instrumental" churches or "A capella" Churches. They tend to be a bit stricter than we Disciples are in their biblical interpretation. They are, none the less part of the same family.

Like that other paragon of Stone-Campbell heritage, Ronald Reagan, Fred is apparently known to attend a Presbyterian Church, that of his current wife, whom he married in a United Church of Christ church, which by the way isn't related to the Church of Christ, even though the Disciples, who are related to the Church of Christ has a partnership relationship with the more liberal UCC! By the way, Barack Obama is a member of a UCC church in Chicago! So, are you confused yet?

Reports from the pastor of the Presbyterian church, which his wife is apparently a member, Fred attends occasionally, but the pastor hasn't met Fred yet. S0, it would appear that his churchmanship is fairly marginal. That's not to say he's not a great guy, it's just that by and large he's not a church going guy.

All this confusion leads Robert Parham, of Ethics Daily therefore asks an important question:

Robert Parham of the Baptist Center for Ethics said Thompson should clear up any confusion about his church affiliation and attendance.

"The American people will decide in due time whether Thompson is a man who can be trusted in the Oval Office," Parham said. "Right now, however, voters deserve to know the truth about Thompson's churchmanship, if any."

"Christian voters especially deserve straight-talk if Thompson is going to use God-talk in his campaign," Parham said. "If Thompson doesn't walk the talk, then he misuses faith for wrongful political ends and discloses a deep moral flaw."