Huckabee's Divine Mandate?

Mike Huckabee labored for so long at the back of the pack. He had the "spiritual credentials" to be the Religious Right's standard bearer, but he couldn't get any traction. Then for some reason, he has taken off, despite having little money to work with.

Now the question is raised -- how did this happen? Well, one answer is that at least in Iowa pastors and home schooling networks have gotten into the business of endorsing candidates (yes I've given my okay to Obama on this site, but I stay away from it in church related venues -- that might not be good enough for some but that's a different issue). Governor/Reverend Mike, apparently sees this rise in the polls as a miracle of God. He could be right, for all I know, but I have my doubts.

Anyway, Diana Butler Bass has pondered the question of "Providence and Politics," and makes some important points that need considering.

Apparently Huckabee claimed divine providence as the foundation for his rise in a Q and A at Liberty University. This answer, Diana suggests, is akin to what George Marsden called "finger of God" explanations.

She writes:

But finger-of-God explanations are dangerous in relation to politics. If God is the power behind a candidate, then, if that candidate wins, he or she is both beyond reproach and immune to criticism—because, of course, that person is seen as divinely appointed or anointed. The politician's actions are synonymous with God's will. This opens the door for political silliness (God desires tax cuts) or hubris (God favors our political party)—as well as making God responsible for a host of reprehensible or potentially evil acts in the forms of injustice, oppression, or war.

Indeed, if we believe that God chose GW or could choose Huckabee, then did God not also choose Stalin and Hitler? The idea of "divine mandate" works only as long as you are the person being chosen.

So, maybe there's another way of understanding Providence, one that doesn't give God's support to whatever happens in life. Here's Diana's suggestion:

In this story, God does not control human actions as a divine puppet master. Rather, as human beings encounter the story, we change and our actions begin to conform to God's narrative of shalom. In this way, God's intentions unfold as we practice faith in humble gratitude that God has invited us into the story. Providence is not divine Mapquest or supernatural tom-tom. Rather,
providence is a pilgrimage of God's people in time as they seek to live in mercy, kindness, and grace—and that is where God's will is made known. Not God's finger, providence is the breath of God, the spirit enlivening human beings to do justice.

Any number of the current candidates, Republican and Democrat, offer visions of how they understand their lives in relationship to an unfolding story of God's justice. But no one candidate should or can claim God's anointing on his or her campaign. If nothing else, American Christians might look at the last eight years as an example of the folly of finger-of-God politics.