John Hinchcliff: Let the will of the people rule

Governments are raised up and dismissed by God. Our conscience would prevent us from voting," said Douglas Watt, one of the seven Exclusive Brethren members funding propaganda against the present government. "But," he added, "if the country is in decline we feel we have to do something."

There is nothing wrong with any group of people, whatever their prejudices might be, exercising their right to participate in a democratic election. It is to be encouraged. In fact, these Brethren are putting many apathetic New Zealanders to shame because they care and because they have become engaged.

But, there are serious issues to confront with this engagement.

There is the obvious contradiction of believers who abstain from voting because their God intervenes in history by raising and dismissing governments, then deciding God's work cannot be successful without their money and propaganda.

But there is a related and more worrying belief that their God can be captured by one particular political ideology.

Remember World War II was fought between the allies willing to die for "God, King, and country", the Germans who fought with the words "God is with us" on their belt, and the Italian soldiers who were blessed by the Church on their way into battle. "Praise the Lord and pass the ammunition" could have been said by combatants on all sides.

As the Herald report stated, these ultra-conservative, "born again" evangelical Christians backed the re-election of President George W. Bush in the United States, and John Howard in Australia.

In the United States, these fundamentalists had not voted in the previous election. Without their support George W. Bush would not have succeeded this year. Now, they are a well organised, powerful, networked lobby group who will make it difficult for liberals like Clinton or Kennedy to gain the Presidency.

The leader of the 30 million-strong movement of fundamentalist Christians says he talks with Bush every Monday, and they agree on everything but one thing: one of them prefers to drive a Ford and the other a Chevy.

The fundamentalists' theology is based on what has been called "propositional revelation". They know what to do because God has told them. They have privileged access to God's eternal truth.

For example, Bush allegedly has said, "God told me to hit Afghanistan. God told me to hit Iraq."

The Australian Deputy Prime Minister John Anderson said last year, "Salvation by Christ [is] our only hope - without it we're a mob of dirty rotten sinners and we're on the path to hell."

Coherent with this theology is the crusader ethic offering simplistic and unambiguous injunctions against abortion, same-sex marriages, euthanasia, unions and socialism.

It is a huge advantage to be able to justify a moral stance by saying "God said so", or "It's God's work", especially in our age of insecurity and uncertainty.

If it is God's work there is no need for tolerance or compromise or balance. And democratic civility is merely a hurdle, and a cumbersome, time-wasting obstacle, in the way of God's will.

Recently, radical right-wing evangelicals decided Terri Schiavo was still alive when medical experts determined she had been brain dead for 15 years. Tom Delay, majority leader of the US House of Representatives said, with his direct line to the Almighty: "One thing that God has brought to us is Terri Schiavo to elevate the visibility of what is going on in America. This is exactly the issue ... it is about attacks on the conservative movement ... a huge nationwide concerted effort to destroy everything we believe in."

Another quote from this extremely powerful theocrat: "He [God] is using me, all the time, everywhere, to stand up for a biblical world view in everything that I do and everywhere I am. He [God] is training me."

Terry Randall, a leader of the radical Christian right opposing the withdrawal of the feeding and hydration tube from the braindead Schiavo, said: "We want our nation and all its institutions to be self-consciously built on the laws and principles of God's word.

"We are at war - a cultural civil war, a war of allegiances. If righteousness is going to prevail, if paganism is going to be turned back, then we must be moved to restore this nation to being a Christian nation."

Also from Randall: "Let a wave of hatred wash over you. I want you to let a wave of hatred wash over you. Yes, hate is good ... If a Christian voted for Clinton, he sinned against God. It's that simple ... our goal is a Christian nation ... we want theocracy. Theocracy means God rules."

General William Boykin, Undersecretary of Defence for Intelligence, proclaimed that George W. Bush was not elected President by the people, but was appointed President by God. "We are a Christian nation," he said.

But, the US Constitution is a secular statement, enshrining religious freedom, and separating church and state. None of the founding fathers was Christian. Franklin, Jefferson, Washington, and Madison were deists or atheists.

It is difficult to engage with fundamentalists. They live on a different planet. They talk at you rather than with you and sing their Onward Christian Soldiers with their uncompromising hallelujahs. "I am on the Lord's side and you're not."

Their power is a raw power based on revelation. They have truth, their truth, God's truth. Tolerance is not needed. Democracy is not needed.

Many of our politicians practise their Christian faith in their activities (perhaps not in the debates), promoting values relating to family, decency, civility arguing for love, compassion, forgiveness, and hope.

But they do not justify their action by saying "God told me to do it". Nor do they act to promote their faith-based institution. Nor do they regard as apostate any members who disagree.

Sadly, for me as a Christian, the evidence is that Christianity is appearing as one of the least-tolerant religions. We have all too many manic, jihad-driven "God is on my side - not yours", born-again fundamentalists. I am reminded of the commentator who said that these people have just enough religion to make them hate others but not enough to make them love others.

With the Mayor, I visited the city Muslim mosque after bricks had been thrown through their plate glass windows. Their first words were "We have forgiven the person who did this".

Compare this with the American fundamentalist evangelical who called for the murder of a South American political leader.

These are times of challenge, violence, and bigotry. We need to hear from people from all faiths, whose Lords and heroes proclaim the virtues of love and respect for others. We need them to challenge those who would divide us on the basis of some allegedly revealed truths about certain political ideologies.

So, in this election, of more importance than the process of determining authorship and ownership of the Brethren's pamphlets, is the challenge posed to our democratic heritage by their quest for a theocracy.

These fundamentalists do not vote because they do not respect democracy. For them God must rule - not the will of the people.

* Dr John Hinchcliff is an Auckland City Councillor, formerly Vice-Chancellor of Auckland University of Technology, and Chaplain at Auckland University.