Political pledges are unbiblical and unchristian

My Take: Political pledges are unbiblical and unchristian

By Stephen Prothero, Special to CNN

Republicans like to present themselves as the party of God, Jesus and the Bible, but their recent orgy of oath taking is, in my view, both unchristian and unbiblical.

There are a holy host of practical and historical reasons for opposing the pledges being signed by many Republican presidential candidates: the anti-tax pledge promoted by Americans for Tax Reform and its founder, Grover Norquist; the “Marriage Vow” of the Family Leader organization opposing same-sex marriage and “Sharia Islam”; and the “Pro-Life Leadership Pledge” calling for pro-life appointees to government offices.

First, the practical reasons. Many of these oaths ask politicians to sign onto a lot of silliness that has nothing to do with the issue at hand. The original version of the "Marriage Vow" signed by Michele Bachmann and Rick Santorum suggested that African-American families were better off under slavery than they are today. (That language has subsequently been excised.)

A more important practical objection is that these vows tie the hands of politicians, making them unable to consider changing circumstances. No matter what your view on the budget today, do you really want politicians who have pledged never, under any circumstances, to support any increase, however small, in any tax?

http://religion.blogs.cnn.com/2011/07/21/my-take-political-pledges-are-unbiblical-and-unchristian/