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Message from Pastor Peter Marty

One nation under God

By Pastor Peter W. Marty

America is a very religious nation. Not many dispute this fact. When Congress and President Eisenhower inserted the words “under God” into the Pledge of Allegiance, it wasn’t deeply contested. The sense was that we were very different from the atheistic communism of the Soviet Union. We were, after all, united “under God.” Most national polls today find 92-96% of Americans saying YES to the question: “Do you believe in God?”

So why do faith-based Americans have such divergent views on moral and political issues when nine out of 10 of us believe in God? Why do some people admire the religious instincts of President Bush while others are appalled at the way he uses scripture? Why do some of us favor embryonic stem cell research and others of us do not? Why such different attitudes about welfare legislation affecting the poor? Or tax legislation affecting the wealthy? Or climate change?

The answer to these questions, according to a Baylor University survey conducted last fall, rests in our very different images of God. We end up seeing the world largely based on our particular understanding of God. So, more important than any denominational affiliation we might hold, or political party to which we’re attached, or zip code in which we may reside, or belief in the Bible we may tout, our personal image of God will have more to do with shaping our moral and political values than anything else. This mapping of America’s wide-ranging views of God made the news for a brief period of time. Then it was largely ignored. It merits more attention, though, than the dustbin.

Maybe you want to see where you fall in the four understandings of God that the Baylor study highlighted. Who is God to you? The Authoritarian God (31.4% of Americans) is angry at our sin and ready to throw a thunderbolt of judgment down upon the “unfaithful or ungodly.” Prayer in schools is a favorite idea for many professing this God. One-third of those who fall into this category believe that God favors the United States in world affairs.

The Distant God (24.4% of Americans) launched the world and then left it spinning largely on its own, leaving the governance of the planet to our best moral judgment. Less than 4% of this group say embryonic stem cell research is always wrong, compared to much higher percentages for those who view God in different categories.

The Benevolent God (23% of Americans) sets absolute moral standards for us but wants to be known primarily as a forgiving God — a God of the second chance — as in the father who welcomes home his prodigal son in the famous Bible story. More than two-thirds of those who identify with this God see caring for the sick and needy as the highest priority of being good.

The Critical God (16% of Americans) has a judgmental eye on the world but isn’t inclined to intervene either to punish or comfort. Those who ascribe to this God are less likely to attend church, or identify seriously with any religious group, even though their picture of God is very traditional — “the classic bearded man on high.”

A common question I hear from people exploring life with our congregation is: “What do Lutherans believe?” Behind their question is often a genuine desire to know where Lutheran Christians stand on matters like prayer in public schools, the death penalty, abortion when the mother’s life is in danger, etc. The complicated answer is that we stand in many different places. The uncomplicated answer is that we have two things in common that unite us: First, a burning desire to want to know God more wholesomely, and to have a relationship with this Lord that is worth more than 10 cents. Second, to acknowledge that no one of us can ever fully comprehend the mind of God — a God who for some mysterious reason always manages to thrive (and have the last word), independent of our understandings.

Peter W. Marty, senior pastor,

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