Monday, June 11, 2007

Blogger's “I Saw Fred Thompson at a Church of Christ" Challenge

Are you guys getting the feeling that this is going to be a long and tedious primary season? Here we go again. Is he or isn't he? That's the big question this year:

Thompson does list his religious affiliation as “Church of Christ (Stone-Campbell)” but I haven’t been able to find any information regarding Thompson’s actual membership in a local congregation.

In our tradition, that’s called “being out of fellowship” or a “lapsed member”.
He's challenging his readers to prove that Thompson actually attends church:
* Fred Thompson teaching a Bible class
* Fred Thompson presiding at the Lord’s Table
* Fred Thompson leading singing (if it was 728b and you can prove it, I’ll give you $100)
* Fred Thompson driving the JOY bus
* Mr. & Mrs. Fred Thompson (above) serving as greeters
* Mr. & Mrs. Fred Thompson preparing a nice chicken casserole for a Sunday pot-luck
(via)

So, are we doing this for the other candidates as well? Are we going to verify that Giuliani has been attending Mass? (Can he still take Mass communion?) Does Romney attend church regularly? How about McCain? Maybe they should ask the candidates the next time they debate since I'll need to know before I cast my ballot in January (or June, if they don't have the votes to change it).

WWCS (what would Calvin say) about this situation?
Here it is necessary to state in a brief manner the nature of the office of magistracy, as described in the word of God, and wherein it consists. If the Scripture did not teach that this office extends to both tables of the law, we might learn it from heathen writers; for not one of them has treated of the office of magistrates, of legislation, and civil government, without beginning with religion and Divine worship. And thus they have all confessed that no government can be happily constituted, unless its first object be the promotion of piety, and that all laws are preposterous which neglect the claims of God, and merely provide for the interests of men.
Calvin lived in a time before the age of skeptism. I wonder what he would say today about a post-Christian country and a pluralistic society.

(New readers may wonder, why quote Calvin? It's required.)

Updated to correct a really stupid error. I am curious if Giuliani is able to take communion or is that considered private and I shouldn't be asking?