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Originally Posted by LadyShea
Kerry is a theist, but from what I have seen holds his beliefs as private. GW says that God appointed him President, and that God told him to go to war with Iraq. I dunno, just seems an evil way to take manipulate people....making himself God's warrior or something.
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If Bush is lying and doesn't believe what he says, then one might suspect he's doing so to manipulate people. If he sincerely believes what he says, which is how it appears to me, then in what sense is he being manipulative?
But in a general sense I think both candidates are being manipulative by the way they do or don't talk about their faith. Bush's openness is intended to win favor from conservative Christians who believe as he does and will place more trust in someone who - at least appears to - actively seek God's input in his decision-making. Kerry's approach of keeping his more private will appeal to people who consider Bush's evident reliance on what the Bible says (as interpreted a particular way) scary and foolish.
Anyway, in my opinion and experience, some theists are more competent decision-makers than others and the same is true of nontheists. My choice of who to vote for will be based on my best assessment of who would be the better President and as far as I'm concerned, that determination cannot be made solely by looking at how they present their faith in God.
Helen