Fred Thompson and Church

Yahoo News has an article on Fred Thompson's faith, with the title "Thompson Says He's No Churchgoer, Won't Tout Religion on Stump." (Is this a setup to sabotage him with Christian voters? Since there is no bias in the "mainstream" media, I doubt it, but who can be sure?)

The article indicates he attends church regularly at home in Tennessee, but perhaps not so regularly when he travels. It also mentions a reluctance on the part of Thompson to discuss faith.

Does this "disqualify" him with Christian voters? Not necessarily.

While I do agree with Founder John Jay that "...it is the duty, as well as the privilege and interest of our Christian nation to select and prefer Christians for their rulers," I don't think that "prefer[ence]" necessarily extends to the automatic exclusion of others. (That's not even to say that Thompson isn't a Christian, just that he may not be as open about his faith as many Christians would like).

Even if Thompson isn't as "regular" and verbose in his faith as some of us might like, he certainly seems to be positive toward Christian values and principles--an attitude that definitely goes in his favor, as some other candidates on both sides of the party aisle are not exactly friendly toward Christian values.

Then consider also that not everyone who says they are a Christian, or even acts in some ways like one, actually is one or is friendly toward Christian principles. Recall the Bible Bill Clinton toted out of church on his way to the limo which took him back to the White House where he disgraced himself and the Oval Office with an intern? Some people shamelessly use religion as a prop of respectability, so the informed voter shouldn't let themselves be fooled.

There may be other candidates who appear more comfortable in their faith and more willing to openly defend their religious values, but if it comes down to Fred Thompson versus a Left-wing secularist, the choice for me won't be difficult at all.