Pepperdine President Calls for the Politics of Understanding

Possibly providing a view of opinions shared with his old friend Bob Dole, the president of Pepperdine University said this week that Christians should not limit their political efforts to familiar single issues such as abortion and should recognize that Christians can differ on such issues.

“We have allowed Christianity to be viewed in extreme ways in the political arena,” said David Davenport, president of the 7,600-student campus.

“When we limit God to one issue . . . we demean God.”

By employing the mudslinging tactics of secular politics and making antiabortion stances the primary criterion for candidate approval, some Christian political activists are ruling out valid differences of opinion among Christians, Davenport said. He spoke to an audience of more than 100 at the annual Bible lecture conference for pastors and laity of the religiously conservative Churches of Christ, which have ties to the university.

“Unfortunately, those whom we have allowed to represent us as Christians in the political arena often do not do things in God’s way,” he said. “I’ve heard as much slashing, biting, name-calling and mudslinging from Christians as I have from anyone else.”

A longtime friend of Senate Majority Leader Dole, the presumed Republican presidential nominee, Davenport said he has volunteered to work for his fellow Kansan’s campaign during a six-month sabbatical from Pepperdine starting in late summer.

Davenport, 45, an attorney and former Churches of Christ pastor who has known Dole since working for him as a college intern, said in an interview that he does not know whether his offer will be accepted.

Nevertheless, some political analysts say that a broad, moderately conservative approach to religion and politics issues, as outlined by Davenport, fits with Dole’s known views.

On legislative efforts to ban abortions, for instance, Republican political consultant Ken Khachigian of San Clemente said that Dole has long been a supporter of such moves “but he is not necessarily an advocate on such things.

“Basically, Dole is less dogmatic and slightly less philosophically driven [than some religious conservatives],” said Khachigian, who worked for President Reagan and recently aided Gov. Pete Wilson in his failed bid in the GOP primaries. “I suspect Dole will turn to those who will help articulate a pragmatic position.”

*

Stephen Monsma, a Pepperdine political scientist with a special interest in religion and politics, said: “Dole clearly has a careful line he needs to tread. He doesn’t want to alienate the religious right within the Republican Party, but you sense that Dole is not 100% comfortable with the religious right.”

On not making abortion the litmus test for politicians, Monsma said that he, like Davenport, opposes abortion. “But that still leaves you with the question of what should be government policy in difficult cases,” Monsma said.

“So, I think the sort of themes David Davenport is articulating would be one way that Dole could send signals that he is concerned about the moral health of the nation and sees an important role for Christians to play in the political realm, while not signing on with the religious right,” Monsma said.

*

In his speech, Davenport urged churchgoers not to let the secular world continue to push moral issues and Christianity to the fringes of political debate, but at the same time he said he disagrees with Christians who want the United States to be governed by the Bible.

God’s purpose for Christians in politics is very broad, Davenport said. “In my view, it’s not even to decide whether abortion is right or wrong. It is to bring the wisdom, values and principles of God to the decision-making process.”

He also urged members of the Churches of Christ, whose 1.7 million members across the country often shy away from political debates, to talk more about values in public.

He began his talk, titled “Clinton, Dole and Christ,” by noting that it was once a common tactic to avoid bitter arguments with the advice: “Don’t talk about politics or religion in polite company.” Today, Davenport said, the advice is: “Don’t talk about politics and religion in polite company,” since “mixing religion and politics” is considered inappropriate.

“If we become discouraged about the lack of moral and ethical values in the field of politics, who are we going to blame?” Davenport asked.

The biblical book of Psalms, noted Davenport, said that man was made in the image of God and just a little lower than the angels.

“That means Bob Dole . . . , and for some of you it’s going to be hard to [accept] this, but Bill Clinton is made in the image of God and is just a little lower than the angels. And Ross Perot is made in the image of God--out of a different mold, I grant you.”