Knee-Jerk reaction.

• Author: Vetter, Todd C.
• Position: Letters to the Editor - Letter to the Editor

Matthew Rothschild's Editor's Note in the March issue ("Hidden Passages") highlights a particular concern of mine: that the President's stated religiosity has resulted in a negative, knee-jerk reaction from the secular left that impeaches the very notion that faith and political expression derived from faithful discernment have any place in the public square.

President Bush makes no secret of his religious zeal, but like so many in this country who profess faith in Christ, his piety seems a little contrived. For the President, faith becomes a means of justifying himself, his life, and by extension, his Presidency.

It seems to me that the answer to this is not to tar all faithful expression with the same brush, but rather to examine what it is President Bush and his supporters are saying and measure this against what Jesus said and continues to say to millions of...