"Grooming Politicians for Christ"

This article is getting a lot of blog coverage today, but this is one of those issues that needs as much visibility as possible.

Stephanie Simon of the LA Times has written an updated chapter of "Holy Rollers on the Hill". Go ahead and eyeball the whole thing, but as far as I'm concerned, here are the money quotes:

Nearly every Monday for six months, as many as a dozen congressional aides — many of them aspiring politicians — have gathered over takeout dinners to mine the Bible for ancient wisdom on modern policy debates about tax rates, foreign aid, education, cloning and the Central American Free Trade Agreement.

They learn to view every vote as a religious duty, and to consider compromise a sin. That puts them at the vanguard of a bold effort by evangelical conservatives to mold a new generation of leaders who will answer not to voters, but to God.

It's one of half a dozen evangelical leadership programs making steady inroads into Washington.... Nearly every graduate works in government or with a conservative advocacy group.

As Kennedy put it: "If we leave it to man to decide what's good and evil, there will be chaos."

Now he plans to fight for history lessons on the Founding Fathers' faith, science lessons drawn from the Book of Genesis and public school prayer.

And of course,

...Most of the policy prescriptions he finds in the Bible dovetail neatly with the Republican agenda.

From the Statesmanship Institute's site:

As the programs of Student Statesmanship Institute have grown, its desired outcomes have remained unchanged:

• To cultivate desire in young people to discover God's design, purpose, calling and destiny for their lives.

• To help these young people develop a comprehensive Biblical worldview in order to apply God's eternal truths to every area of life.

• To impart knowledge as relevant for our everyday world and not just confined to personal spiritual matters.

• To inspire young people to be Godly leaders in their generation.

Just a little closing snark:
Kennedy's site, the Center for Christian Statesmanship, decorates its pages with quotes from John Ashcroft, and several pictures of throngs of enchanted white people.