Last Friday for the first time, I heard Mitt Romney speak in person. I must admit, he was impressive. Speaking before a crowd of Reagan Republicans, Romney was in fine form: charismatic, powerful, and in control. I understood for the first time why many choose to ignore his past record of liberalism and flip flops on many issues. Yet, one line from his speech irked me and recalls a recent gaffe by another former New England Governor running for President.
He talked about no matter what region of the country he was in, the values were all the same across America. He began to list these American values: “We believe in hard work; we believe in education; we believe in the sanctity of life; we believe in marriage; we believe in God.” At this point, the speech took a bizarre turn. “Even those of us who don’t believe in God believe in something greater than ourselves, as Rick Warren calls it, ‘Purpose Driven Life.’”
The detour was brief, but uncomfortable. It seemed in an effort for inclusiveness, Romney wanted to be sure not to offend Atheists. What Romney said is that God is basically an optional American value, which makes belief in God not really an American value.
However, the decision to cite Warren was curious. The thrust of Romney’s statement is that those who don’t believe in God have a Purpose Driven Life as described by Rick Warren.
I went upstairs and searched for my copy. I opened it to Chapter 1: “It All Starts with God.” At the top of Chapter 1 is a quote from super atheist Betrand Russell, “Unless you assume a God, the question of life’s purpose is meaningless.” It would seem incredibly difficult if not completely impossible to use such a book to find a “purpose driven life” for Atheists and Agnostics.
Indeed, Warren lays out the purposes for life in his book:
You were planned for God’s pleasure
You were formed for God’s family
You were created to become like Christ.
You were shaped for serving God
You were made for a mission.
How exactly in this does one find a Purpose Driven Life for an Atheist or Agnostic? What Warren calls a “Purpose Driven Life” is thoroughly Christian. It gets worse for Governor Romney, though. On his You Tube page, he lists Purpose Driven Life as one of his “favorite books.” I’m reminded of Howard Dean’s claim that his favorite New Testament book was Job. It didn’t take long for biblically literate people to point out Job is in the Old Testament and Dean’s attempt to portray himself as a strong religious person were damaged.
This is where we find ourselves with Mitt Romney. Either he intentionally misrepresented the book, or he never actually read it. Using this Christian best-seller in his speeches, and citing it as a favorite book seems little more than a political calculation to placate a constituency you desperately need to win.
Some may consider this a trifling matter, but it’s not. Just as in a mystery, a small clue like dirt on the criminal’s shoe can reveal the larger truth, so Mitt Romney’s willingness to play games and twist reality in small matters should give us some clue to his overall character.
