Book note: Pious parable parses presidential politics

Recent political events have shown us that Americans are open to more than just the status quo. Minnesota elected the first Muslim to Congress, the Democratic primaries saw a woman and an African-American competing to be the presidential nominee, and environmental concerns have shown up on the political and corporate radar. With all this progress, the storyline in Minneapolis author Lisa Venable’s new book might not be all that far-fetched. The title? God For President: A Parable About the Power of Love.

In Venable’s novel, God becomes incarnate as Mary Love, a mysterious woman who shows up out of nowhere and makes a run for the Oval Office. The story follows Sarah Rose, a young but disillusioned activist who’s all but given up on the political system until Love shows up and reignites Rose’s passion.

God For President: A Parable About the Power of Love, a novel by Lisa Venable. Published by Conari Press (2008). $14.95.

Venable, who herself is an inspirational speaker and spiritual psychotherapist, uses the story to present her idea of what a message of love might look like in the political realm. As Mary Love hits the campaign trail to spread her message, Venable uses Love’s platform to spread her own message of love. (Got that?)

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As Mary Love hits the campaign trail to spread her message, Venable uses Love’s platform to spread her own message of love. (Got that?)

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God for President, though obviously political and fictional, still leaves you with a lot to ponder, and will probably do more to lifting your spirits then a whole shelf of self-help books. Religious or not, you can’t help but find yourself rooting for Mary Love to win the election, and curious to see what the nation might look like under the guidance of Love.

The book isn’t just touchy-feely—Venable really engages the details. For example, during the presidential debates, Love jumps into the audience and has people form circles where they have honest dialogue, truly listening to one another, sharing their hearts and values. The idea seemed a little impractical, but still, I found myself longing that it were actually possible to have this kind of encouraging and affirming dialog with people from all different political viewpoints.

If I have one major critique of Venable’s novel, it is that it ends far too aburptly. As hopeful as the power of Love sounded, it seemed to go the way of most politicians’ campaign promises: a lot of talk, no action. Who knows, maybe Venable’s just leaving room for a sequel. There’s already buzz that God is on the short list for a Nobel Peace Prize.

Ariah Fine is a community activist and freelance writer living in North Minneapolis with his wife and beautiful daughter.