Clutching a leather-bound Bible in a TV spot, Democrat John Arthur Eaves Jr. invokes Jesus as a minister to the “least and lost.” He again quotes Scripture when criticizing his opponent, saying Gov. Haley Barbour is beholden to “moneychangers.”
“The most crucial question in this campaign is: ‘Who do you serve?’ Eaves says repeatedly on the campaign trail. “I want to serve my creator by serving the people of Mississippi.”
Politics and religion might be separate worlds in some parts of the country, but in Mississippi — a mostly Protestant state in the Bible Belt — the ballot box and the old rugged cross are intertwined.
Barbour has mostly emphasized job creation and recovery from Hurricane Katrina, but he can hold his own in the Battle of the Bible. During a recent debate, the Republican governor referred to a passage in the Book of Daniel in which a hand appears out of nowhere to write a message on the wall of the temple in Babylon.
Magnolia Tribune
