Huff Post: Rabbi Alan Lurie: At one of the Republican presidential primary debates, viewers were invited to present questions to the candidates via YouTube. One questioner was an intense young man who held a King James Bible. He asked, “How you answer this will tell us everything about you. Do you believe every word of this book, and I mean specifically THIS book that I’m holding in my hand?” This young man was challenging the candidates to commit not only to the literal truth of the Christian Bible, but also to this one particular version of it. And, presumably, any answer less than a firm “yes” would demonstrate to the questioner that the candidate is not a “man of faith.”

The question brought nervous laughter as the candidates took deep breaths, knowing the dangers inherent in their answers, especially given the criticality of the religious conservative vote. But none of the candidates, all who profess to be religious, answered with a simple “yes.” Each gave varied and subtle answers. While a cynic may see these as political equivocation, I was pleased and impressed, because the candidate’s answers were theologically sound rejections of simplistic literalism.

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