Tag: Politics

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Ignorance in Action

“Nothing in the world is more dangerous than a sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity.” – Martin Luther King Jr.

constitutionI’m not one to shy away from a debate on politics. I never let politics trump my faith and the Gospel, and I never use my platform as a pastor to share my view on politics or to try and push legislation towards my view. I will however, when given the opportunity or when a discussion is taking place, share my view on given subjects.

As we all know, the Democrats in the U.S. House of Representatives passed the Senate Health Care Reform Bill last night. As I was surfing around on Twitter, I engaged in a few late night discussions on the topic, and then a few more this morning. I follow a lot of Christians on Twitter, and remarkably, I saw several diverse responses to the passage of the bill. Some point to Jesus and his teaching to care for the poor and the sick, while some others argue away the increase in taxes on the top wage earners in America to pay for it all, and then there are those who argue, that this is a bad rout to take as a Country for a list of reasons. I’ll reserve my thoughts for a potential future post…I’m not sure that I want to go there right now 🙂

Here’s what has provoked this post, because this issue in itself is, in my opinion, becoming a bigger and bigger problem among American Christians. I’ve seen A LOT of people either in a straightforward way or in a suggestive manner say that we as Christians need to just accept this new law, because Romans 13 tells us to (paraphrased) “Submit to authority because all authority is from God…to rebel against authority is to rebel against God.” This suggestion and view of Scripture makes me shrill as if someone were taking their fingernails and running them down a chalkboard, here’s a couple of reasons why:

1. It reveals an ignorance about the foundations of our country: The United States of America is a Democracy in the form of a Representative Republic. Our authority is a document known as the Constitution. It is Government for the people, by the people. Our Senators, our Congresspeople, our Supreme Court Judges, and our President are NOT our authority. We are their authority. They are not to dictate rules and regulations to the people, rather they are to represent and enforce the will of the people and defend the authority of the land, the Constitution. We do not serve them, they serve us. Our American tradition is to give them honor and respect, but that should not be mistaken with authority. Our country is not a dictatorship.

2. It reveals an ignorance about the beginning of our country: To suggest that it is a sin or somehow against Romans 13 to speak out against a law that has been passed or to just “accept” what “is”, is to imply that the entire founding of our country was founded in sin. Our forefathers should have never picked up a rifle (they should have been content with oppression), the Pilgrims should have never boarded the first ship to flee persecution (they should have just accepted it), and we should all be speaking in a British tongue today (Because America would not be America). Who knows, maybe that is how you feel?

Romans 13 was instructed in a totally different political system than America. Maybe I shouldn’t be so surprised that people are interpreting it based on an American lifestyle and political system? America seems to be the filter in which we interpret the Bible many times. Romans 13 is definitely applicable in many situations, but not in this situation or in any debate concerning the laws of this land, it is up to our debate and our wills to form those laws. If the Democrats truly went against what the people said they wanted, and what polls said they wanted, it would not be the people ignoring Romans 13, it would be the politicians. There has been a huge movement in recent years for some people within Christianity to silence other Christians from sharing their political views. They complain “Christians are too political” – Yet, they will turn and loudly share their opposing viewpoint as they shame others into silence. We as Christian Americans have just as much voice as any other citizen, in fact it is our responsibility as citizens to be political, whether that voice is Independent, Liberal, or Conservative, we must share that voice with the character of Christ. That does not mean to sit back, accept what “is” and be silent. It means to stand up for what you believe in, while representing Christ well.

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Ridiculous

This has got to be one of the most ridiculous campaigns or ideas that I have ever seen, Rock the Vote is asking their mindless loyal followers to withhold sex from anyone who disagrees with the health care reform bill:

I don’t care where you land on the health care debate; this video is pushing an idea that is unethical, immature, and shallow. Seriously, I think its only rhetorical to ask the question “What’s wrong with our society?” anymore. I pity the person who’s convictions, opinions, and thoughts can be persuaded by a temporary moment of pleasure. What’s the difference in selling your body for a dollar and selling it for a vote? It would be NO different if this was coming from a group who opposed the reform, just as it is ridiculous coming from Rock the Vote. Because of a busy week I don’t have time to dive into all of the problems surrounding this video, but you are more than welcome to share your thoughts and opinions. To think, these same people would consider Christians ridiculous for telling people to wait for marriage to have sex. Yeah, I don’t think they listen to themselves very often.

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Should America Close the Money Hole?

We Report…You Decide! Haha, okay not really. I apologize upfront for not being able to bleep out the dirty word in the beginning of the video, but this is still worth showing…its great!

Watch and then Join the Conversation “Should America Close the Money Hole?” – Share your thoughts in the comment section! 🙂

A Special thanks to my sister Jamela for posting this video on Facebook.

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The 10 Cannots and Abraham Lincoln

abraham-lincoln

Today is Abraham Lincoln’s Birthday and many people throughout the country are celebrating our great 16th President. Politicians on both sides of the political aisle love to attribute their party to Lincoln in an attempt to have some of his greatness rub off on them. Lincoln, on today’s political spectrum, would have been considered a Conservative, although Liberals attach themselves to him and praise him because he was responsible for one of the largest increases in the Union. However, much of this was due to Lincoln’s staunch support of the Constitution of the United States, something we rarely hear about, much less see from politicians. Abraham Lincoln believed wholeheartedly “that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” He believed that all men’s rights and freedoms were given to them by God, not by Government, a far cry from what we see today. Lincoln’s increase of the Union was to do one thing: ensure that all slaves be free and granted their God-given rights and freedoms, something the Constitution of the United States promises. The Constitution does not promise a Savior Government to provide financial security for individuals or for businesses, only that all men would have equal opportunity and for the physical protection from foreign and domestic enemies and justice for any who takes those freedoms and rights away. I wonder who protects us from the Government who takes those freedoms and rights away?

It is because of Lincoln’s view on limited Government, that some historians believe the “10 Cannots” were attributed to him, based on some of his thoughts, speeches, and ideas. However, others attribute it solely to a flyer that was sent out by a Conservative Group, one side containing a quote by Lincoln, the other the 10 Cannots by William J. H. Boetcker. The author of the 10 Cannots is William Boetcker, a Presbyterian pastor, who was an outspoken Conservative, you can read more on him HERE.

I believe in light of our current political situation, our current economic problems, in honor of Lincoln’s Birthday and his support of limited government, I would post William Boetcker’s 10 Cannot’s for us all to think on today…they are very powerful:

  1. You cannot bring about prosperity by discouraging thrift.
  2. You cannot strengthen the weak by weakening the strong.
  3. You cannot help little men by tearing down big men.
  4. You cannot lift the wage earner by pulling down the wage payer.
  5. You cannot help the poor by destroying the rich.
  6. You cannot establish sound security on borrowed money.
  7. You cannot further the brotherhood of man by inciting class hatred.
  8. You cannot keep out of trouble by spending more than you earn.
  9. You cannot build character and courage by destroying men’s initiative and independence.
  10. You cannot help men permanently by doing for them what they can and should do for themselves.

 

William J. H. Boetcker
William J. H. Boetcker
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The Ronald Reagan Library

After my airline ticket was purchased for the Gathering my uncle moved from L.A. back to Atlanta, so I got stuck in California for a couple of extra days alone. My friend Tom suggested that I go check out the Reagan Library, so I did. Reagan was my President. He was in office from the time I was born until I was 8 years old, and what a great President he was. I was blown away by this place, it is not ultra exciting as it is a museum of sorts, but the videos, the pictures, the letters, and the audio of Reagan playing throughout the building are awesome! The historical items they have on display are very cool. I got to see the very x-ray taken when Reagan was shot. I walked away thinking to myself three thoughts: #1 Reagan was a great leader, #2 Reagan loved his wife, and #3 Reagan loved this country…even if it was at the expense of losing popularity in the world. If you ever get an opportunity…go see it! Semi Valley is beautiful and when you look out at the land surrounding the library, it helps put into perspective how BIG God is and how small we are.

One final personal note. Neither one of our Presidential candidates could stand toe to toe with Reagan. I know McCain likes to say he is a foot soldier in Reagan’s army, but Reagan would probably disagree. On the other hand, if you are an Obama supporter, Reagan would eat your candidate for lunch and still need dessert. The words of Reagan echoing through this Library are powerful, and I could not help but to think how much trouble we will be in if Obama is elected. I will do a post in the coming days about a great story I heard from one of the videos that I watched at the Library, its powerful. Until then, check out the photos below. They are not the greatest as they are from my cell phone camera (Nicki would not let me take her camera). If you click the photo for a second time it will expand into a larger photo.