Tag: election

Is God a Republican or Democrat?

Kevin23 Comments

I’ve heard more discussion about this year’s election than I’ve ever heard in my entire life. This might be because I’m getting older and my ear is tuned more to politics, but it could also be an indicator that our nation is more interested in this election than any other time in recent history. There have been numerous stories of record early vote turnout and the expectation that there will also be long lines at the polls today. If the 75+ people that were lined up outside the church building this morning at 6:55 am are any indication this is no doubt true.

Being a full-time Christian minister I’m privy to a number of conversations that I most likely would not have otherwise heard. I’ve discussed and heard discussions about this year’s election from a number of different angles. I’ve heard people say things like “If you’re really a Christian you will vote Republican.” I’ve heard someone say, “I’m a Christian so that means I’m voting Democrat.” I’ve also heard people say that neither candidate is really worth of the Office, so they’re either not voting or writing in another person. This election is being hotly debated for sure.

The Bible has some things to say about the role of Christians in politics. It talks a lot about being submissive to earthly rulers:

  • “Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God. Therefore whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment” (Romans 13:1-2).
  • “Remind the people to be subject to rulers and authorities, to be obedient, to be ready to do whatever is good, to slander no one, to be peaceable and considerate, and to show true humility toward all men” (Titus 3:1-2).
  • “Submit yourselves for the Lord’s sake to every authority instituted among men: whether to the king, as the supreme authority, or to governors, who are sent by him to punish those who do wrong and to commend those who do right. For it is God’s will that by doing good you should silence the ignorant talk of foolish men” (1 Peter 2:13-15).
  • “My son, fear the Lord and the king, and do not join with those who do otherwise” (Proverbs 24:21).

Christians are also instructed to pray for our leaders: “First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way” (1 Timothy 2:1-2). One of the coolest ideas I’ve seen lately related to this concept is for us to “Pray Backwards” (RagamuffinSoul.com), which basically means to pray for God to bless the other candidate(s) that you did not vote for with wisdom in leadership. This is a valid idea and it also teaches us a dose of humility, since our way always seems the right or best way.

I’ve seen and heard a lot of discussion about praying that a particular candidate is elected President.  I’m not opposed to praying bold prayers (see Luke 11 & 18), but I also know that God will accomplish his will on earth regardless of who is in office. He’s done it before and he will do it again and again. As Christians, our hope is built firmly on the foundation of faith in Jesus Christ and His Kingdom alone, not the Office of the President nor any earthly kingdom.

So, should you move to Canada, France, Mexico, or another country if your candidate is not elected? Absolutely not. Will America be more of a Christian nation if a particular party is in power? No. Our Founding Fathers may have been religious people, and possibly even Christians, but it’s most likely that they were Deists. The laws they established may have biblical roots, but that is where the connection ends. Their goals was not to establish another Christendom. It was to establish a county with religious freedoms.

History has shown us that when the church has too much power it can become corrupt and unspiritual (think about the Crusades) and lose sight of its mission. When the church is in power it’s easy to get comfortable and forget that Jesus commanded us to make disciples of all nations (Matthew 28:18-20). We should be involved in politics, but our primary allegiance is to God and His true Kingdom: the church.

So if you’re hoping and praying that McCain will be President, but Obama wins, or if you’re pulling for Obama and McCain wins, don’t lose hope. Also, don’t get too confident if your man wins. They are earthly leaders and are prone to sin (Romans 3:23). Place your faith, hope, and trust in the unchanging power of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

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Interesting reads related to this topic:
http://blogs.lifeway.com/blog/edstetzer/2008/11/barna-the-president-and-our-mi.html
http://www.leadingsmart.com/leadingsmart/2008/10/a-single-issue.html
http://www.leadingsmart.com/leadingsmart/2008/10/donald-miller-o.html

The Presidential race is officially heating up.

Kevin1 Comment

It’s been a busy week in the political world. Barack Obama officially announced that Joe Biden would be his running mate, the Democratic Party held their national convention, and John McCain announce that his running mate would be Sarah Palin would be his running mate.

Normally I don’t really pay a whole lot of attention to politics. In fact, I didn’t watch ANY of the coverage of the Democratic National Convention. One thing that I did find amusing was that Kevin Kiley, co-host of the Michael Irvin Show on 103.3 FM ESPN Radio in Dallas, was outraged by the Cowboys decision to not postpone their final pre-season game in order to not distract from the historic moment of Barack Obama’s nomination acceptance speech. I personally don’t have a problem with the Cowboys decision. While the first African-American to be officially nominated by one of the major political parties is an historic moment in the history of our country, it’s not a big enough moment to have the whole country come to a stand-still. The logistical nightmare of shuffling the game made it worth proceeding as scheduled.

I do know for a fact now that Joe Biden’s son is either a liar or a lunatic. I saw him being interviewed this morning on one of the major news networks and referred to Delaware as being the “greatest state in the country.” I’m all for state pride. Being from Texas it kind of comes with the territory, but come on! It’s Delaware!!! This is the same state that gets made fun of in TV shows and movies ALL THE TIME! It’s just laughable to even consider it being in the top 10 list of greatest states.

The biggest news of the day, of course, was that John McCain chose Sarah Palin as his VP running mate. This was historic as well, since she will be the first woman to have ever been on the ballot for either major party could be the first female Vice President (I obviously don’t know my political history: see Geraldine Ferraro, thanks to the commenter). I really don’t know much about her, so I won’t get into whether or not she’s qualified for the position (which she appears to be from initial reports), but I do want to comment on what I think is somewhat hypocritical in how some of the conservative voices have reacted.

When Hillary Clinton was still in the running for the Democrat nomination I heard multiple times from multiple people that you should not vote for the president based on the person’s gender or skin color, but on their character and whether or not the are qualified for the job. The rationale was that African-Americans should not vote for Obama just because he’s African-American, nor should women vote for Hillary simply because she’s a woman.

This makes sense and I think I agree with it, but now that McCain has picked Palin as his VP I’m hearing the other extreme. I’m hearing conservatives point out that he’s capitalizing on the women who probably would have voted for Hillary who might now vote for McCain because of Palin. This is probably true, but I think it’s hypocritical to condemn one group for using that strategy in one regard, but then speak positively about it for the other.

It’s not surprising, however, because this is politics. As much as both candidates are talking about bringing a change or shaking things up in Washington, when it’s all said and done it’s going to be business as usual. One side of the aisle will bash the ideas of the other side, political backstabbing will take place, and both McCain and Obama will throw dirt at each other in an attempt to win the office. It’s been this way since as long as I can remember and it will be this way as long as our political system is in place.