http://change.gov/
Watch out for this guy....people who don't lie are dangerous.
Saturday, November 8, 2008
Friday, November 7, 2008
Tears in my Eyes
Take a gander at these lyrics and try not to have tears in your eyes:
Christian band? Nope. Christian themes? See for yourself.
"Under god but we kill like the son of Sam
But if you feel like I feel like about the son of man
We will overcome"
"We shall not be moved
Except By a child with no socks and shoes
Except by a woman dying from the loss of food
Except by a freedom fighter bleeding on a cross for you"
Christian band? Nope. Christian themes? See for yourself.
"Under god but we kill like the son of Sam
But if you feel like I feel like about the son of man
We will overcome"
"We shall not be moved
Except By a child with no socks and shoes
Except by a woman dying from the loss of food
Except by a freedom fighter bleeding on a cross for you"
Thursday, November 6, 2008
The Moral Dilemma of Voting Democrat vs Republican
I got a lot of good responses on my last post and I would like to delve deeper into my thoughts on why it is possible for a Christian to vote for a pro-choice candidate. Aside from the actual fact that most supreme court justices are conservative, more presidents since Roe v. Wade have been Republican than Democrat, and the fact that nothing has changed since the decision. I am not going to comment on the effectiveness of the decision to elect a pro-life candidate.
I will, however, comment on the issue of abortion. I do not like abortion, I am not pro-murder even in the case of the death penalty.
While in college, at a non-Christian school, I had to come to grips with the fact that I should not expect non-Christians to behave in a Christian manner. The issue was that I was bothered by the promiscuity, alcohol abuse, and general immorality of many people. What I had to realize is that they are not Christians and should not be held to the same moral standard to which I hold myself. And even if they are Christians it is not my job to pass judgement upon them. Perhaps to tell them, in love, that they are not behaving in a way that Jesus taught but never to chastise them publicly for their actions.
With that said, we do not live in a Christian nation. We should not make laws enforcing morality or actions that we deem to be moral. The society may be going to hell but it is not our job to fix governments. We are in the business of telling the world about Jesus, who He is, what He did, and showing via our actions that the way the world exists is not how God intended it to be. We, as Christians, can't even control our own lives. We are all sinners fallen from grace and it is only by the death and ressurection of Jesus Christ that we have any business calling ourselves part of a royal priesthood. It is only because of Jesus taking our own sins upon us that we are in the place we are. Who are we, as sinners, to attempt to enforce righteousness upon other sinners? If God gives people the choice to sin, so should we.
This can be extrapolated to all manners of life in which Christians deal with non-Christians. Gay marriage, abortion, prayer in schools, etc are not things that should even be on our radar. Let's take a long hard look in the mirror at our own fallings, our lying, divorce rate, lack of humility, abandoning the poor, not caring for the widows, migrating from the cities, racial segregation in church, doctrinal issues that have nothing to do with Faith. The list goes on and on.
WE DO NOT LIVE IN A CHRISTIAN COUNTRY. We can pray that our leaders are Christians and behave in a Christian manner, but the nation and its residents have the freedom to do as they choose.
Therefore, the decision for president should be for the candidate who we feel best represents a Godly person and who will bring morality and applied Christianity into his decision making process. A single issue does not make or break a candidate's validity and, in the same way, a single sin does not remove all possibility for redemption.
I believe strongly that had John McCain spoken in the way he did during his concession speech during the entire campaign, my decision would have been a whole lot harder. The fact, however, that he was influenced so much by the RNC makes me glad he did not win. I can only pray now that the Barack I believed in can bring a Godly presence to the office of the presidency and that his policies will reflect his faith.
Please do not call into question Barack's faith. He stated his faith and it has been reflected in his speeches. Regardless of his name or his parentage, he grew up in the church and attended church his entire adult life. We will know what his beliefs are by the fruits of the spirit, which he seems to have.
I will, however, comment on the issue of abortion. I do not like abortion, I am not pro-murder even in the case of the death penalty.
While in college, at a non-Christian school, I had to come to grips with the fact that I should not expect non-Christians to behave in a Christian manner. The issue was that I was bothered by the promiscuity, alcohol abuse, and general immorality of many people. What I had to realize is that they are not Christians and should not be held to the same moral standard to which I hold myself. And even if they are Christians it is not my job to pass judgement upon them. Perhaps to tell them, in love, that they are not behaving in a way that Jesus taught but never to chastise them publicly for their actions.
With that said, we do not live in a Christian nation. We should not make laws enforcing morality or actions that we deem to be moral. The society may be going to hell but it is not our job to fix governments. We are in the business of telling the world about Jesus, who He is, what He did, and showing via our actions that the way the world exists is not how God intended it to be. We, as Christians, can't even control our own lives. We are all sinners fallen from grace and it is only by the death and ressurection of Jesus Christ that we have any business calling ourselves part of a royal priesthood. It is only because of Jesus taking our own sins upon us that we are in the place we are. Who are we, as sinners, to attempt to enforce righteousness upon other sinners? If God gives people the choice to sin, so should we.
This can be extrapolated to all manners of life in which Christians deal with non-Christians. Gay marriage, abortion, prayer in schools, etc are not things that should even be on our radar. Let's take a long hard look in the mirror at our own fallings, our lying, divorce rate, lack of humility, abandoning the poor, not caring for the widows, migrating from the cities, racial segregation in church, doctrinal issues that have nothing to do with Faith. The list goes on and on.
WE DO NOT LIVE IN A CHRISTIAN COUNTRY. We can pray that our leaders are Christians and behave in a Christian manner, but the nation and its residents have the freedom to do as they choose.
Therefore, the decision for president should be for the candidate who we feel best represents a Godly person and who will bring morality and applied Christianity into his decision making process. A single issue does not make or break a candidate's validity and, in the same way, a single sin does not remove all possibility for redemption.
I believe strongly that had John McCain spoken in the way he did during his concession speech during the entire campaign, my decision would have been a whole lot harder. The fact, however, that he was influenced so much by the RNC makes me glad he did not win. I can only pray now that the Barack I believed in can bring a Godly presence to the office of the presidency and that his policies will reflect his faith.
Please do not call into question Barack's faith. He stated his faith and it has been reflected in his speeches. Regardless of his name or his parentage, he grew up in the church and attended church his entire adult life. We will know what his beliefs are by the fruits of the spirit, which he seems to have.
Wednesday, November 5, 2008
Obama: The First Christian President Since Carter
There is a large difference to me between someone who professes Christianity and someone whose demeanor and policies reflect their Faith. Let's assume we are all under the rule and reign of God. How many wars would we have? How many mothers would starve? How much would we give to the poor? How many immigrants would we allow into our nation? I am a Republican because I think it is the responsibility of the states to take care of their constituents and the national government to take care of the nation. I also think it is the responsibility of Americans to donate from their excess and sacrifice some comforts so that the people of this world can have what we take for granted. I think donating to a non-profit should be a tax writeoff meaning if I give 10% of my income to my church, the government sees that as me taxing myself. Tax rates should be defined based on cost of living in your state. If it costs a family of 4 100,000 to live in your state, there will be no tax on incomes less than 100,000 for a famiy of four. This would be the new poverty line for your state. Then, any income above and beyond the cost of living, would be flat taxed at a nationally regulated rate. This includes ALL income figured out like this: How much money did you start out with this year? How much money was given to you? How much do you have now? So let's say I start the year with 100,000 in stock and I make 50,000 a year. My stocks gain 20%, so my income was 70,000.
I also believe that people should be able to donate to non profits in lieu of giving money to the government. You want separation of church and state? Here it is. Give money to the church or the state or a combination :)
Yes, some people make gobs of money, and yes they (mostly) earn it. If we were all Christians and living under the rule and reign of the one true King, there would be no need for forced generosity; however, we live in a fallen world, where people are inherently greedy. It is therefore the responsibility of the community of people as a whole (aka the government) to enforce said generosity. With the ability to donate to non profits in lieu of paying taxes, people with a ton of money would be able to pick and choose where their money was spent and would not have to give it to the government if they felt a non-profit would do a better job. Any non-donated tax would go to the state government, with percentages defined by a federal mandate.
The money from property/luxury/sales/people bad at math (lottery and gambling) tax would go into a general state coffer to pay for schools and other infrastructure for the state. The states would then be taxed on their income and that money would go to the federal government to provide infrastructure for intrastate travel, communication, and the common defense.
Why do I say that Barack is a Christian? Look at the speech he made last night: We are all responsible for taking care of our fellow citizens. Who is your neighbor? Everybody in this nation. Why do I say Bush, Clinton, Bush 1, and Reagen are not Christians? Look at the way they raped the world. NAFTA, Iraq, retaliation instead of forgiveness, calling an entire nation an "evil empire", the term "axis of evil", WTO, Afghanistan, shutting down immigration, allowing for corruption and greed to spread like wildfire through the private sector, rampant unemployment, the fall of the housing market, greedy corporations giving loans to people with no money, greedy people unwilling to save money, etc. Do you think these policies were tempered in the fires of prayer?
I am not saying that Barack is perfect, but I am saying that I have never heard a President in my lifetime speak in this way. If his policies are close to his speech, this changes everything I have seen in my lifetime about Christian Presidents.
I also believe that people should be able to donate to non profits in lieu of giving money to the government. You want separation of church and state? Here it is. Give money to the church or the state or a combination :)
Yes, some people make gobs of money, and yes they (mostly) earn it. If we were all Christians and living under the rule and reign of the one true King, there would be no need for forced generosity; however, we live in a fallen world, where people are inherently greedy. It is therefore the responsibility of the community of people as a whole (aka the government) to enforce said generosity. With the ability to donate to non profits in lieu of paying taxes, people with a ton of money would be able to pick and choose where their money was spent and would not have to give it to the government if they felt a non-profit would do a better job. Any non-donated tax would go to the state government, with percentages defined by a federal mandate.
The money from property/luxury/sales/people bad at math (lottery and gambling) tax would go into a general state coffer to pay for schools and other infrastructure for the state. The states would then be taxed on their income and that money would go to the federal government to provide infrastructure for intrastate travel, communication, and the common defense.
Why do I say that Barack is a Christian? Look at the speech he made last night: We are all responsible for taking care of our fellow citizens. Who is your neighbor? Everybody in this nation. Why do I say Bush, Clinton, Bush 1, and Reagen are not Christians? Look at the way they raped the world. NAFTA, Iraq, retaliation instead of forgiveness, calling an entire nation an "evil empire", the term "axis of evil", WTO, Afghanistan, shutting down immigration, allowing for corruption and greed to spread like wildfire through the private sector, rampant unemployment, the fall of the housing market, greedy corporations giving loans to people with no money, greedy people unwilling to save money, etc. Do you think these policies were tempered in the fires of prayer?
I am not saying that Barack is perfect, but I am saying that I have never heard a President in my lifetime speak in this way. If his policies are close to his speech, this changes everything I have seen in my lifetime about Christian Presidents.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)