Since we live in a society with representative government and since our society prides itself on the practice of religious liberty, we as Christians need desperately to vote and vote our values at election time. Many Christians around the world do not have the luxury of expressing their faith or their convictions in the public arena. We do. Many Christians around the world would love to have an opportunity to be heard and to know that their right to practice their convictions in the public arena are protected.
Christians are to be Christ-like in every area of life. They are to represent their Lord in their speech, attitudes and conduct. We should never compartmentalize our faith and relegate it to something on Sunday. Rather, we should live out our faith on a day in and day out basis. That daily living out of faith should be experienced every election day when we vote. Let me give you some examples. If we believe that life is sacred, we should vote against abortion, federal funding of abortion clinics, euthanasia, assisted suicide. If we believe that life is sacred, we should vote for candidates who uphold the sanctity of life and we should vote against candidates who do not uphold the sanctity of human life. If we believe that marriage is between a man and a woman, we should vote for those who uphold that traditional view and vote against those who do not. If we beleive that homosexuality is a perversion of God's plan for humanity, then we should oppose the attempts of politicians and activists to force their agenda on our society. We should vote our values. I hope this November 4th, you'll not leave your faith at home. I hope you'll vote your values!
Tuesday, October 28, 2008
Monday, October 27, 2008
Religious Liberty
Most Christians I know are unaware of the battle for religious liberty that was fought by our forefathers in the faith and the role that battle played in the formation of our own country. The simple version of the story carries us back to the days of dispute between the Pope of Rome and those dissenters who did not agree with corruption of the Roman Church. What was set in motion was a series of events that set that the church of Rome against governmental authorities and those in the church who were vocal in their disagreement with the church's policies. The Roman Church utilized force to implement its policies and silence those who were in disagreement.
As you can imagine, force didn't calm anything, but, instead, fanned the flames. The Roman Church burned people alive for translating the Bible into the language of the people. The Roman Church seized property and confiscated possession and imprisioned people when they attempted to worship God according to their own convictions. Depending upon the alliances, governments would often times participate in the enforcement of the church's policies. In an atmosphere of oppression, the religious liberty of thousands of people was squashed and the morale of the people was broken.
Enter the Ana-baptists, puritans, seperatists and others. These are the folks who refused to bow the knee to the Pope of Rome and worship in a way that was against their convictions and conscience. Those who refused to allow their religious liberty to be taken were either treated harshly or banished or allowed to leave to go to the colonies that would eventually become the United States of America. The very foundation of this country has its roots in the fight to preserve religious liberty. I would encourage you to vote this election according to your values and not allow a secular and increasingly pagan society keep you from the polls because you're Chrisitan. You have a right to vote and a right to be heard as a Christian. Exercise that privilege that was purchased with the blood of our forefathers. Vote November 4th.
As you can imagine, force didn't calm anything, but, instead, fanned the flames. The Roman Church burned people alive for translating the Bible into the language of the people. The Roman Church seized property and confiscated possession and imprisioned people when they attempted to worship God according to their own convictions. Depending upon the alliances, governments would often times participate in the enforcement of the church's policies. In an atmosphere of oppression, the religious liberty of thousands of people was squashed and the morale of the people was broken.
Enter the Ana-baptists, puritans, seperatists and others. These are the folks who refused to bow the knee to the Pope of Rome and worship in a way that was against their convictions and conscience. Those who refused to allow their religious liberty to be taken were either treated harshly or banished or allowed to leave to go to the colonies that would eventually become the United States of America. The very foundation of this country has its roots in the fight to preserve religious liberty. I would encourage you to vote this election according to your values and not allow a secular and increasingly pagan society keep you from the polls because you're Chrisitan. You have a right to vote and a right to be heard as a Christian. Exercise that privilege that was purchased with the blood of our forefathers. Vote November 4th.
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