Today I Dropped My Party Affiliation

It has been a long time since I’ve posted. There has been a lot going on in our lives, and God has had other things for me. I’ve never wanted to post just to “post” or keep up a following. That isn’t what this blog is about. It is a place for me to share things God has shown me, slices of my life, neat moments, etc. I’d hoped my first post “back” would be an upbeat one, and in a sense it is. I feel freer—like I’ve cut one more string with the world. Today I dropped my political party affiliation.

Not that my changing will change anything in the big picture, or that it will change anyone else’s mind, but it was something I needed to do. I changed from Republican, which I have been since I first registered in the 1980s when Reagan was President, to no political party affiliation. It has been a decision long in coming, but which came to a head today. My reasons, for anyone interested (and don't worry about reading if you aren't), are below. This is not a judgment or anything against anyone who feels differently. God speaks to all who will listen and it is not for me to say if another Christian has heard from Him to follow a different path. I have friends I dearly love who believe very differently from what I am about to right and who I know love Jesus. But, here is my path to this point—my path—this is about me, not a condemnation of anyone who feels differently if God has led them to that place . . .

The longer I've been a Christian the more I have been bothered by affiliating with any political party. God tells me my citizenship is in Heaven, and He is my King, and to He alone I have allegiance. But, I am also in this world and part of a country where I’ve served in protecting our right to vote, and the Republican party has, for the most part, seemed to best match my views as a values voter (placing abortion, Christian values, authority of God as the source of right and wrong, etc. over things like the economy or environment). Since I was a Republican since before I was a Christian, I never really thought to change. But, increasingly I have seen the Republican party either cater to Evangelicals, trying to win our votes (at least until the General Election); or evangelicals being the assumed and taken for granted right wing of the Republican party (because even at worst they knew we’d seem them as better than Democrats). It became more about party than Jesus.

But over the last 10-plus years I’ve come to realize that the Republican party no longer represents me (though they still do better than the Democrats, and I can still vote for them if led to in a General Election). For awhile I could say it was “politicians” who didn't represent me, but this most recent election, in which the people of the party are again (and again . . . how many Presidential nominees now?) nominating someone who is not a strong Christian, I have realized it is not just politicians, but the people of the Republican party themselves who as a majority no longer are in a place in which I agree. When I see candidates like Santorum, Huckabee, and other strong Constitutional, Christian, Conservatives losing to others—in the Republican’s own nomination, NOT a General Election—I have to realize the party no longer believes in what I do.

I, personally, believe a candidate’s faith is the most important element in voting for them. I believe it is impossible for a leader to effectively know—and to stand for without compromising—true right and wrong, or to understand things like foreign policy, etc., without a supreme revelation on, and giving primacy to, the authority of God, the inspiration of Scripture, and an understanding of Spiritual warfare and the working of the unseen in places like the Middle East, etc.

I, for one, can not come to support Donald Trump, who is the republican nominee as of today. I’ve written about this before, so I’ll only summarize it here, but as a Christian I can’t justify it. He is proud and God opposes the proud. I can not support a candidate whom God will oppose. That is very scary to me. Mr. Trump is a lover of money. He shows no repentance of his marital “flightyness.” I’ve not read his book, but I understand he boasts of his sexual exploits. Much of his huge revenues comes from gambling—and I’ve been to Atlantic City and Vegas and Reno and seen the brokenness and seediness that comes with that. There is so much more that causes me to ask how any Christian could support him (especially in the Primaries when we had other choices), but probably the one that looms over all is his unashamed financial support of a list of people (Democrats) he has given money to because it benefits him—people who have championed abortion, gay marriage, gun control, etc. To him the end justifies the means, and I can not see how that represents in any way, shape, or form a man who is after God’s heart. It is a yoking with darkness for personal gain, a "selling of one’s soul" if you will. To support that and call Himself a Christian is, to me, to clearly say he is the kind of Sunday Christian that thinks God is for spiritual things, but the rest is “real life.”

I don’t know what I’ll do in the General Election. I’ve heard all the throw away vote arguments, and how a vote for someone other than Trump is a vote for the Democrat, and I understand their reasoning. I also know I’ve lost the right to be a part of future Republican nomination processes. But I had to do what I felt is right. I will not be the assumed supporter of a Republican just because I am a fundamentalist (oh, what a nasty word today) Christian. Last year Franklin Graham did the same thing and it was a reopening for me of the question I’ve wrestled with now and then for over a decade. But, I thought, "Let’s just see what happens in this nomination period. We’ve got strong Christians running (not just those pandering to our vote). Let’s see what our party is made of . . ."

Well, I’ve seen. And I’m walking away. I’ll pray and ask God to guide me. I certainly WON’T vote for Hillary Clinton or Bernie Sanders. But I don’t know what I’ll do otherwise. But I’d rather stand for God and trust Him with my worldly condition then give my support to a man who I believe stands against all that I do. A man that funded, albeit indirectly, the murder of babies and the eroding of Christian values because it furthered his business interests and who, to this day, calls that okay because “he’s a businessman.” Well, the love of money is the root of all evil, and he has said he loves money. I know many wealthy people who love God and aren’t corrupted by money, but he’s not one I can see able to handle the two. God says you can’t serve Him and mammon both.

I'll be praying. God will lead me. Right now I don't know what God will ask of me in the General Election, but I will certainly be asking Him. I am confused, to be honest. I don't want Hilary or Bernie, and I do guess Trump would be better than them if he actually sticks to his claims of beliefs on issues, but I have to ask God what He wants me to do in the ballot box. May He lead me. But, I do feel more free. If anything, the Republican party will know that they can't assume they've got my vote just because I am registered to them or because I'm a conservative Christian. It is time for some soul searching at every level.

God is On the Move

These are exciting times as a Christian who believes in the Bible and in bringing our life into consistency with our professed world view. These are times when, I believe, God is challenging American and much of the chaff will be separated from the wheat as were are, finally, being forced to evaluate our faith at a much deeper level than simply our stand on gay marriage or abortion. I will explain why I am so excited in a moment, but first I want to give a few caveats to nip in the bud some rebuttals. This is a longer post, but I would really value your thoughts and feedback.

Caveats

First: If you haven't read "Electability" (my January 19 post) you might want to. In it I lay out why I think that word is a subtle way of watering down our faith, causing us to pick a candidate who might not match our faith well over one who does. In it I talked about Rick Santorum (hardly on the radar screen at the time in many people's minds), and about how the Bible is full of examples of times when what was "wise" to the world was not honored by God, but rather God tested the heart of His people to see if they would choose faith over "conventional" wisdom (the same worldly system of wisdom, by the way, that tells you that your relatives down the line were monkeys and fish). Reading that post will help you understand me better, and where I am coming from, in this post.

Second: I recognize there are significant issues with Catholicism that Protestants and Evangelicals have. I disagree with Catholics on many issues of the faith. But, that said, I also know many individual Catholics who I am far more convinced are born again Christians than many professing non-Catholic "Christians" I have met who might be quick to point out Catholic faults. I am just glad none of us need perfect theology to be saved, because if we did none of us would be.

Third: No candidate is perfect. None of us are. I doubt any of us would want someone demanding perfection from our entire life, or someone going back and scrutinizing everything we have said, done, written, etc. over the last 20 years and then us having to defend it in 10 second sound bites. Whether you are voting for Santorum or not, I believe what I am about to say will be thought provoking and of value to you.

With That Said, God is On the Move . . .

I can't tell you how exciting it has been for Mary Ann and I to watch the news at night in the last week or two and see the discussions that Rick's Santorum's vetting is causing. Combine that with Tebowmania and now Linsanity and I can't remember a season when I have heard discussions of faith—specifically Christian faith!—so often in the media. (Even after 9/11 I remember God being talked about a lot as comfort and a place to turn, but never this extent of discussion about larger issues of world view.)

What is so exciting to me is that I am hearing things talked about now that I can not ever remember being addressed on such a scale. It seems so often that Christians are relegated (often self relegated) to abortion and gay marriage and a few specific button issues in election cycles. This shallow focus allows Christians to accept or reject individual issues without having to be confronted with a call to consistency in their faith across the board. But Santorum's vetting and the close examination of his statements now and in the past are confronting professing Christians on a much higher level, and I am shouting out, "At last!" Our faith and world view provides the framework and reason for our individual stands—and our individual stands without the full expression of our faith and world view make us be simply seen as angry, judgmental people. But, if our world view (the gospel, the love of God, the reality of sin, the hope of faith, the reality of spiritual warfare and evil, etc.) is shared in fulness and in full context it will, I believe draw many to it—or at least help them understand us better, and help Christians identify inconsistencies between their profession of belief and their lives and choices and priorities and thoughts.

Like him or not, I can't remember a major candidate in recent times who has made it this far seeming to be so across the board in consistency with his world view and his policies as Santorum is. You can't listen to him and not see that this man has a world view and he sticks to it and brings all his other views into consistency with it. If you have read my blog for any length of time you know that this is a major cry of mine—it is ignorant and shallow to expect to separate a candidate from their world view and faith as, if that world view and faith is truly held, it should impact all they are and do.

And, the world view being discussed, is one that should excite Christians beyond measure! Finally, in the major media, we are hearing discussions about Satan, and good and evil, and spiritual warfare, and Satan's attacks on America—and we are being given a much bigger picture of why life is sacred, why people are precious, why religious liberty is so important, why we must support Israel and see some things in the world as truly evil, why the earth is for people's use and stewardship (but not above or equal to people), etc. We are seeing convenient Christianity challenged (meaning people can't just throw out that they are a Christian to get elected, but their lives are being examined for consistency). We are seeing the Protestant denominations called out on their collapse to the world. (Criticize Catholics for what you will, but at least they have stood strong on many of the issues many Protestant denominations have completely caved in on.) When we have CNN printing some things like the following, it should excite us!

"This is not a political war at all, this is not a culture war at all, this is a spiritual war," Santorum said . . . "And the father of lies has his sights on what you think the father of lies, Satan, would have his sights on.  A good, decent, powerful, influential country, the United States of America."

Santorum said Satan was first, and most successfully, attacked academia. Once academia fell to pride and its own truths, he said, the Protestant Church fell next in the United States. "We look at the shape of mainline Protestantism in this country, and it is in shambles, it is gone from the world of Christianity as I see it," he said.

Again, like Santorum or not, we finally are seeing the core issues addressed and I believe it will (or should) force individual Christians to decide where they stand. No longer can we simply reject an issue (choose economy over abortion as a priority, for example). The Santorum debate is forcing us to choose a world view and to see how many of our individual choices may be inconsistent with the world view we claim to believe in. It is forcing us to decide what we believe about the Bible. It is forcing us to look deep and decide, who are we going to serve? Our heart we will have to have been confronted. And, maybe, God, who values our heart and faith over external circumstances, is simply checking the heart of His children and beginning to force issues that will force Christians to decide who they are going to follow—Him, or the world. And, by having opposing world views so prominently displayed and contrasted, we may not be able, any more, to walk with one foot on each side of the fence. And that would be exciting to me, to see God's children finally have to choose!

"Electability"

I hear a lot about "electability" today in the Republican primary race. It seems a lot of people are talking about voting for a candidate who doesn't best match their values, priorities, etc. because they think that candidate can best beat President Obama. I have some real mixed emotions about that whole issue.

I understand in the pure, "world's" sense, the logic of thinking that way and not "throwing away" a vote . . . but where does God come in to it all? What does it say about Christians who think that way? To the world they are logical and using common sense, but I wonder what God says about it. Some may say they are using the brain God gave them to make their decision and be practical . . . but I wonder.

Where is the God of the impossible in all this thinking? Where is faith? Where is a belief in a God who can, in days, upturn entire nations and regions in revival? What does it say when we vote for a candidate who marginally and questionably supports our values, instead of one who unashamedly has supported them and lived them through decades of visibility in the public sector?

Might it even be possible that God is watching and testing His people. After all, it is His people who He says must turn from their ways and call out to Him for Him to hear and heal their land. What if it is maybe like a time the Holy Spirit nudges you to do something illogical or irrational in the world's eyes (help someone, give someone money or the benefit of the doubt, etc.) and you get "burned". The world shakes its head and says, "Maybe you won't be so naive next time" . . . when maybe God is saying, "You were faithful, now trust Me."

I think that often there is something much bigger at work than what our limited understanding can fathom. At the heart of God is the issue of the faithfulness, and faith, of His people. When I read through the Bible I find example after example of God's anger at His people compromising with the world, though what they did seemed "logical" and "common sense" to those around. Take some time and start to think about different events in history you are aware of that mirror what I am saying.

How about Saul keeping back some of the enemy's goods because of the people, and not doing what God said. It cost him a kingdom. Think about Abraham and Sarah "helping" God out with Hagar—it cost our world a lot of turmoil. Think about Peter caving to the pressure from the Jews. It cost him a public tongue lashing from Paul. Think about the people of Israel wanting a king. It cost them the chance to have God be their king. We could fill hundreds of lines with more examples of people doing what was "logical" and "wise" in the world's system of thought and it grieving or angering God's heart.

On the flip side, what about Abraham offering up his son through whom the promise was to be fulfilled? It earned Him God's tremendous favor. What about Gideon leading an army of 300 against over 100,000 enemy? It was a great victory for God's people. What about the woman "wasting" a perfume worth a year's wages on Jesus' feet, to the complaints of the disciples? She will be remembered for eternity for it. What about a young virgin agreeing to carry a baby from God at tremendous cost to her in this world? It earned her a privilege beyond measure. What about a man building an ark for decades of his life when those around him probably mocked him? It saved him, his family, and all mankind.

I am a little leery of the word "electability" being thrown around more than the word "God" and "faith" and the concept of honoring God first and trusting Him with the results. I don't know who we will end up seeing in the Presidential race opposing President Obama, but I know that I, for one, at this time and based on what I currently know, am going to vote for Rick Santorum. He appears to be a strong Christian candidate who, by all accounts that I have read, embodies (and doesn't just tout) the values of our faith, who seems humble yet uncompromising, who has a wife who has chosen to stay home and raise and school her family at the sake of her career, and who seems to understand foreign policy through a Christian world view and lens. I'll just trust the results to God, and know He is always at work. I just know, for me, that I can't let the world's "wisdom" be a stronger pull to me than my faith. From there it is a short road to caving on most of the issues facing us in this culture. I would rather honor God and "lose" in the world's eyes, than "win" in the world's eyes and compromise my faith. My God is very, very big and I can trust Him with the results. May He just see my heart pure and my trust and love for Him being the driving force in my life. I am not saying anything about other Christians who don't vote for him, that is between them and God, I am just saying that for me I want to let my faith have more power than human wisdom. There may be other reasons to vote for a candidate than electability, and God may show someone them, but I want to be sure that, in my heart, I never compromise who I feel best represents the values and faith I believe are most important to God.