No Matter What Happens . . .

No matter what happens in the elections tomorrow, our basis of hope doesn't change. If the candidate you want to win in fact wins, you have no more hope than you did before. If the candidate you want to win loses, you have no less hope then you did before. Not if your hope is in God.

I was blessed to attend a meeting last Saturday with others who are looking at how abortion might be abolished. One video that was shown was from a lawyer in Texas and some of the things he shared were stunning, eye opening, and took me to a place of remembering the Israelites wanting a king like other nations. (Please know that in what I am about to share I am not attacking a political party, but giving Christians some much needed clarity on where our hope really lies.)

In the video (and according to web pages I researched since seeing it) this man showed how in the last 48 years the Supreme Court has, for over half of those years, been filled with a majority of Republican appointed justices. In both major decisions that have "legalized" (then upheld) the abortion holocaust in our nation (Roe v. Wade in 1973, then Planned Parenthood v. Casey in 1992) there were a majority Republican appointed justices—in Roe v. Wade there were seven Republican appointed and two Democrat appointed. Only two justices voted against it, and one of those two was a Democrat! Then, in PP v. Casey, a chance to undermine Roe v. Wade, eight of the nine justices were Republican appointed! And, of the five who voted basically in favor of keeping Roe v. Wade, all were Republican appointees. In fact, in many (if not most, I would guess) of the chances to "legally" undercut abortion that have reached the Supreme Court since Roe v. Wade, the majority of the court in each time that didn't grab that moment were Republican appointees. And, I would guess (without researching) that in many of the other "values" issues decisions that Christians abhor, the majority on the court has been Republican appointed as well . . . and we've seen that even during a Republican controlled Congress our nation has only shifted farther and farther from the values we believe are God-honoring.

Please believe me when I say that I share this not to bash the Republican Party. For the most part I believe the Democratic Party is far worse on the values issues Christians should value, though in my heart I don't think either truly honors God. The Democrats as a party (not talking about individuals in either party) might be stronger advocates for the needy, etc., but that depends, I guess, on how you feel the needy are best helped. More on that in a moment.

My point in this is that our hope doesn't lie in any man, woman, or party. It is in God alone. As Christians we have prostituted ourselves out to anyone who'd "pay" us with some lines and promises we want to hear, then used and discarded us once our vote is secure. Many of those justices were appointed by the "heroes" of the Republican Presidents list. Many from people who promised us to overthrow Roe v. Wade. We, the army of the living God, are pandered to, paid, used, and cast aside . . . and we are so desperate for some earthly hope we keep running back for more, letting ourselves be used and soiled and sold into false hope over and over.

We keep looking for our earthly "king" who will lead us, be it a man or a party. Israel did the same thing, they wanted an earthly king that they could put their hope in—and God gave them what they wanted and said, in so doing, they had rejected Him as their king.

We can chant all the right verses, and sing all the songs, and be so theologically correct as we say this earth is not our home, etc., etc., but then we put our hope in this earth. I am not saying we shouldn't vote, but I am saying that our hope is not in man, or in a court, or in a party. It is in God alone, and God alone can save our nation. And it won't happen through any election, but when the people of this land repent, confess their sin, and cry out to God.

And we, the church, are lying in the soiled bed we have made, and we have ourselves to blame.

1. Don't like abortion? Great. Are we willing to take in the pregnant young woman we are telling abortion is wrong to and let her, and then her and her baby, live in our home for a year or two? 
2. Don't like the welfare system? Great. Are we feeding the poor, reaching out to the homeless? 
3. Don't like New Age movement? Great. Are we showing people the power of God that our spiritual DNA knows is real so people don't have to look elsewhere for it? Are we healing the sick, confronting demons and seeing them flee? Are the gates of Hell collapsing against the onslaught of the church as Jesus promised they would? 
4. Don't like the direction our youth are going? Great. Are we mentoring into the lives of the fatherless, the teens on the street, taking them in, giving them rides, hanging out with them and all their ways that are so "offensive" to us?
5. Don't like the condition of marriage, etc., in our nation? Great. What example are we showing them when our divorce rates match theirs?
6. Don't like their disrespect for God's written word? Great. What do we expect when we have compromised on it, said it isn't true, selectively picked the verses we believe in, etc.?
7. Don't like how people are constantly on their cell phones, etc.? Great. What have we shown them in our homes about family meals, keeping the TV off and just being a family, etc.?

Who is it God says is the salt of the earth, the light of the world, the ones who are to serve others, take care of the least, feed the poor, clothe the naked, reach out to the rejected, protect the defenseless, etc.? The church! And if we aren't then we have nobody to blame but ourselves when the government steps into that void we were created to fill. Is that kind of ministry messy, costly, sacrificial, inconvenient? Yes. But if we simply read one of the Gospels we will rapidly see God hasn't called us to walk in any path He didn't walk in Himself . . . and if we are truly following Him, then our life will look the same.

It is time for the church to decide, are we the army of the Living God, or the prostitute of politicians? If the first, we need to start living and hoping like it. If the second, then it is no wonder the nation uses us like a prostitute. But it doesn't start with Washington, it starts with us. And praise God that His mercies are new every morning because no matter what we've been (or not been) before, God draws close to the broken and humble and promises His cooperating presence and power to those that are following Him.

A Good Read & A Troubled Heart

If you've read this blog any length of time you know that I firmly believe it is impossible to separate a person from their worldview (assuming they live faithfully to what they believe). While I do not believe there should be a religious test for office (as in someone has to believe certain things to run in America), I do believe that the flip side of that—to try and ignore a person's worldview—is ignorance. How can we possibly understand or predict how a person will decide major issues like values, the battle between good and evil, Israel, Islam, etc., if we don't understand the framework or lens through which they view the world? We don't have to agree with a person's worldview, or even vote for them, but to ignore it and think we understand the person is foolish.

Albert Mohler posted an excellent blog entry today titled, "The Great American Worldview Test—The 2012 Election." I highly recommend you read it. It is a very equipping understanding that while we may frame individual issues as if they stand alone, they are, in fact, truly inseparably tied into our worldview. He makes a great case that this coming election—and he seems to frame it as Democrat vs. Republican—is a test between two worldviews that are a vast distance apart . . . and that both party's platforms are deeply tied into the worldview they subscribe to.

As he says at the end of the post, "Americans will elect a president in November, but our vote will reveal far more than our political preference. The 2012 election is a worldview exercise of unprecedented contrasts — an unavoidable test of our most basic convictions. The electoral map will reveal more than an election winner. It will reveal who Americans really are and what we really believe."

I couldn't agree more with what he is saying in terms of our revealing what we truly believe by what we make our priorities in the upcoming election. With that said, however, I find myself in a deep dilemna. Please don't let what I am about to write take anything away from what I wrote above. Mr. Mohler's article is right on and a must read. However, it leads me to a point I am deeply bothered by and don't have an answer to. I would really love to hear from conservative, Bible-believing Christians on how they are dealing with what I am about to say. So, here goes.

I will never vote for President Obama. While I am sure he has a heart for the poor and some other things Christians should care about and do more about, I do not know how he can profess to be a Christian and show such utter disregard for the Bible and what it says. I don't have a clue what his basis for determining right and wrong is, but it clearly can't be God's written Word. In fact, not only does he just not embrace it as his source of truth, he actively works against what it stands for in many, many areas. I would choose to not vote before I would ever cast my vote for him. He has done more in four years to undermine America's stand for God's values than anyone I can ever remember. The scary thing to me (and, I am sure, exciting thing to some others) is that it appears a vast number of Americans embrace him and his policies and reject God's written Word as their standard of right and wrong and life.

That said, Mr. Romney is a Mormon. It wasn't that long ago, when Mr. Santorum and Gingrich and Perry and Ms. Bachmann were still in it, Evangelicals were freaking out about a Mormon and making sure everyone knew it was a cult and that people falling into it were not going to be saved. What has changed? Is our dislike for President Obama so strong that we will vote for anyone but him? Now it seems like everywhere I turn Evangelicals are singing Romney's praises and encouraging a vote for him.

Please don't read into this something that is not there. I have only deep respect for Mr. Romney and would love to sit and visit with him and his family. And, I can only wish more Christians showed the kindness and family values and commitment to, and sacrifice for, their faith Mormons do. But . . . if we truly believe that Mormonism is a path away from salvation, and a faith filled with many false foundations, then aren't we legitimatizing it by being so cozy with Mr. Romney and giving him so much of our support and such a vast platform to showcase the Mormon faith's strengths? Aren't we, in fact, separating ourselves from our worldview and letting issues and not a worldview of eternal life (or Hell) frame us? Or do we not really believe Mormonism is not a path to salvation?

My fear is that, in fighting against Obama and abortion and gay marriage and such we are, as Christians, in some way causing millions of people to soften their resistance to a faith we claim is dangerous and not a true saving faith. If so, for the sake of a few years (in light of eternity) are we not playing a part in maybe millions being separated from God for all of eternity?

I don't know the answer to this. The thought of Obama for another four years as a President not worried about re-election is very scary to me. But the thought of playing a part in maybe millions coming to a faith I have been told, all my Christian years, by Christian leaders, is not a true saving faith, is also very scary. I don't want to lose sight of eternity because I am looking at a few years, or even decades. I know that Mr. Romney far better reflects our values than President Obama or the Democrat's platform does, and that we aren't electing a pastor, but a President . . . but I can't help but believe that, as Mormons are more and more seen favorably through this, more and more people will find their resistance to it dropping and their defense against it faltering. And if that mattered to us so dogmatically just a few months ago, has any of its threat to people's eternity changed? Or, are we putting this life and this nation ahead of the Kingdom of God, maybe not remembering this is not our home and there is a bigger issue at work?

I truly am in a deep dilemma I keep thinking about but can't find answers to. Again, I would really value hearing from committed, Bible believing Christians who have wrestled through this as to what your thoughts are.

World View and Politics . . .

(Note: I mention the phrase “world view” multiple times in this post. By this I mean the belief of a person about what this world is made up of in both the seen and unseen realms. For example, a true Christian world view would include one all powerful, loving God who is active in the world; the inspiration and infallibility of the Bible as His revealed Word to man; the reality of sin in man and man’s need of a Savior which is found only in Christ and His death; the fact that to follow Christ is to allow Him to live in you; and the inherent reality of Satan who runs rampant over this world driving the evil in it. A secular world view, on the other hand, might hold some beliefs like there isn’t a God, or if there is He is inactive in the world; that man is inherently good and capable of getting better and better; etc.)

I read the other day of the debate around some candidate for political office in the U.S. being called to defend a paper he wrote 20 years ago that expressed some strong religious views that affected his views on some social issues. I remember the last presidential election where debate raged about the legitimacy and "correctness" of exploring a candidate’s faith views. I have some thoughts about it all . . .

While, in America, we are a free country and I believe that people of different religious (or even non-religious) views should be allowed to run for office, I believe that it is naive to try and separate them from their world view. It is one thing to say that there shouldn’t be a religious test for office (I agree), and it is another thing to say that a person’s religion shouldn’t affect their decisions in office (I disagree, and think that it is impossible).

I do not believe that it is legitimately possible to separate a true believer in something from that belief—nor do I think that we should. The world view of a candidate (if it is truly held and not just declared or claimed for political expediency) will define their life and their role in that office in a dramatic way. Think about the office of President, for example:

A President’s world view will affect their attitude on good and evil, and the inherent nature and tendency of man. This will dramatically affect their dealing with other nations, their expectancy from other people, their trust, how they see and deal with terrorism and nations that support terrorism, etc.

A President’s world view will define how they see and understand the situation in the Middle East, as well as their stand on Israel. A President’s world view will dramatically affect where they seek their wisdom from. A President’s world view will define their own moral code—affecting how they operate—and it will affect their stand on social issues. A President’s world view will define their expectancy and outlook on the future. A President's world view will define their priorities. A President's world view will define if they see a spiritual component to situations. (And, I believe, because of my world view, that a true Christian President will give our nation a spiritual cover at the highest level whereas a non-Christian, or only professing Christian, President won't.)

It is one thing to disagree with a candidate’s world view and not vote for them (that is a precious right in our country), but it is simplistic and, I believe, ignorant (not meant derogatorily) to think that a person can sincerely hold a world view and not have it affect who they will be in office (hence, knowing their world view becomes important). How can, for example, someone who truly holds a Christian world view that includes at its highest place an almighty Creator who in love died for them set aside that Creator’s heart (regardless of the opinions of man) and support something that is reprehensible to that Creator? Likewise, how can someone who holds a world view that there is no Creator (or only an inactive one) come up with a true moral, absolute standard that is steadfast if they don’t recognize that there is an absolute in the world? How, in fact, do they come up with any litmus test for testing what is truly right or wrong and not just someone's opinion at the time?

Ultimately, someone with a true Christian world view holds that there is an absolute standard of right and wrong and that it derives from God—and someone who rejects God comes up, somehow, with their own standard of right and wrong which is, logically, no more valid than someone else who has an entirely different standard of right and wrong (because, by their very own belief, there is no higher standard or place to use as a base or foundation or yard stick). Moral relativism is basically a “what is right for you is right for you, and what is right for me is right for me attitude” and it’s logical extremes are so dangerous and deadly that a philosophy professor at West Point once told me that he would do all he could to get me kicked out of the academy if he truly thought I was the moral relativist I thought I was. The ultimate end of that philosophy is chaos and the reality that there is no "right" or "fair" way to say someone is wrong who says that for them some things we would call horrible and unthinkable are right!

So, I believe that a candidate’s world view is absolutely critical to know, and I don't think I would vote for a candidate whose world view I didn’t know or agree with. Candidates, during an election, can give their opinions on every issue on the table at the time, but it is only in their world view that we will be able to predict how they will decide on issues that come up later. If they are true to their world view it will define them. If they are not true to their world view, I don’t know that I can trust or believe or have confidence in them, or that I want them in office or leading my country.

None of this is to say that a candidate should, when in office, try and force others to follow his/her religion (in fact he should protect their freedom), but when deciding on issues and policies, and in dealing with other people and nations, he or she must, by necessity, have a world view that they draw on to understand situations, make their decisions, and define their values. Knowing their world view as a candidate should help us predict how they will be in office when a decision has to be made and they have to make it. Then, knowing that, we can decide who will best represent us, and what we believe and stand for, and we can vote for them.