Michael Bresciani
July 9, 2008
Political lethargy in the church -- will American Christians awake before November 2008
By Michael Bresciani

For the first time in American history two sitting U.S. Senators will battle for the presidency on November 4, 2008. Barack Obama, Jr. Senator from Illinois and John McCain the GOP's Senior Senator from Arizona are the top contenders in a race unlike any other in history.

The Christian Church has barely weighed in and between IRS restrictions on 501-C organizations and the reticence of leaders like James Dobson to make a firm choice the Church is vacillating like the proverbial reed in the wind. Adding to this is the gross lack of interest, and want of general political savvy the church displays about the candidates this may come down as the election that flat got away for the body ecclesia.

For the Church the worst would be the biggest setback to the dismantling of Roe V. Wade since its inception in 1973 and a near mortal wound to the sanctity of marriage as derived from biblical tenants. When all the flag waving and promises are finished it won't be taxes, healthcare, oil or war that will leave the church reeling but the reversal of all the hard won advances and skirmishes won so far in the fight against abortion and in the defense of traditional marriage.

If it is hard for the church to understand the political issues it can be said that it is nearly impossible for the secularists to understand why abortion and the attack on marriage is so critical for the church. Conservative Biblical theology is the single reason that the church can't take its eye off the ball. For the church it is like cause and effect with a promise. It is a law not a theory or a possibility. The biblically grounded believer knows that to continue with the abortions and the attack against marriage will produce a long range negative effect that will in time destroy the nation and bring judgment against us. That's the promise.

Liberalism brings with it an attitude and a general cry for isolationism. It is the call for no intervention, no war, and no involvement with higher codes, principles or morality. It is the fuel for "separation of church and state" advocates and it smacks of cowardice at its worst and unbridled self indulgence at its best. When the devils that inhabited a man in the New Testament were threatened by banishment they replied to Christ "let us alone." (Mark 1:24) That cry is echoed in every liberal cause in our land today and is the precursor to both moral decline and national judgment.

It is said that knowing a little bit of the bible is more deadly than knowing nothing at all. Today the question is; does the Bible really say that homosexuality is a deadly sin that God hates? The simplest answer to that is, yes! It goes without saying that no homosexual person or group is going to accept that answer. But that is only a partial answer and the weightier part of it comes as a replete and recurring theme of the bible.

The destruction of Sodom is not an isolated story from Genesis 19 but it is referred to time and again by the prophets, Christ and his apostles over a 3500 year long period. The theme is the same, the promise is the same, and the result is always the same. It always results in the demise and in some cases the destruction of any nation that defies the laws of God and nature as in the city of Sodom. Of course all the nations that were and are no more all had essentially the same cry, epitaph, epithet or last words, "Let us alone."

Live and let live may work fine for recovering alcoholics but when used in liberal politics it fosters an attitude that always produces a typical question. It seems like a legitimate question but if investigated further it would be seen that no one pauses long enough or is serious enough to wait for the answer. Such a question was asked by Kirsten Powers in the New York Post July 8, 2008 in an article entitled "The GOP Gay-Marriage Con" The question posed said "Gays and lesbians make up an estimated 5 percent to 10 percent of the US population. How much damage can they do by committing themselves to one another? They certainly can't do worse with marriage than heterosexuals have."

How much damage can they do? How about irreparable, irreversible damage that can and has brought down the mightiest nations in history.

If unbridled licentiousness can bring down a nation then where does the slaughter of uncounted millions of unborn human beings come into the picture? There is no way of being gentle here; it is the number one reason for the decline of civilization itself much less the decline of a single nation. It is a looming major factor in the final coming judgments of all mankind. It is a prime factor and pre-cursor to Armageddon. That's theology with a promise. "Thus saith the Lord; Execute ye judgment and righteousness, and deliver the spoiled out of the hand of the oppressor: and do no wrong, do no violence to the stranger, the fatherless, nor the widow, neither shed innocent blood in this place...But if ye will not hear these words, I swear by myself, saith the Lord, that this house shall become a desolation." (Jeremiah 22: 3, 5)

It is this kind of promise that should be guiding the church in its decision about who to vote for in the 2008 election and not whether James Dobson endorses a candidate or whether John McCain distances himself from certain pastors. When Christ told the church to be as wise as a serpent but as harmless as a dove (Mt 10: 16) it is understood that he was not leaving political savvy out of the picture. Unfortunately in its current penchant toward apostasy the church is leaning toward the dove side of the equation.

In a recent homily I heard a local minister describe his observations of a group of doves who decided to nest around his property. He said they must be the dumbest bird in the ornithological roster. They build nests in dangerous places, lose their young to predators and are prey to every vicious and marauding bird in the area. I thought of the church and of why Christ demanded that we don't just function as doves. The "be ye wise as serpents" aspect of his admonition is the essential that the church gives up first as it starts a slide into apostasy.

For biblically grounded Christians there can be only one way to decide on a candidate in the 2008 elections. If a candidate thinks marriage is an open ended deal for any and all combinations of sexes and persuasions they are not the best choice. Above all if they do not regard the innocent and helpless who are struggling for life inside a mother's womb then they strictly don't deserve to be considered as a leader.

Christ often said "he that hath ears to hear let him hear." I would suggest that the church or any good American should set themselves aside and quietly listen for the possibility that their may be a voice that echoes back from the hundreds of abortion clinics in America and the 50 million previously aborted human beings that says; "I want to live...does your candidate want me to live?"

© Michael Bresciani

 

The views expressed by RenewAmerica columnists are their own and do not necessarily reflect the position of RenewAmerica or its affiliates.
(See RenewAmerica's publishing standards.)

 

Alan Keyes
Why de facto government (tyranny) is replacing the Constitution (Apr. 2015)

Stephen Stone
Will Obama be impeached now that Republicans control both houses of Congress? (Nov. 2014)

Cliff Kincaid
Cruz thwarts hostile takeover of the GOP

Gina Miller
Truth about MS Religious Freedom Protection Act

Susan D. Harris
It's the little things: Remembering Western Civilization

Tom DeWeese
Time to make candidates face the real issues threatening American freedom

Jerry Newcombe
The high price of freedom

Lloyd Marcus
Bill Clinton: 'Bout time Dems tell the truth about BLM

Bryan Fischer
Bruce Springsteen and Bryan Adams: hypocrites and bigots

Judie Brown
Aborted babies incinerated?

Jim Kouri
State Dept. finally turns over Huma Abedin/Susan Rice Benghazi files

Michael Gaynor
Former SCOTUS clerks Wendy Long v. Gregory Diskant disagree about the Senate's advice and consent power

A.J. Castellitto
A new way to be human

Cliff Kincaid
Who is the biggest demagogue of them all?
  More columns

Cartoons


Michael Ramirez
More cartoons

RSS feeds

News:
Columns:

Columnists

Matt C. Abbott
Chris Adamo
Russ J. Alan
Bonnie Alba
Jamie Freeze Baird
Chuck Baldwin
Kevin J. Banet
J. Matt Barber
. . .
[See more]

Sister sites