Public Christianity

Ok, so I didn’t get to dissecting the Newsweek article nor did I have time to find other juicy bits from other media sources. It’s what we call at work “overcome by events” or “OBE”. But I figure, if you don’t know what you’re doing by now then there’s not much help I can offer. One piece of advice I can give though–pray. Pray the Lord’s Prayer before you vote. It’s entirely appropriate. “Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy Kingdom come, Thy Will be done, on Earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.” Remember, we’re citizens of Christ’s Kingdom and are only renting space here for now. Remember that the government’s purpose is to provide a society where our needs are met, but we can count on the God Who Provides to meet all of our needs. Ask for forgiveness, recognizing that we’re sinners just like those in public office we love to criticize and have the heart to forgive the corruption and deceit that we see so often from politicians. And finally, ask to be delivered from the evil of this world–that maybe through our vote and the decisions voted-in politicians make, the world can become just a little less evil.

As for the “value voter?” Well everyone should be voting their values anyway. Be them religious, economic, social, or moral. So don’t take the label too seriously and vote with a sense of entitlement that you’re part of a unique special interest that will turn the tide. You’re one of many, and just as valuable as everyone else in our system.

So what are you waiting for? Go vote already!!!!

Besides falling way behind on blogging, not to mention updating my links, and adding all the bells and whistles any self-respecting blog would have, I haven’t been able to follow the deluge of articles in the press regarding Value Voters and their role in the mid-term elections. So I’ll give you some links and you can try and figure it all out yourself.

First, from the National Journal, an article that does a good job summarizing the issues both sides of the isle are facing with rallying their base, distributing voter guides, facing down the IRS and Americans United for the Separation of Church and State.

Then Newsweek dedicates a whole issue to the subject. This I haven’t had a chance to get all the way through yet but will ASAP and will post my thoughts tomorrow.

Finally, I can’t close without commenting on what’s going on with Rev. Ted Haggard. None of us have any right to cast the first stone, but it is always disheartening to see men of faith elevated to national prominence only to have their deceit exposed. I don’t know the details, and I don’t want to. But this should stand out as a warning for those who want to elevate themselves, or their favorite pastor/author/minister, to a position where not only are God’s eyes on you but so are thousands who depend on your voice for guidance. Interestingly, this seems to plague the right moreso than the left. Rush and Bill Bennett come right to mind. Not to mention the televangelist scandals of the 80’s and Pat Robertson consistently putting his foot in his mouth. Like I said, none of us can cast the first stone, but we need to look sincerely at Jesus’ views of the hypocracy of the Pharisees and pray, “but for the grace of God, go I.”

I have to admit to a certain level of respect for those who blog regularly and are able to keep a daily, or nearly so, schedule of blogging. I’ve been wrapped up in just about everything that could wrap me up. If it wasn’t work, it was the home life. If it wasn’t home life, it was church life. And on and on. Here we are a couple of days away from the mid-terms and part of the goal of this blog is to relate politics to religion in an unbiased fashion so what do we see on this site? Two posts. Two. That’s part of the reason I haven’t actively publicized this site yet. I’m still getting my feet wet and my timing is horrible. So if you’re looking for something substantive, I apologize. I’m working on it. Thankfully this blog has a life beyond just partisan politics and elections. So there will still be things to talk about after Tuesday. In fact, this subject picked up steam after the 2004 elections, so I expect the same this time around.

So if you’re looking for something insightful, or witty, I’ll give you a joke instead. There was once a very rich man on his death bed about to die. He had a vision of God and pleaded, “please let me bring my wealth with me! I’ve worked so hard to obtain it that it is all rightfully mine.” God replied, “Ok, but you can only bring what you can fit in one suitcase.” Grateful, the man packed his suitcase full of solid gold as it would have more value than paper money. Upon reaching the Pearly Gates, St. Peter stopped him and asked to see what was in his bag. Showing Peter the suitcase of gold, the man told him that God gave him permission to bring it with him. Peter confused said, “I believe you, but I just don’t understand why you’d bring so much pavement.”

So you might be asking, “what’s up with the links?” (Or maybe you’re asking, “could this be a more boring blog?” with your best Chandler accent.) Well, they’re still a work in progress but what’s listed as “resources” are meant to educate with a balanced viewpoint. I’m not going to spoil my leanings, they should become obvious in time, by only linking to political ministries I agree with. Although, if I claim to believe the Bible is the inspired word of God, then in some ways I agree with all political ministries that use scripture to make their stances on issues while at the same time disagreeing with all political ministries that use scripture to push personal agendas or forgetting that, “this world is not my own, I’m just passing through. If Heaven’s not my home, then Lord what will I do?” So you’ll see a little from both. I wish I could say I monitor everything I link regularly, but most of my posts will be from headlines either from my local paper or obscure websites I browse. The “resource” links are to educate and inform.

Do I favor the ones I list first? No, I’m following a left/right format where left-leaning ministries are on the left and right-leaning on the right. Makes sense, right? But I think there may be a conspiracy afoot: I think the world is set up to brainwash us into becoming right-wingers. “WhaHuh?” Think about it. You turn screws right to put things together. You turn screws left to take things apart. Right-wing is about togetherness. Left-wing is about anarchy. Clear? Ok, here’s another example. Just the word “right” implies correct. Most people are right handed and lefty quarterbacks are looked down on. I’m on to something aren’t I? Don’t think this is too crazy. Perhaps you’ve heard how media is inherently racist when the good-guys wear the white hats and the bad guys wear black. What color did the crooks in Keystone Cops wear? That’s right, black. And let’s not forget the lesson we learned from Star Wars: the Dark side versus the Light. Or deeper still, that Darth Vader, the embodiment of evil, is all black only to reveal at the end that under the facade he is an old white man. Symbolizing that every black man, deep down, wants to be white. If you don’t believe me, watch Chasing Amy.

But I digress, this is about the links. Not my Oliver Stone-esque conspiracy theories. The links, take seriously. My ramblings? Maybe not so much. Of course I was kidding above, talking out of the left side of my mouth.

Is another religion/politics blog, like I need a hole in my head! (sung to Cracker’s, “What the World Needs Now”) So why me? Why this blog? And if you’re here because of a blog search, I’m sorry! There’s not much content yet, but I’m working on it.

A couple of years ago the world was introduced to a new term, “values voters,” a segment of the population that (gasp!) voted their conscience. It didn’t take long before this “new” segment of Americans became commercial, worldly, co-opted by special interests, and the new pop-culture buzzword. Since the ’04 election some ministers have become politicians, ministries have become special interests, and being a Christian became more about how you vote than how you live. Now we’re on the dawn of mid-terms, and both sides are fighting to capture the value vote.

So what makes me different? After all, aren’t I buying into the system by becoming yet another religious/political blog? That’s exactly why I’m doing this. To be different. While I’m not ashamed of this being political, I want the dialogue (or would a blog be more of a monologue?) to be more deep and broad than, “W sux!” or, “W rox!” I also want this to be more than just politics, but also how religion ties into pop-culture and what we can learn from what’s going on in the world.

The links to the right are a work in progress. So far “resources” are related to the topics I post about, while “blogs” are brothers in Christ whom I respect that post on their convictions and their life. You might notice some of the links look like they don’t belong (ACLU????). But I’ll talk about that next time. So please come back!