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Religion and politics: do they mix?

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The Bible, the Word of God. After getting a thousand of these, the Mayor of Houston blinked.

Do religion and politics mix? Before answering, ask yourself: How did America, once a noble nation, become so confused?

Are Christians afraid to mix religion and politics?

It is estimated that only 25% of Christians vote. Therefore, if this country is seeing the decline of the nation that was based on Christian principles, the blame for that decline rests solely on the shoulders of the 75% of Christians that do not vote their values. Some of the 75% may be apathetic but most subscribe to the notion that religion (a system of faith) and politics don’t mix. Therefore, they content that Christians shouldn’t be involved in politics. I have a few questions for the 75%:

  • Do you believe Moses was wrong when he delivered the Israelites from the oppression of Pharaoh? Remember, Pharaoh was head of the Egyptian government.
  • Do you believe David was wrong when he slayed Goliath? Remember, Goliath was the champion of the Philistine government and this was a political challenge.
  • Do you think Samson was wrong when he pulled down the pillars of the temple of Dagon, freeing the Israelites from the oppression of the Philistines? Remember, the Philistine government was oppressing the Israelites.
  • Do you believe Joshua was wrong when he destroyed the walls of Jericho? Remember, Jericho was an independent city that Joshua destroyed?
  • Do you believe Daniel was wrong when he disobeyed the law that ordered him to bow down and worship a pagan king? Remember, the king was head of the government of Babylon at the time and Daniel disobeyed a legitimate law.
  • Do you think Daniel’s friends, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, were also wrong to refuse to worship pagan gods? Remember, this was also the government’s law at the time.
  • Do you think Elijah was wrong to challenge Ahab and Jezebel? Remember, Ahab and Jezebel were the government rulers at the time.
  • Do you think Queen Esther was wrong to approach the king on behalf of her people? Remember, Queen Esther did not have the political right to do so?
  • Do you think John the Baptist was wrong to speak against Herod and Herodias? Remember, Herod was the Governor of Galilee at the time.
  • Do you think Jesus was wrong to call the Pharisees hypocrites? Remember, the Pharisees were the religious and political party in Judea at that time.
  • Do you think Jesus was out of line when he overturned the tables of the moneychangers in the temple? Remember, the moneychangers manipulated the value of the goods being exchanged for money at that time.
  • Do you think Peter and the apostles were wrong to continue preaching the Gospel after they had been ordered not to do so? Remember, they were brought before the council of the high priests (who also ruled by liaison with the Romans) and they were ordered not to preach in Jesus’ name.
  • Do you think Galatians 5:1, that states: “Stand fast therefore in the liberty by which Christ has made us free, and do not be entangled again with a yoke of bondage,” is antiquated and does not apply to people living in the 21st century?

Do religion and politics mix?Since all of the instances above are political in nature, if you answered “no” to any of the questions above, then you will either have to re-evaluate your position or accept the label of hypocrite. It is the burden of the Christian, the Jew, or any person of faith to vote for those whom represent their values. When they fail to do so in a country such as the United States, then the results are simple. Their values are not represented in government. If they value life, if they value liberty, if they value the right to work for the things they desire, all these things are in jeopardy when they do not vote.

For evil to triumph…

Edmund Burke once said:

All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.

These wise words that once served as a dire warning have now become an acute observation. Evil in many forms has triumphed in America and the blame does not reside with the Socialist/Communist/Marxist/Nazis that have infiltrated our government. The blame lies with those who have plunged their heads into the sand while the foundations of America were being systematically dismantled. They may have convinced themselves that their faith has nothing to do with politics, but they have sadly deluded themselves and have allowed the voice of God to be muffled and the Spirit of God to be quenched. True faith must permeate every aspect of our lives or it is not faith but a nice fairytale that resides solely within the walls of our churches. They have bought one of the three greatest lies of the devil: that people of faith should not be involved in politics. (Note: the other two: you can be like God, and everything evolved through natural processes.)

Thank God, literally, that people like Moses, and Daniel, and Joshua, and Samson, Shadrach, Meshach Abednego, and Elijah, and Queen Esther, and the Apostle Peter, and many others knew better. If they didn’t, faith in God of the Bible would never have survived the Garden of Eden. Men would have always done what was right in their own eyes, and death of the human race by the inhumanity of man against man would have annihilated all of us by now. If religion and politics don’t mix, it’s only because the politics of mankind continually tries to assert itself over the principles and precepts of God. Will we stand for God and His principles or will we cowardly yield to the will of man? 75% of the Christians in America represent a number large enough to rein in the ungodly: to end abortion, to preserve traditional marriage, to end the ungodly indoctrination of our children.

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As we see the very foundations of the American Dream crumble, Psalm 1:3 reverberates in my mind: “If the foundations are destroyed, what can the righteous do?” If the righteous do not stand, they are not righteous – they are accomplices. So the final question is: will the 75% who consider themselves to be righteous wake up before it’s too late or will we one day be telling our grandchildren what it was like to live in a land where life was valued, liberty thrived, and you were free and able to pursue your dreams? May God have mercy on America and may His children awaken out of their stupor before it’s too late.

Reprinted from The Daily Rant

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Terry A. Hurlbut has been a student of politics, philosophy, and science for more than 35 years. He is a graduate of Yale College and has served as a physician-level laboratory administrator in a 250-bed community hospital. He also is a serious student of the Bible, is conversant in its two primary original languages, and has followed the creation-science movement closely since 1993.

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