A Place At The Table
(by Pete Winn, associate editor of Citizen Link)Evangelical Christians were once famous for staying out of the political fray. No more. During the 1980s and ‘90s, they did indeed "get their act together and become more politically engaged. Now they are "big news" precisely because of that engagement-- and because they have big numbers.
The evangelical community in America today constitutes one-quarter of the entire voting population and 40% of the base of the Republican Party. That means they are a new political power [when they vote.] They can make a big difference on something as important as the Presidential election, and could play the deciding role.
Quoteworthy:------"It cannot be emphasized too strongly or too often that this great nation was founded, not by religionists, but by Christians; not on religions, but on the Gospel of Jesus Christ. For this very reason peoples of other faiths have been afforded asylum, prosperity, and freedom of worship here." (Patrick Henry)
Non-Native Presidents????
(CBN NEWS) The U.S. Constitution requires that the President must have been born in the United States, but a bill by Rep. Dana Rohrabacher, R-Calif. last month would allow non-natives to run for President. The proposed amendment would allow foreign-born Americans who have been citizens for 20 years to seek the office of U.S. President.While some speculate that Rohrabacher has current California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger in mind--Arnold became a citizen in 1983--[He] claims he is not limiting his sites to Governor.
Liberal Interfaith Alliance; "Republican Ad Despicable" (Focus On The Family) The Republican National Committee mailing shows a Bible as "banned" and two men exchanging rings as "allowed" -- claiming that's what will happen if the "liberal" agenda is not stopped. The liberal Interfaith Alliance calls that "despicable" saying, ". . manipulation of religion for partisan purposes has no place in a democracy." Gary Bauer, chairman of the Campaign for Working Families, says it's simple election year hyperbole (exaggeration) but with a ring of truth that's painful to liberals. "What the mailing was trying to say, I believe, is that if you vote for the Democrats, you're more likely to end up with same-sex marriage and you're more likely to end up with restrictions on religious liberty and public expressions of faith," Bauer said.
" Liberals [have] been getting away with a great little gambit in the last 30 years," Bauer said, "which is they never have to vote to take God out of the Pledge of Allegiance or the Bible out of the schools or any of those things; all they've got to do [is] get the courts to do their dirty work for them."
Tom Minnery, vice president of government and public policy at Focus on the Family, said activist judges are generally appointed by liberal politicians. Early Voting Begins! TOMORROW Monday, Oct. 18th.
Louisiana Activist Judge Hammers The Will Of The People! (Voices United)
Despite the fact that it passed with 78% of the vote, the ink wasn't even dry on Louisiana's new Constitutional Amendment banning same sex marriage before it was overturned by an activist judge. This week we heard eloquent arguments on the floor of the United States House of Representatives against the Federal Marriage Amendment. • They argued that amending the constitution wasn't necessary because it was a "state's rights" issue. Well guess what? In Louisiana, an overwhelming percentage of the population voted for a state constitutional amendment and it took NO TIME AT ALL for an activist judge to overturn it, just as supporters of the amendment had been saying all the time!
The Church's Day in Court Denied (Family Research Council) The U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear an appeal from an ominous ruling in a right of conscience case by the California Supreme Court.
The California decision requires Catholic Charities to provide contraceptives to its employees - something directly against Catholic moral teaching.
A California law requires employers who provide prescription drug coverage to also provide contraceptive coverage. It is very disappointing the Court did not see the importance of this case for the protection of basic constitutional rights.
Reading The Bible Has Now Been Called "HATE SPEECH" In Pennsylvania!
An evangelical preacher whose reading of a Bible passage at the July 21 Lansdowne Borough Council meeting was termed "hate speech" by the council president, will stand trial in the [Media] for disrupting a public meeting and a related charge.
".Rev. Michael Marcavage's crime was challenging the comments of recently appointed Councilman Kevin Lee, who is also the first openly homosexual official in Delaware Co, PA.
(Baptist Progress)The special October 6 issue included the proposed budgets and recommendations of the BMA of Texas departments, committees, etc., in preparation for the annual meeting of the BMA of Texas November 8-10, 2004 at South Jefferson Baptist Church in Mount Pleasant, Texas. Members of BMAT churches may receive the full Baptist Progress online, free by completing a form at http://bmaweb.net/octIssueFree.htm
Ch
ristians Have a Sacred Duty to Vote (wevotevalues.com)The election being held this fall may be one of the most important elections in America’s history, not only because our nation is in the middle of a new kind of war, but also because the man who will be elected President and those who will be elected to Congress and to state and local offices across America will influence the moral direction of our nation for many years to come.
Important issues of religious liberty rights, embryonic stem cell research, school choice, gay marriage, activist judges, abortion, and many other issues that directly affect Christian values are on the line in this election like no other in recent history. Yet, according to a recent report, only a third of Christians are likely to vote this November.
Estimates indicate that 24 million Christians are not even registered to vote. For Christians, voting should be not only a right, but also a spiritual duty. In Deuteronomy 16:18-20, Moses told the people of Israel that God required them to select "judges and officers . . . throughout thy tribes" who would judge the people "with just judgment." The criteria for selecting these judges and officers was strict. They were to be men who feared God, who were no respecters of persons, and who hated bribes. They were warned not to pervert justice or "subvert the words of the righteous."
Modern Christians should heed the same command from God in choosing leaders for our own nation.
Howard Wilson hwilson@texasmoralaction.org