From: Stephanie
To: Biff
Subject: goats go to hell

I have been wondering lately how much the Bible cares about politics and the election. The right-wing clearly thinks they're doing God's bidding, and most Christians seem to think that you have to vote Republican in order to follow Christ. But it seems to me that what the Bible doesn't say hardly anything either way; all it really seems to say as far as I can tell is "give to Caesar what is Caesar's", "submit to the law as unto Christ," the king's heart is in the hands of the Lord, and that ultimately the government is going to screw us all over. Christians are freaking out that the government would do horrible things but it seems to be fulfillment of prophecy.

Jerry Falwell made the statement recently that all Christians should vote for Bush. I find that to be abusive - I don't think he has the authority to say that. I don't think God is for one party and against the other, but I did tell my mom recently that I thought Jesus was the ultimate bleeding-heart liberal - that was an extremely foreign concept to her, which I can understand, because nobody ever really talks about that. But he said to take care of the sick and poor. Jerry Falwell said "You cannot be a sincere, committed born-again believer who takes the Bible seriously and vote for a pro-choice, anti-family candidate" but what does he have to say for killing all the people in Iraq? That's not very pro-life or pro-family.

That's what I hear the Bible saying, and I'm wondering what your thoughts are.

From: Biff
To: Stephanie
Subject: Re: goats go to hell

Stephanie,
Good questions. I agree with you that in the fact that the government isn�t our savior and hope. Christians on both sides of the political divide get this one wrong. I think the Christian right has critically embraced the GOP and what it stands for. If Falwell�s quote is correct, I do think he has crossed over a boundary. What many Christians fail to realize is that America is a pagan nation�period. Sure, there are Christian influences that make America one of the best places to live in the world (millions of immigrants seem to want to come here every year)�nonetheless, America is not a Christian nation. It�s a pagan nation. In that, it�s no different than the Roman Empire, the former Soviet Union and the Mountain Kingdom of Lesotho. So, a lot of the �city on a hill� rhetoric that gets used by the GOP is idolatrous. It is substituting a pagan government for the church (the true city on a hill). Also, the GOP also seems to be captivated by the idolatry of the individual (leave me alone and let everyone pull themselves up by their bootstraps). Historically, there�s not a great sense of concern for the �other� in this approach. Add to this Bush�s swagger and pride (and refusal to take correction) and you have a problematic candidate.

On the opposite side of the coin, the Democrats aren�t much better. There are things they tend to do better than Republicans (environment, sense of responsibility for all in the community, care for the poor, etc.). These are important issues. However, the Democrats are worshiping at the idol of the individual as well. But instead of the individual idol being related to the free market, it�s related largely to the area of choice. Here�s where you get into the abortion issue. Abortion is a huge issue because it�s such a great evil for a society. And, this election is key because of the Supreme Court justice replacements that will be happening soon. Kerry scares me on this.

So, at the end of the day�I think we have to see government for what it is�a pagan government that can do some good things, but that can�t bring about the kingdom of God (I think Paul told Timothy to pray for a government that would leave us alone�.not exactly �government = savior� type of language).