The Evangelical Vote

6/13/16

A friend of mine posted an article by a guy named Alan Noble about why evangelicals shouldn't vote for Trump or hillary but work to get solid conservatives elected at all lower levels. I wrote bunk, there's no reason why you can't do both so I was asked for my opinion of the article. The article is too long to repost, but here's what I wrote:

Well to try and be brief, everything Noble just accused Trump of he could have said about hillary, only worse. He certainly has drunk the liberal koolaid, because that's exactly how he sounds, regardless of his supposed evangelical credentials.
He would rather see a hillary presidency than a Trump because Trump is deceptive - you mean like the Benghazi coverup, email scandals, you name it, hillary passes another lie every day. Trump is only running for himself - you mean hillary is running for any other reason? Trump lacks principles to lead the country - like after abandoning four Americans in Libya you think hillary has any principles of leadership at all? Trump won't ask God for forgiveness - when has hillary ever asked God for forgiveness? Trump is a racist - based on what information, and how is hillary any different? He boasts about his infidelities - like she boasts about getting a child rapist off and slanders the women her husband has raped or with whom he's had affairs?

The difference between the two is that Trump for all his faults is surrounding himself with some true conservatives - he's already announced he wants Trey Gowdy for Attorney General. Do you think that might be better than Holder or Lynch? By far. We might have somebody who will uphold the law again instead of covering for Democrat criminals.

Noble says if we fold to Trump's coercion we will lose our political voice - what political voice do you think we'll have left if hillary wins? She's anti-Christian, anti Israel, pro Islam, and already vowing to remove the 2nd Amendment. By standing up to the political correctness that is turning our society into the laughing stock of the world, Trump is already giving us our political voice back.

What really exposes Noble is that while he was working on his doctorate at Baylor University, a very liberal Southern Baptist school, he came to the conclusion that "sovereign individualism" is a threat to "human flourishing." In other words, self-government, personal accountability, hard work and accomplishment, the rugged individualism that built our country and the ideals that made America great, are what holds people back. According to Noble, the things that built America are counter productive. That's big government socialism talking.

It looks to me like Noble is a liberal plant disguised as an evangelical to stop Christians from voting for Trump in order to let hillary win. What difference does it make if we keep control of Congress? Conservatives have won the House three times in the last six years and the Senate and accomplished nothing. Four years of hillary combined with the same spineless Republican Congress that hasn't had the guts to stand up to obama and we won't have a country left to worry about. We need somebody in the White House with a vision to help the country, and as flawed as Trump is, he's got a better vision than hillary.

What Biblical Principle?

7/25/16

I keep seeing people write they can't vote for Trump because of biblical principle. I would like to know what principle that is? Show me a Scripture. God called Elijah to anoint Jehu to be king of Israel. Jehu was a godless man. He could probably be compared with Trump except that he was much worse. God used him anyway and he eradicated Baal worship in Israel.

So what is the biblical principle? I've been told God is more important than the USA. Of course God is more important, but God also gave us nations and established borders and told us to pray for our leaders. In America He has given us a situation unique to any in OT or NT times. We can actually vote for our leaders and effect change in the direction of the country. So why do we squabble over a flawed man who is seeking out Christian leaders for guidance when the alternative is evil incarnate?

There are a lot of things I don't like about Trump, but at this point what other valid option is there for defeating hillary? What is the biblical principle that says we should throw away the country and the future of religious freedom and world wide missions because we don't have a born again fundamental or evangelical Christian with a perfect family record running for office?

I Give Up

8/4/16

I just read a very long article by a never-trumper about four things for a Christian to consider before voting for Hillary. It's too long to post and I'm tired of this stuff from people who are so blind that they will sacrifice the future because there is not a perfect candidate, but here is my response anyway. You'll get an idea what the guy was saying by my comments and I'm not nearly as long as he was:

Okay, I give up. I surrender. Give the country to Hillary and accept the consequences. Obviously God is preparing to judge our nation so let's just sit back and watch it happen. Let's not occupy till He comes, let's just hide in our churches and pretend to be spiritual by disengaging from life.

This article would carry more weight if the author had his theology correct, but he starts from a flawed premise. Arguing from 1 Corinthians 5 he claims we shouldn't have any connection with Trump. But the passage is talking about church discipline of a Christian brother. It doesn't apply.

Further, the OT prophets never said anything about campaigning for leaders because they had no choice in the selection of their kings. There is no foundation to any argument using those prophets that applies to our situation today other than calling the nation to righteousness.

Neither does the author understand America's history or our political process. America is unique in the history of nations in that we were founded by godly men as a Christian nation, and guaranteed the right to vote and to influence the direction of our government. This author wants us to refrain from political involvement because it is corrupting the church and our Christian testimony. The reality is it is exactly because the church has disengaged that we are in this quagmire.

He claims a Trump presidency will silence the voice of the "prophetic church." This so-called prophetic church for the most part is silent now. What makes him think a Hillary presidency will wake it up? Hillary wants to totally silence the church in the public and private arenas. Trump is openly calling for the repeal of the Johnson Amendment so that the church will be unmuzzled.

He's against Trump because his election may bring God's judgment, but he's okay letting Hillary win which most certainly would be God's judgment and the destruction of our country. So let's just surrender and let God's judgment rain on us. Let's go sit on a mountain like a bunch of Millerites and wait for the rapture. God is sovereign and He's going to accomplish His will no matter what we do. Calvin said so. So let's do nothing.

I think I'd rather do what Jesus said and occupy till He comes. Let's take advantage of the freedom God has given us and use the political process to try and turn the country back to our roots. We need to understand that politics is a step by step process. There is no giant leap solution. Trump may be flawed, but he is a step in a political process that will give us a little window of hope for the future. With Hillary there will be no future.

I keep hearing the argument that churches and preachers should stay out of politics and stick to the Gospel. Why? That's the secular anti-Christian view of our government. Why should we give in to that? Why should we let non-Christians tell us what to do?

There were 55 delegates to the Constitutional Convention in 1787. Of those, 52 were dedicated Protestant Christians, and many, including Roger Sherman, who was one of the most prominent members, were theologians. Preachers gave us our country. Why should we not take it back from secularists who want to silence our voices?

When you go to vote remember four things: Hillary, Hillary, Hillary, and Hillary. That's the future if Trump loses.

The SCOTUS Argument

8/5/16

Recently Dr. David Jeremiah made the argument that the Supreme Court is why hillary must be defeated. If she is able to pack a court with a possible 7-2 liberal majority that will judge according to liberal agenda instead of the Constitution the country will never recover.

Apparently in response to Jeremiah, Ian Tuttle has written an article for the formerly conservative National Review explaining why that is a bad argument. His premise is that Trump would be more dangerous in his Supreme Court picks than hillary because he already suggested he could appoint his very liberal sister, likely in jest, who is a judge. He conveniently ignores the short list of potential conservative judges that Trump has also proposed. In response I wrote the following:

So the option is either Trump who might appoint liberal justices, or Hillary who will definitely appoint the most liberal judges. Seems like a no-brainier to me.

Tuttle argues that a Hillary court could be held in check by litigation. Why could a Trump court not be held in check the same way? Tuttle's logic is that the SCOTUS is limited in that it can only take cases that are presented to it. SCOTUS is also limited by the Congress which according to the Constitution can dictate which cases the Court can take. But Congress reneged on that responsibility long ago.

Two problems with Tuttle's argument: a Hillary Department of Justice would take every issue Hillary wants dealt with to the court. If you think the DOJ would be any more honest under Hillary than it is now you are fooling yourself.

Second, in 1980 in the case of Bob Jones University vs. the IRS, the DOJ refused to bring the case to the court because BJU had committed no crime. The court then appointed a prosecutor to try the case anyway and ruled against BJU 8-1, not because of the law, but because of public policy. They've already litigated cases that were not brought before them and they've been making unconstitutional decisions ever since. Anyone who thinks a Hillary court would not do the same in order to overturn every moral restraint in our culture is blind.

This faux conservatism that would rather give the election to hillary and a socialist oligarchy which would be the end of constitutional government and our freedoms than take a chance on Trump who is the only realistic alternative is short-sighted insanity.

A Biblical Principle for Voting for Trump?

8/10/16

I wrote the following awhile ago but then found out I had made a serious error. Some have already seen it and commented but I don't want it to look like I'm smearing someone so I'm deleting the original and reposting with error corrected. My point remains the same. If you didn't see the original don't worry about it. (I hate to admit I made a mistake!)

Well, I finally got an answer to my question about the biblical principle for not voting for Trump. Constitution Party candidate Darrell Castle says the Bible prohibits a Christian from voting for Trump as the lesser of two evils because Romans 3:8 says it is wrong to do evil in order to achieve good.

The problem with the argument is that voting itself is not an evil act, neither is voting for a candidate to prevent an opposing candidate from completely destroying the country and our religious freedoms an intent to do evil. Evil is widely defined by Webster as being bad, wrong, immoral, wicked, depraved, reprobate and more, but also something that brings sorrow, trouble or destruction. The Bible views evil in Psalm 51:4 as anything that contradicts the holy nature of God.
Castle holds many acceptable positions for Christians. He is a social conservative and favors traditional moral values. He is an evangelic Presbyterian and a strict Constitutional constructionist. There is a lot about him and his party to like, but I disagree with his theological view of politics.

There are of course some candidates that are better morally or spiritually than others, but all have sinned (Romans 3:23) and in God's sight if you've committed one sin you are as guilty as the one who has committed them all (James 2:10-11). Since God is no respecter of persons and in His sight all sin is equally evil a vote for Castle simply becomes a vote for the lesser of three evils. Now don't misinterpret me. I'm not excusing anyone's sin, but if Romans 3:8 prohibits a vote for Trump, it also then prohibits a vote for Castle.

This is the problem with trying to find the "perfect" biblical candidate. There are none. But the reason in a nation of 319 million people we are down to Trump and hillary as the only viable candidates in this election is because preachers have failed to oppose wickedness, pulpits have grown cold, and Christians have disengaged from the process. We need revival fires ignited in churches and we need Christians united against sin, but revival doesn't start with the president, it starts with the preacher.

We also need a view of the future politically and ecclesiastically that sees beyond November. We don't have the most desirable candidates running right now on any ticket, but of the two front runners, one is listening to Christians, the other is demanding we shut up. One is suggesting Christians unite as a political force, the other is demanding we reject the Bible. The one gives hope that we could save the country from national and spiritual suicide, the other will tighten the noose and prepare the way for the Antichrist.

Vote your heart, but don't give me any more false piety about not voting for the lesser of two evils. Considering the conservative nature of the Republican platform and the debauched, godless nature of the Democrat, any vote that would split the Republican Party and allow Hillary to win is a vote for the worst evil.

Remembering Dennis Potts

8/31/16

I first met Dennis and Shelia at Bob Jones University in the faculty dining room in 1988 or 89. I was there visiting with the McCauleys and since I had just come from the Philippines they introduced us. When I went back to the PI I drove down to Quezon City and looked them up. It began a friendship that for me at least was an unending blessing for the last 26 years. Dennis performed our wedding in their home in 1991, and their youngest daughter, Julia, was our flower girl when we had a church ceremony later.

Dennis was always ready to listen, talk, or offer sage advice. His eyebrows would press into a frown and he would kind of point his lips, and then out came the wisdom. He suggested I start my blog several years ago and he commented often on it. He had a great sense of humor and always a positive outlook.

Unfortunately our visits were few and far between with us being in Kenya for so many years, but we always got together when we passed through the PI going on furlough or returning. We knew he wasn't doing well, but this news was shocking to us. He will surely be missed by many. At the end of Cooper's novel, The Last of the Mohicans, the Indian sachem says of his dead son, The Great Spirit had need of him. Perhaps we could paraphrase that to say, Our loving Heavenly Father had need of Dennis and took him to receive his reward.

Please remember Shelia also. She recently had a mild heart attack. Pray for grace for her and the family. Psalm 139:17-18.

Defining Moments, 9/11

9/11/16

History is filled with defining moments that influenced the course of nations and world events. These defining events have often produced battle cries that have inspired patriots to action. “Remember” has become a common battle cry in American history. Remember the Alamo, remember the Maine, remember Pearl Harbor, remember 9/11. It’s sad how in only fifteen years so many American’s have forgotten the significance of 9/11. But these remember moments lead to the inevitable question, “Where were you when?” Key events are so important in our lives that people tend to remember exactly where they were and what they were doing when they happened.

I was on the playground at Asbury Elementary School at noon time when one of my classmates came back from lunch at home and said with a big grin on his face, “The president’s been shot.” He was kind of an ornery kid and nobody believed him until the bell rang and we went back to class. Our teacher, Miss Mundy, who was an exchange teacher from England, was almost in tears at her desk and very softly told us what happened and that we all needed to go home.

I was at my grandmother’s watching on TV when Neil Armstrong said the immortal words, “That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.” I was in college working at Wendy’s when we heard that Reagan had been shot and my heart sank. All afternoon we asked for updates from people ordering at the drive through window.

And then there is 9/11. I was in Kenya at a village called New Wood putting up a church building with another missionary, Ole Konnerup. Late in the afternoon one of our colleagues, Richard Edwards, called on the cell phone to tell us planes had flown into the World Trade Center. I immediately called my wife and told her to turn on the TV.

Many of these defining events have led to wars, the toppling of dictators, and the rescue and freeing of enslaved people, and we might say the restoration of the normal way of life. But on 9/11 the world changed. When the Muslim driven Al Qaeda terrorists flew the planes into the World Trade Center and Pentagon the world entered a phase it has never seen before. There have been tyrants and conquering armies since Nimrod 4500 years ago. There have been holy wars and crusades against infidels infused with religious fanaticism. There have been terrorist acts and suicidal maniacs, but on 9/11 a new kind of conflict emerged, the War on Terror, against a new kind of enemy.

This enemy could not be identified by uniforms, flags, marching formations or battlefield tactics. It could not be defined by borders or nationalistic spirit. This enemy is defined by the ideology of Islamic Jihad. In spite of the blind American leadership that has refused to see the obvious, this is a holy war like none other before it. It is Islamic idealism trying to take down the “Great Satan,” the United States, and destroy the Jewish nation of Israel, as only a precursor to conquering the world.

This war through subtlety and infiltration has affected every nation of Christian background, and the west in general. Look what has happened in France, Germany, Demark, Sweden and England in just the last year. Look at what happened in Davao City in the Philippines just last week. The Muslim terrorist group, Abu Sayyaf, has declared war on the Philippines. And because of a poorly thought out overall strategy during the Bush administration, and an inept lack of leadership over the last eight years this war has drawn out for fifteen years with no real end in sight. The world is drowning in fear and the prophetic words of Jeremiah in chapter 6:14 have never been more true. People are crying out saying “Peace, peace; when there is no peace.”

The history of the world is mainly the story of monarchs, kings and empires, and power mad tyrants. There have been attempts at republicanism and democracy since Plato and the ancient Greeks in Greece, Rome and various western nations, but in the last 2300 years the average democratic government has only lasted less than 200 years.

Think about it. The French Revolution that was supposedly an attempt at democracy was a power mad disaster that lasted seven years and led to the rise of Napoleon. In the Philippines, the Second Republic, established in 1946, lasted forty years, the last twenty ruled by Ferdinand Marcos who became a dictator and was overthrown by the People’s Power Revolution in 1986. The resulting Third Republic has already been marred by a second People’s Power movement that ignored the constitution and overthrew another president.

The United States of America holds the distinction of being the longest surviving republican or democratic government in history at 240 years. The question is, how much longer will it last?

Former congresswoman, Michelle, Bachman, recently said that if hillary is elected it will be the last free election in American history. In other words, it will be the end of America as we have known it. Not that I’m a prophet, but I actually predicted six or more years ago that if obama were to win a second term he would manufacture a crisis to prevent this coming election and stay in office. I think, however, that enough Americans are waking up to the corruption of the obama administration, and Trump has so much support that obama would not be able to pull that off. But if hillary wins it will change everything. Many are predicting the judgment of God and the total destruction of our once great Christian nation.
Is there still hope for America? Could a Trump victory hold back the hand of God’s judgment and open the door for a new religious awakening in America, or is it already too late for that? The never Trump crowd believes he would bring God’s judgment. Are any of them right? Is God’s judgment about to fall on America?

In Jeremiah 11:11, the prophet writes: “Therefore thus saith the Lord, Behold I will bring evil upon them, which they shall not be able to escape; and though they shall cry unto me, I will not hearken unto them.”

Now I’m not one to take prophetic utterances out of the Old Testament that were specifically written to a specific people at a particular time and try to make them apply to America. That’s bad hermeneutics. But there are principles involved that even in this Age of Grace could apply to us today.

Jeremiah 11:9-10 indicts the Jews for turning to the iniquities of their fathers and worshiping false gods. These were God’s people chosen by covenant, which they had broken and because of that He brought disaster upon them, which they could not escape. Neither would He hear their prayers. Can we make this application to America?

The United States of America is the first government in the history of the world to be built on the principle of government by the people whereby the people are free and they control the government. The idea of representative government, of personal ownership of land and free market enterprise all came from the Scripture and were incorporated into our government by godly, honest men who were devoutly Christian. America’s founders created for us a Christian nation that has been blessed by God like no other nation since Israel in the days of David and Solomon.

What happened? In 1962 the U.S. Supreme Court banned the Bible in public schools and in 1963 prohibited prayer, thus kicking God out of public education. Those rulings have since been expanded to include the entire public arena and in the last fifty years America has sunk to the lowest possible moral degeneracy. We have turned from the worship of the Creator to the worship of the creature (Romans 1:24). The human body has become the false humanist god of our generation and nakedness the form of worship.

So is God’s judgment about to fall and grind us to powder?

It is often said that people get the kind of leaders they deserve. Since we are a government of the people and elect our own leaders this is especially true. At the Constitutional Convention in 1787 when the delegates reached a impasse, Benjamin Franklin rose to suggest that a great nation could not rise without God’s aid. The convention adjourned and met in a church for three days listening to preaching and then calling out to God for His divine assistance. The result was the building of the greatest nation on earth.

After a decade and a half without God in the public square and the late 1960s cultural revolution that threw godliness and decency to the wind in favor of free love and open immorality, a counter movement led by Jerry Falwell called the Moral Majority helped sweep Ronald Reagan into the presidency and a brief period of restoring America’s greatness and returning to godly Christian values. By 1991 the Cold War had ended. America was on top of the world as the only major super power left.
The problem was it was a hollow victory. Prison evangelist Charles Colson once said that the Moral Majority won the elections but failed to win people’s hearts. Under Ronald Reagan America became affluent and comfortable, but without his leadership Americans became lax and their comfort led to moral apathy. The result was eight years of a lying, philandering, depraved sex offender in the White House with the liberal news media bowing at his feet.

Clinton should have been a portend of what would follow if the country continued in his footsteps. It was only the wisdom of the founders in creating the Electoral College that brought George W. Bush into the White House in 2000 that held back the slide into depravity. But Bush and the Republican Party lost their way, and unable to uphold or even define traditional values lost the conservative vote and gave us eight years of a man who was not qualified for anything, much less a top secret security clearance as president of the United States.

In eight years obama has decimated our military, brought open disdain from foreign leaders, nearly destroyed our economy, and led the country to a moral debauchery not seen since Sodom and Gomorrah. If hillary is elected she will complete the destruction obama has begun and open the door for the Antichrist. God won’t have to do a thing. We may call it God’s judgment, but all God will have to do is sit back and watch as we destroy ourselves.

Is there a chance that we could have another Great Awakening and bring America, as well as the world, back from the brink? We are told in 2 Chronicle 7:14, “If my people who are called by my name will humble themselves and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven and forgive their sin, heal their land.” Yes this was a message to the Jews, but might the same principle apply to us? If we confess our sins to God and beg for His mercy for our country will He still hear and heal our sin sick land? We won’t know unless we all get on our knees and earnestly cry out to God.

Kneeling in Protest

9/20/16

When you kneel in front of someone or something you are either submitting or surrendering to that authority. So in reality these football players who kneel instead of saluting during the National Anthem are symbolically surrendering to the same authority they are disrespecting. They are spineless, ungrateful, unintelligent losers (and that's being kind).

Immigration Meme

9/23/16

I'm tired of seeing this meme. It shows an American Indian with the comment, "Let me get this straight; you're afraid of refugees coming to America, killing you and taking your property?"

It is mocking people who are in favor of enforcing immigration laws and protecting the country from a massive invasion of Syrian refugees covering for terrorists to prevent what is happening in Germany, Sweden and elsewhere across Europe.

When the first colonists, who were not refugees looking for a free ride, came in the 1600s the Indians were a hundred or more mostly nomadic people groups without defined borders, most of whom had been at war with each other for centuries. Treaties were made and land was purchased from the Indians by the colonists. It was the Indians who broke those first treaties and followed the winds to support the French and then the English against the American colonists. What happened to the Indians in the 1800s with broken treaties by the U.S. Government and reservations was a national disgrace, but the situations don't compare.

The Indians have legitimate complaints over the way they've often been treated over the last 180 years, especially the Cherokee Trail of Tears. Today we are at war with ISIS and other Muslim terrorist groups that have openly stated their intent to destroy America. Vetting the Syrian refugees to root out potential terrorists from coming into the country is common sense for our own protection. We are not breaking treaties with them, persecuting them, threatening or endangering them, wiping out their villages or killing them.

That's why this meme is an insult to the native Americans and an affront to all Americans who believe in the rule of law, including immigration laws. The Indians have legitimate complaints, the Syrian refugees have none. This meme exploits the just cause of Native Americans, many of whom have suffered because of inept government policies, by comparing it with the unjust cause of non-Americans who have never suffered due to any policy of the United States.

Pence vs. Kaine VP Debate

10/5/16

The debate: Kaine was the typical fast blabbing liberal with nothing more than Democrat talking points and no substance. Continuous, obnoxious interruptions bringing up Trump's taxes so that Pence couldn't get a word in seems to have been his debate plan.

Pence was calm and tried to keep the debate focused, but he missed a number of opportunities to put Kaine on the spot over Benghazi, emails, and although he tried to bring up the Clinton Foundation he could get no traction out of it because of the constant disruptions. You would think the world was the Garden of Eden thanks to Hillary listening to Kaine.

The final comments may have been the most revealing. Kaine claims a strong faith based background, but will not let his Catholic faith which is against abortion direct his politics. In other words, his faith means nothing to him at all.

Pence went into the well where most politicians fear to go and took a strong stand for pro-life, giving his Christian testimony of salvation, and showing that his faith directs his life. Kaine's only claim to victory would be that he prevented Pence from delineating the Trump platform by his constant interruptions, but in the process he made himself look more of a joker than Joe Biden in his debate against Paul Ryan four years ago. Pence, although he missed several opportunities to nail Hillary, wins on substance.