Wednesday, September 23, 2009

Why the divide?

Well, this is officially my first blog on faith and politics. It should be noted that I am a Christian foremost, a mom and a wife, and an American. I am pretty conservative, probably more so than the mainstream of the country, but I am not an extremists (at least not according to me.) Having said all of that, I believe that there is something wrong with our country which is why I felt compelled to start my own blog. I do not honestly expect anyone to read this, but I need an outlet. I have been very concerned since the election about what I consider a politic divide among Christians. This may not be a big deal among most people but it is to me because I see things that are being supported on both sides that I don't think line up with Christian beliefs. I have wondered why this divide exist and so I posed the question on my facebook. I only received two responses, both of which I felt were correct. Alot of people only vote party and really don't care to line up the persons beliefs with what the Bible says. I have had a number of people tell me that someone would vote for the devil if he were a Democrat (or a Republican, but Democrat is what I have heard.) Within each party, there is a wide range of views. We, as Christians, must start looking beyond party and matching the individual up with the Bible.

I believe the divide has a lot to do with the fact that we are living in the most Biblically illiterate society ever. This is a failure on the part of the church. Churches have shied away from teaching anything that may be viewed as being "political" because of the fear of the loss of tax-exempt status. This is a false fear. The church can teach many things but the church must be sure it is teaching the Bible (After all, it does have to answer to God.) If the Bible speaks on political issues, which I believe it does, then the church is obligated to teach that but the church must not play politics with the Bible. Right now, liberals, who historically have not really cared about what the Bible says on certain issues, has begun to hijack the importance of the Bible and used morallity and equated it with equality. The first thing they will say is "What would Jesus do?" Well, I can tell you He would not go against the will of His Father.

Theresa P.