IF the American Christian community in Christian America wants to vote their faith a good place to start would be by looking in the mirror while reading Matthew 25:31-45. If you don't have it handy here it is "The Sheep and the Goats
31 "When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his throne in heavenly glory. 32 All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. 33 He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left. 34 "Then the King will say to those on his right, 'Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. 35 For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, 36 I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.' 37 "Then the righteous will answer him, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? 38 When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? 39 When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?' 40 "The King will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.' 41 "Then he will say to those on his left, 'Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. 42 For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, 43 I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.' 44 "They also will answer, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?' 45 "He will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.' 46 "Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life." One should look in the mirror and ask if the beliefs, practices and the political platform of the person they are going to vote for best reflects in word and deed these words of Jesus Christ. Then each member of the Christian community in America who wants to vote their faith should look in the mirror again and read the 10 Commandments. If you need them, here they are from Exodus 20:1-17 ( there are actually 3 sets of Commandments in the Old Testament ) "The Ten Commandments
20 And God spoke all these words:
2 “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.
3 “You shall have no other gods before[a] me.
4 “You shall not make for yourself an image in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. 5 You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, 6 but showing love to a thousand generations of those who love me and keep my commandments.
7 “You shall not misuse the name of the Lord your God, for the Lord will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses his name.
8 “Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. 9 Six days you shall labor and do all your work, 10 but the seventh day is a sabbath to the Lord
your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or
daughter, nor your male or female servant, nor your animals, nor any
foreigner residing in your towns. 11 For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but he rested on the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.
12 “Honor your father and your mother, so that you may live long in the land the Lord your God is giving you.
13 “You shall not murder.
14 “You shall not commit adultery.
15 “You shall not steal.
16 “You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor.
17 “You shall not covet
your neighbor’s house. You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or his
male or female servant, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to
your neighbor." One
should look in the mirror and ask if the beliefs, practices and the
political platform of the person they are going to vote for best
reflects in word and deed these words of our God. Has the person you are going to vote for given false testimony against their opponent, against our government? Do they bow down before those with power and money? Does their political platform protect those who commit murder, who steal, and violate the Sabbath? Is their campaign committed to satisfying their own covetousness, as well as the covetousness of their wealthy and corporate backers, for riches and power at the expense of their electorate, their neighbors? If Christian America really wants to vote their faith they will pray and consider the Commandments of their God, the teachings of Jesus Christ. Watch the videos below and decide for yourself if they re true to the Scripture above, and VOTE on Tuesday, 4 NOV 14. From +Mother Jones .....
Last week, we reported on a coalition of influential conservative Christian organizations that are drumming up outrage over the Hobby Lobby
case and other recent culture war skirmishes. The goal of this
campaign—which involves closed-door briefings for pastors and rallies
simulcast to mega-churches around the country—is to mobilize Christian
voters by persuading them that their religious liberties are at stake in
tomorrow's election.
On Sunday, the coalition held another simulcast rally, at Grace Community Church in Houston. And this time Phil Robertson, the Duck Dynasty star who was briefly suspended last year after going on an anti-gay tirade, was among the speakers. (Watch the video above.)
The bearded patriarch strode onto the stage Sunday clutching a dog-eared Bible and told the cheering crowd America was founded as a Christian nation. "America, America, it cannot be said too strongly or too often that this great nation was not founded by religionists but by Christians," he declared. "Not on religions, but on the Gospel of Jesus Christ." (Robertson attributed the quote to Patrick Henry; its origins are disputed). He then read a passage from Philippians about a Christian who was imprisoned for voicing his beliefs, and asserted that the same thing could happen in the United States. Robertson also likened the treatment of Christians today to the persecution Jesus faced: "They hated the son of God without reason, and now they hate us."
On Sunday, the coalition held another simulcast rally, at Grace Community Church in Houston. And this time Phil Robertson, the Duck Dynasty star who was briefly suspended last year after going on an anti-gay tirade, was among the speakers. (Watch the video above.)
The bearded patriarch strode onto the stage Sunday clutching a dog-eared Bible and told the cheering crowd America was founded as a Christian nation. "America, America, it cannot be said too strongly or too often that this great nation was not founded by religionists but by Christians," he declared. "Not on religions, but on the Gospel of Jesus Christ." (Robertson attributed the quote to Patrick Henry; its origins are disputed). He then read a passage from Philippians about a Christian who was imprisoned for voicing his beliefs, and asserted that the same thing could happen in the United States. Robertson also likened the treatment of Christians today to the persecution Jesus faced: "They hated the son of God without reason, and now they hate us."
Robertson's son, Alan, later took
the stage and claimed that Satan was to blame for the firestorm
surrounding his father's homophobic comments: "The evil one is attacking
my family because we speak truth."
The speakers roster also included former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee and Todd Starnes of Fox News, as well as David and Jason Benham—the twin brothers who lost their planned HGTV show after the liberal advocacy group People for the American Way dug up audio of David railing against "homosexuality and its agenda that is attacking the nation." Like many of the speakers, the Benhams—who have compared their situation to the Christians being beheaded by ISIS—cast their treatment as flagrant religious discrimination. And they urged viewers to stand firm against the onslaught.
These impassioned accounts were interspersed with calls for believers to vote their "biblical values." During his speech, Huckabee asked the thousands of people in attendance to pull out their smartphones and look at photos of their children or grandchildren. "If you would die for the image on that screen," he said, "could you not at least vote so that they would not live in an America where they would be told that they could not pray and preach and worship and believe as their conscience would tell them to do?"
Texas pastor Rick Scarborough sounded a similar note during his closing remarks. "On Tuesday everyone here should act," he urged. "That's your day to vote your values." Addressing his fellow pastors, he added, "This is the hour, gentleman, when we'll either stand up and be counted or our country will be lost."
Many of the groups behind the event—among them Concerned Women for America, the American Family Association, the Family Research Council, and the National Organization for Marriage—are known for their fierce anti-gay rhetoric. AFA, one of the most influential conservative Christian organizations, has gone as far as blaming gays for the Holocaust. "Homosexuality gave us Adolph Hitler," Bryan Fischer, the group's director of issues and analysis, once wrote, "and homosexuals in the military gave us the Brown Shirts, the Nazi war machine and six million dead Jews." Fischer has also argued that the "homosexual agenda" endangers "every fundamental right" in the Constitution, including religious freedom, and has called for homosexuality to be outlawed.
For more on the scare tactics these organizations are using to get voters to the polls, see the I Stand Sunday promotional video:
http://youtu.be/m43xKTW_OTg
The speakers roster also included former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee and Todd Starnes of Fox News, as well as David and Jason Benham—the twin brothers who lost their planned HGTV show after the liberal advocacy group People for the American Way dug up audio of David railing against "homosexuality and its agenda that is attacking the nation." Like many of the speakers, the Benhams—who have compared their situation to the Christians being beheaded by ISIS—cast their treatment as flagrant religious discrimination. And they urged viewers to stand firm against the onslaught.
Chillin with @GovMikeHuckabee and look who #photobombed! Good ol' Phil Robertson :)
These impassioned accounts were interspersed with calls for believers to vote their "biblical values." During his speech, Huckabee asked the thousands of people in attendance to pull out their smartphones and look at photos of their children or grandchildren. "If you would die for the image on that screen," he said, "could you not at least vote so that they would not live in an America where they would be told that they could not pray and preach and worship and believe as their conscience would tell them to do?"
Texas pastor Rick Scarborough sounded a similar note during his closing remarks. "On Tuesday everyone here should act," he urged. "That's your day to vote your values." Addressing his fellow pastors, he added, "This is the hour, gentleman, when we'll either stand up and be counted or our country will be lost."
Many of the groups behind the event—among them Concerned Women for America, the American Family Association, the Family Research Council, and the National Organization for Marriage—are known for their fierce anti-gay rhetoric. AFA, one of the most influential conservative Christian organizations, has gone as far as blaming gays for the Holocaust. "Homosexuality gave us Adolph Hitler," Bryan Fischer, the group's director of issues and analysis, once wrote, "and homosexuals in the military gave us the Brown Shirts, the Nazi war machine and six million dead Jews." Fischer has also argued that the "homosexual agenda" endangers "every fundamental right" in the Constitution, including religious freedom, and has called for homosexuality to be outlawed.
For more on the scare tactics these organizations are using to get voters to the polls, see the I Stand Sunday promotional video:
Image of Duck Dyanasty star Phil Robertson: Mike Stone/AP
No comments:
Post a Comment