Sunday, October 19, 2008

God and the Election

Over the past few weeks, I have received more mail than I recall ever receiving since the last presidential election. A lot of it is predictable, but I have also received several missives telling me that I am doing ‘the Lord’s work’ in my posts about the election being a lot closer than the media pretends, and my observations of historical trends, the value of the undecideds and independents in this year’s race, and the fact that we won in 2004 and lost in 2006 largely due to turnout by republicans. Well, I consider myself a God-fearing man, not to claim that I am anywhere the man I’d like to be, so it occurred to me that I need to address where I see God standing with regard to this election. If you’re not a believer, you might just want to give this one a miss – no offense, but it’s a faith thing, you either follow that path or it makes no sense to you.

Now, some folks like to assume that God’s on their side. That’s a bad idea, thinking that God has to go along with us. What we need to do, actually, is make sure we are listening to God and going His way on decisions and actions. In this election, it would be wrong to imagine that God “votes” for someone in the sense that God is brought around to support a human political opinion. But it is valid for us to consider what God wants us to be and do in this situation, and to think and act in accordance with those precepts.

As a follower of Christ (though again I have to make clear that I am poor at the practice), the first precepts are to not judge the hearts of other people but merely their actions, to walk humbly and seek God’s will in all things, and to count freedom ahead of peace, justice ahead of freedom, and mercy above all of those other ideals.

If you’ve read the Bible, you know that God sometimes allows evil men to rule. If you have watched the news for awhile, you know that sometimes evil is allowed to win for a time. I cannot say I understand why that is so, the notion of ‘free will’ seems a pale and shallow concept to explain why innocents should be made to suffer, why injustice should be allowed – even for a short time – to win, or why the people should suffer because of an evil ruler. But it is undeniably so, that this happens at times. So I cannot say that God would not allow an Obama presidency, even if I believed all the evil that some says is ready to spew forth from such an administration, coupled as it would be with near-complete control of Congress and the connivance of a corrupt media. I do not say this to dismay you, but to warn you that our actions matter a great deal in this election, all of us, and I will return anon to this warning. We cannot assume that God will not allow the wrong decision.

We should also learn the lessons from the Bible about the critical value of faith. When Elijah stood up to an evil queen and an army of false prophets, he felt alone and deserted, and even God’s own voice was not enough to console him, until the Lord explained to Elijah that there were thousands of good men in Israel whose faith was true, and who depended on God through Elijah for confirmation that they were right and would prevail. I am no Elijah, but even so I tell you plainly that America is a nation of believers in truth and light, and they do not hold with attacking ordinary citizens for asking inconvenient questions, they do not approve of a media which literally digs into trash to find tools to use to slime one candidate while ignoring legitimate inquiries into another’s character and actions. They do not forget history and they do not embrace the replacement of family and the individual with the government and the collective. Americans who fear God, do not forget duty. Americans who trust God, do not mock sacrifice. Americans who follow Christ, are not impressed with men who would replace God with their own image. Therefore, when we are presented with a situation where one candidate appears to be clearly in line with God’s will and the other major candidate would oppose that will, we must first test our assumptions, and if they hold true we must stand with the one who follow the Lord’s will.

Democrats have long run on claims that they better follow the ideals of goodness, touting concern for the impoverished, the protection of minorities, and standing against greed. Barack Obama is running on basically those same themes. But in times of hardship, it is not McCain but Obama who would increase taxes and create higher unemployment by making it harder for smaller companies to hire and keep employees. It is not McCain but Obama who would increase opportunities for illegals in the U.S., who would principally take jobs held by minority citizens. It is not McCain but Obama who has taken hundreds of millions of dollars from private sponsors, whom he refuses to even identify, since the public would naturally wonder what sort of promises he made to get all that money.

It is not Obama but McCain who has suffered in service to his country. It is not Obama but McCain who has given generously to charity out of his own pocket. It is not Obama but McCain who has fought to protect the lives of unborn children. And it is not Obama but McCain, who when made aware of vicious comments about his opponent, immediately, directly and repeatedly called for his campaign to operate by ideals of respect and courtesy, asking hard questions but refraining from personal smears. These facts are undeniable, and make clear which sorts of character are present in each man.

There will come a day, I believe, when we will stand before the Lord and have to account for all we have done, said, and even thought. It seems to me that it would be far better for me to explain why I supported a man whose actions were aligned with the Lord’s teachings, than why I stood by and deserted him when the campaign became difficult.

My advice to us all is simple: Take it to the Lord in prayer, listen humbly for His answer, then act in faith and hope. We shall not fail to see a good result from that course.

13 comments:

Reliapundit said...

G-d has a plan.

We might not be able to alter it.

But we must take a stand with regard to it.

In fact, this is our only choice our only power.

WE MUST ENDEAVOR TO CHOOSE WISELY.

Wise people don't choose what has always failed elsewhere - like socialism.

Wise people don't endorse murder - like infanticide or euthanasia.

Wise people don't endorse liars and those who close associates are evil-doers.

Wise people don't endorse people whose idea of charity is giving money to hate groups.

Wise people can't support Obama.

Only dupes can.

They'd might as well be idolaters sacrificing their children on an altar of fire.

If Obama was a good man then at least ONE of the projects he's been involved with in his public life would have turned out well.

But his accomplishments are nil.

He is a nihilist.

A destroyer of worlds.

VOTE ACCORDINGLY.

summertime said...

Dear DJ Drummond,

THANK YOU for this beautiful post. You have written from the heart. I'm grateful.

I love your blog. I KNOW the polls aren't right. But I can't take them apart to see why, and you do! Yours is the first blog I check nowadays.

AND it is so meaningful to know that you are seeking guidance through prayer and that you try to align yourself with the guidance you receive. Me, too. Thank you for saying so!

I agree with what you wrote. (I might not agree on every political position, but that is not the point.)

I appreciate so much that you put this into words.
I seek to understand what is my highest path, and I ask for guidance in prayer. I try to pay attention to the blessings I receive every day.

I try to stay aware that others may see it differently -- and maybe I do not agree with them about everything politically -- And yet I to try to care for them as a person -- to try to respect them and appreciate them, even though I DO NOT want them for president or whatever.

I am interested in politics. I have opinions. Definitely. But I am also only a human being, and I have plenty of failings. So I try not to judge, lest I be judged (right?), because I know I may be judged by the same measure I use for others. I try to be understanding and not harsh. I try not to be self-righteous, and to respect the human being even if I don't agree with the politics.

The United States is a great experiment. It is based on an idea. Government of, by and for the people. The idea lives in the hearts and minds of the American people. Can we keep ourselves free? Do we have what it takes? Are we willing to be unpopular if that's what it takes to try to do the right thing? Will we forget the lessons of history --RECENT history, in some cases? Will we ignore the results of socialism, which results EVERY TIME in poverty and tyranny? Americans do not want socialism if they know that that is what is being proposed.

We have been given an opportunity for self-government. We live in a free country. The information is there if we will bestir ourselves to find it and read it or watch it. If the mainstream media are caught in the neo-socialist bubble, can we exert ourselves and look beyond them? They are Lenin's "useful idiots." We are not their captives unless we allow it.

You describe the internal tweaking of the polls. I instinctively sense this, but I could account for it, until I read the experts, like you. This tweaking, including the "weighting," is a terrribly unfortunate phenomenon. It seems to me the "weighting" could be called by a different scientific term, which I believe is called "guessing."

This tweaking of the polls makes people feel crazy, or that others have gone crazy, because Senator Obama simply does not have policies that ought to produce this supposed lead in the polls in American politics. The polling result are literally unbelievable.

I wonder how much of the impetus for the "weighting" in favor of the Democrats comes from the false numbers of "new" Democrat voters that ACORN (the Association of Community Organizers for Reform Now) claims it is signing up. Where do the pollsters get the numbers they use for "weighting?" -- I repeat: they are "guessing."

I just heard that the founder of ACORN is a former member of Students for a Democratic Society - the notorious SDS. They were at war with the United States and were trying to tear down the United States back in the 1960's.

Also, the SDS at one time was closely associated with the Weather Underground, Bill Ayers' and Bernadine Dohrn's domestic bomb-exploding terrorist organization. (AND, if you want to see what "unrepentant" looks like, see the "Bill Ayers & Bernadine Dohrn - Connie Chung interview" on YouTube.)

I don't think that ACORN is actually trying to sign up voters (Mickey Mouse will not be voting in the MANY locations in which he has been signed up; nor will the starting line-up of the Dallas Cowboys be voting in Las Vegas or St. Louis.) I think ACORN is trying to overwhelm the voting system. They handed in 5,000 "new" registration cards in St. Louis, and according to what I read, only 40 of them turned out to be legitimate.

This makes no sense if your goal is to sign up new voters.

But I think I found some answers. I looked up "Cloward-Piven Manufactured Crisis" AND also Saul Alinsky's book, "Rules for Radicals." They are working from the same basic neo-socialist, Marxist playbook. It's all there if you look. It's all online.

Because of what I extrapolate from what I have read about ACORN, Cloward-Piven, Barack Obama, Saul Alinsky, Frank Marshall Davis, and ESPECIALLY Bill Ayers and the central and pivotal role I think Bill Ayers has played in Barack Obama's life, I have reached some conclusions.

I think it is likely that ACORN is trying to overwhelm the voting system so that there will be chaos and confusion. I suspect that ACORN does not want people to trust the voting system.

I think ACORN wants to turn elections into long controversies, with lots of uncertainty and possibly long court battles. ACORN may even want to add riots and disturbances to the election process if necessary.

ACORN may not be able arrange for their allies, the Democrat Party, to win a free and fair election. I think ACORN wants to be able to use other means besides elections to get into power.

(Look at what happened in Kenya. Raila Odinga is Senator Obama's favored candidate - Odinga is from the Luo tribe, the same as Senator Obama's father. I have read that emails show that Barack Obama was advising Raila Odinga during the 2007 Kenyan campaign. "Friends of " Senator Obama donated about $950,000 to Odinga. In 2006, Barack Obama, a sitting U.S. senator, went to Kenya and travelled around with Raila Odinga, inserting himself into Kenyan politics. The Kenyan government called Obama a "stooge" for Odinga. When Odinga lost the election, his Luo tribe supporters rioted, raping and killing people, mostly from the largest, opposing Kikuyu tribe. Hundreds of people were killed, and now Odinga is the Prime Minister.)

The Democrat Party of Harry Truman and John F. Kennedy has been hijacked. This is not your father's - or my father's- or Ronald Reagan's - Democrat Party.

This all is actually explained in the Cloward-Piven Manufactured Crisis: if any government institution is less than perfect, the plan is to condemn it, and also to overburden it more and more, with ever more recipients and clients, so that the institution will collapse. Then, the Left can take over. "Worse is better," said Lenin. Seriously. Cloward-Piven explains SO MUCH about the otherwise inexplicable behavior of the American Left.

And if you say to yourself, "conspiracy theory!", may I remind you that the original Soviet takeover of Russia was accomplished by a -- wait for it! --conspiracy! That's right, Marxism, as applied in practice, IS a conspiracy.

Having said all that, this election can seem alarming. One minute, I KNOW the Left can't win. But then I waver. Rock bottom, I do think McCain-Palin will win. (AND be sure to watch McCain at the Alfred E. Smith Memorial Dinner PART 1 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6bhvIvYrsQo
PART 2 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j82lhqiAF-M or search YouTube. Obama's speech is also there.)


SO. AND YET. There are many possible sources of trouble in this world, are there not? AND sometimes difficult times come. They do. And we have to face them and try to be the best people we can, no matter what. With our fellow Americans, ALL our fellow Americans.

And that is the reason, DJ Drummond, that I appreciate your post today so much.

I want to have courage. Faith helps me to have courage, no matter what. You have inspired me today.

Some people have given their lives for our freedom. I want to live up to my heritage of liberty. I feel encouraged by your inspiring words.

Thank you for this post! I will remember it as a friend. God bless!

Anonymous said...

I've be taught and firmly believe that we are here to show by our actions where we stand with relation to God. That as a result we have been granted moral agency. and "He doth suffer that they may do this thing; or that the people may do this thing unto them, according to the hardness of their hearts, that the judgements which He shall exercise upon them in His wrath may be just"

Unknown said...

DJ, Thank you for a beautifully written and heartfelt post. I check your blog daily. Your analysis makes incomprehensible poll data accessible; my gut tells me that this race is tight, the msm tells everyone it is over. Your blog has given me much hope.

Finally, your thoughts on serving our Lord were inspiring. i too believe we will stand before Him; thanks for the remminder that our choices this election have real consequences.

Mick

Anonymous said...

"In great contests each party claims to act in accordance with the will of God. Both may be, and one must be wrong."
Abraham Lincoln

newton said...

"Now there arose up a new king over Egypt, which knew not Joseph. " - Exodus 1:8

The verses after that one, summarized, tell about how the Israelites suffered under slavery and oppression at the hands of that pharaoh who didn't know Joseph, the one who protected them for many years. It wasn't until Moses arrived in the scene that things began to change for them.

Many good things and good times, unfortunately and eventually, come to an end. Very dark times are ahead of us. I believe many Christians and Jews, as well as many Conservatives and Republicans, will become so vilified that they will be considered second-class citizens... if they are considered citizens at all. And from that, many persecutions will come, at the hands of a party that is supposed to be "for the people."

She Rose Up said...

I came to read your explanation of the polls. Thanks for putting your gifts to such good work. It helps keeps people informed in a truthful way and be encouraged. We so very much need both of these things. Truthful information and honest encouragement are 2 things at a premium right now!

I LOVE this post. A clear explanation of the role our faith has in the government - of, for and by the people is like big tall, glass of cool clear water right now.

It is ALL inspired and here is my most favorite -- "the first precepts are to not judge the hearts of other people but merely their actions, to walk humbly and seek God’s will in all things, and to count freedom ahead of peace, justice ahead of freedom, and mercy above all of those other ideals."

So much more I would like to say, but I will save it for another time!

Keep shining, keep working!

Walter Clark said...

I agree. We shouldn't try to get God on our side, we should instead be doing everything we can to make sure we are on God's side!

Anonymous said...

walter clark:

Of course, that was the essence of Sarah's prayer for the troops and their leaders, which was so maligned and misinterpreted.

Anonymous said...

Good reflection! Kinda puts things
in perspective.

Unknown said...

A delightful work. Count me among your fans.

No greater truth could be proclaimed than what you have so eloquently espoused. There would be far less disharmony and far greater unity if each of us were sincerely seeking to be on the Lord's side.

Sadly, our greatest individual and collective condemnation comes from our vain attempts to justify our unsupportable positions that differ from His.

Anonymous said...

I find great solace that Patrick Henry once said, "GOD, give me liberty or give me death." Saul Alinsky didn`t believe in God. He dedicated his book to Lucifer. And Obama`s sugar daddy, George Soros doesn`t believe in God either. It`s a no brainer for me who is good and who is evil. Notice how the great left wing conspiracy decided that they had to use God to get votes. No one believes Obama when he ends his speeches saying "God bless America" since he often sat in a church for years listening to a man saying "God damn America". I don`t know about you but, I wasn`t born yesterday and I refuse to drink their Kool-Aid!

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