I used to say that politics was the second-oldest profession. I have come to know that it bears a gross similarity to the first.  Ronald Reagan
 

courtesy of White House.gov

Once again, I hesitantly dip my toe in the murky waters of the political arena. Just to make things clear, up front, I believe that committed Christians disagree, more then agree, about various political initiatives. It is not my intent to address those concerns in this post. My only thought on this matter is to tell you all to pray and vote your conscience.

What concerns me is when political candidates attempt to assure the vote of “evangelicals.” I object to this on two fronts. One is the assumption that evangelicals are monolithic in their viewpoints. In fact, that is not longer a given. Evangelical harmony is fracturing and I believe that we are in a post-evangelical era with landmines and bodies scattered over the "born again" wasteland.

Secondly, politicians are involved in an increasingly shrill effort to convince “evangelicals” about who is really the better Christian. Once again, may I remind you of all the supposedly committed Christian folks, like Mark Sanford, who acted no differently than the garden variety pagan in their actions while in office. (Loved the “soul mate” comment).

Furthermore, I am concerned that Christians have mistakenly viewed politics as another parachurch organization. Politics is neither a church nor a prayer meeting. Capitalism is not one of the Ten Commandments, the Laffer curve is not some new witnessing tool, and the 9-9-9 plan is not the Beast standing on his head.

Jokes for those sick of politics

Digression alert: Sorry folks, I couldn’t resist. For a laugh, go to this link to get jokes on the number 666 here. I have provided a few for your amusement.

• $665.95 – Retail price of the Beast
• $699.25 – Price of the Beast plus 5% state sales tax
• $606.66 – Wal-Mart price of the Beast
• $566.66 – Costco/Price Club price of the Beast
• Phillips 666 – Gasoline of the Beast
• 668 – Next-door neighbor of the Beast
• Route 666 – Way of the Beast”

Back to the post. An evangelical president will not ensure that we will have either a competent president or a moral leader. One only has to look around at some of the pastors of today’s churches to see both a dearth of leadership and morally bankrupt management.

Herman Cain declares his Christian faith, just like Rick Perry.

Herman Cain, in a story reported by the Raleigh News and Observer. 10/16/11, page 3A , says he will take on Perry for the evangelical vote in the primaries. He said “People are realizing that he (Perry) is not the only Christian conservative in the race.” Cain claims he has been a Christian since he was 10 years old. At one campaign stop, he sang a hymn to the crowd."

Cain, is a member and an associate pastor at the famous Antioch Baptist Church of Atlanta, here

“Cain, a conservative who recently said African-Americans were “brainwashed” into voting Democratic, is an associate minister at an Atlanta megachurch that has been a stronghold of liberal activism and is led by a pastor who cites Malcolm X as one of his influences.

Cain is a longtime member of Antioch Baptist Church North, which sits near the former college and home of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.

The church, founded by freed slaves 134 years ago, boasts 14,000 members and an operating budget of more than $5 million. For years Antioch has hosted a “who’s who” of civil rights activists as guest speakers, including Jesse Jackson and Andrew Young.

Antioch’s powerful senior pastor, the Rev. C.M. Alexander, doesn’t share Cain’s political philosophy, Atlanta clergy say. But Cain and Alexander are so close that Cain sang “The Impossible Dream” for the pastor’s 50th anniversary celebration. The Atlanta businessman-turned-presidential hopeful is well liked by many members of his church, though some disagree with his politics, Antioch pastors say.”

Herman Cain says that Jesus was killed by a liberal court.

In another story, reported by the Huffington Post, here, Cain claims that a liberal court killed Jesus.

“Cain, last December, writing a RedState column titled "The Perfect Conservative" claims Jesus as a conservative. "He helped the poor without one government program. He healed the sick without a government health care system. He feed the hungry without food stamps,” For three years He was unemployed, and never collected an unemployment check."

He goes onto describe Jesus’ death

“But they made Him walk when He was arrested and taken to jail, and no, He was not read any Miranda Rights. He was arrested for just being who He was and doing nothing wrong. And when they tried Him in court, He never said a mumbling word.

He didn’t have a lawyer, nor did He care about who judged Him. His judge was a higher power. The liberal court found Him guilty of false offences and sentenced Him to death, all because He changed the hearts and minds of men with an army of 12.”

"We must be the Defending Father and the defenders of the perfect conservative. That’s why I proudly wish one and all a very Merry Christmas!"

However, some liberals beg to differ with Cain’s representation of the liberal court that sentenced Jesus here

“Cain does not explain why he finds the Roman court that sentenced and executed Jesus to be ‘liberal,’” wrote ThinkProgress.org. “But his claim is baffling for all kinds of reasons, only one of which is the fact that liberals tend to be ideologically opposed to capital punishment while conservatives tend to favor it.”
 

Rick Perry is being persecuted for his faith.

In an ABC post here  we learn that “while campaigning for her husband in South Carolina Anita Perry said “We are being brutalized by our opponents and our own party. So much of that is, I think they look at him because of his faith. He’s the only true conservative. Well, there are some conservatives. And they’re there for good reasons.”

“I’ll stand by my wife. I think she’s right on both cases. My understanding is that she said I’m the most conservative candidate in the race and ‘he’s a Christian.’ So I haven’t got anything I can add to that and she’s hit me on my mark both times there.”

However, it seems to me that Perry had very little to say to his good friend, Robert Jeffress, when Jeffress condemned Mitt Romney for being a member of a cult. It seems persecution only happens to orthodox Christians from Texas.

Also, the next time I hear some rich guy, who has lived a life of relative ease, claim that he is being persecuted, I plan to make him read books about the true martyrs of the faith. This sort of proclamation is getting embarrassing.
 

LZ Granderdson asks some provocative questions that I think need to be answered.

LZ Granderson, who I do not believe is an evangelical, makes some of the best observations I have read about God, the candidates and politics. His comments should serve as a warning to Christians about how foolish this whole thing is getting. I want to know if any pastors out there have had the perspicacity to ask the following, as Granderson did.

In a post titled Who Does God Want in the White House LZ Granderson says here

“Cain was a guest on the Christian Broadcasting Network recently and recapped a conversation he said he had with God before entering the race.
"I felt like Moses when God said, 'I want you to go into Egypt and lead my people out.'" Cain said. "Moses resisted. I resisted. … But you shouldn't question God."

Granderson goes on to comment:

“But why aren't we questioning the candidates who make these kinds of statements the same way we would question whether God actually wanted a particular athlete to win a game?

I do believe a person's faith is personal, but I'm not the one using it to get votes. Four candidates have claimed a level of divine intervention with their campaign, which either means the creator of heaven and Earth is hedging his bets or somebody's mistaken.”

Granderson goes in for the kill.

“If I could trade places with Anderson Cooper, who is moderating Tuesday's debate, I would ask, "Now which ones of you were really called by God and which ones are hearing voices in your head?" then let them discuss among themselves.

It seems like a fair line of questioning, especially when you consider Cain is telling a particular voting bloc that he is like Moses and Perry is telling the same voters that Cain and others misheard God. Why wouldn't conservative Christians want to hear this line of questioning, since they are the sheep who are potentially being targeted by deceptive, power-hungry wolves?”

I leave it on that provocative note. OUCH!

 

Lydia's Corner: 2 Chronicles 8:11-10:19 Romans 8:9-25 Psalm 18:16-36 Proverbs 19:26