A weekend with Values Voters: A case for Church involvement in the political process
Over the last two to three days I had the pleasure to attend "The Washington Briefing"; a summit for "Values Voters" that was put in by the Family Research Council, here in DC, and Focus on the Family.
Now some are going to ask, "who are these 'values voters'?" As I see it these voters are indiviuals who vote based upon canidates that aspouse the same values that these voters hold dear, mainly the Right to Life of an unborn child, the defining of marriage in the traditional sense of one man, one woman, and Religious Liberty. This tends to be the same demographic of voters that have gotten much press in recent years because of the reaching out to them that the President has done in both of his campaigns. Also as I see it, it is not entirely correct to call these voters "Republicans", but it is more correct to see them as "conservatives" that tend to vote for the Republican platform, as it is closer in line what these voters aspouse to.
During this confrence, I heard from a number of speakers on a number of things. Sean Hannity and former speaker Gingrich spoke on a pleathera of issues facing the nation today, focusing of course on the threat that we face from Islamofacists that seek to cripple and destroy our nation. The Honorable Charles Pickering spoke on the issue of judical tyranny and legislating from the bench. I heard speakers on values driven healthcare, immigration, and enviromentalism.
The most important session in my estimation though, was a panel that discussed the role of the church in the political process. Now let me put the breaks on for a second and address something, as some who read this might say, "but what about Jefferson's seperation of church and state?" It is here that I firmly believe that such an idea is not within the confines of the Constitution as it was wriiten and has since then been inserted under the guise of a "living breathing Constitution", taken from the letter written by (then President) Thomas Jefferson to the Danbury Baptists in 1802, where if taken in context one realizes that Jefferson was defending religion, not divorcing it, as the Baptist were concerned that a sect, a denomination of Christianity, not Christianity itself, would come to dominate the country - as different sects had the ear of those in Washington at that time.
Jefferson wrote that personal coorespondence letter to assure the Danbury Baptists that what they were concerned about was not going to transpire. One also much recall, that when the First Ammendment was written, which in truth is really the Third Ammendment according to the original document, Jefferson was in France as the American Ambassador to that country, having not even been in America when Madison penned the words of that ammendment.
Ok, back to the panel. On this pannel were three wonderful gentlemen who talked about the role that the church can play in politics in light of what God does say about certian issues that have been thrust into the political arena spotlight during our lifetimes. Two of these main issues being that of Life and Family. There's no doubt that God is Pro-Life (because He created it) and Pro-Family (He forged that institution too, in the Garden of Eden). That said there is nothing wrong with the church being involved in politics to support and undergird these issues by participating in voter registration, get out the vote efforts, and providing a arena for within which all canidates can share their views on these issues that are, in fact part of God's heart. Granted that yes, a church cannot tell someone how to vote (even though some churches do so), but raising awarenesss for such issues as Life and Family in relation to something that is the duty of every American, to vote, period.
Christ dealt with the political powers of his day, the pharisees, sadcucees, teachers of the law, and even Roman officials like the Centurion why should His followers not do the same?
Now some are going to ask, "who are these 'values voters'?" As I see it these voters are indiviuals who vote based upon canidates that aspouse the same values that these voters hold dear, mainly the Right to Life of an unborn child, the defining of marriage in the traditional sense of one man, one woman, and Religious Liberty. This tends to be the same demographic of voters that have gotten much press in recent years because of the reaching out to them that the President has done in both of his campaigns. Also as I see it, it is not entirely correct to call these voters "Republicans", but it is more correct to see them as "conservatives" that tend to vote for the Republican platform, as it is closer in line what these voters aspouse to.
During this confrence, I heard from a number of speakers on a number of things. Sean Hannity and former speaker Gingrich spoke on a pleathera of issues facing the nation today, focusing of course on the threat that we face from Islamofacists that seek to cripple and destroy our nation. The Honorable Charles Pickering spoke on the issue of judical tyranny and legislating from the bench. I heard speakers on values driven healthcare, immigration, and enviromentalism.
The most important session in my estimation though, was a panel that discussed the role of the church in the political process. Now let me put the breaks on for a second and address something, as some who read this might say, "but what about Jefferson's seperation of church and state?" It is here that I firmly believe that such an idea is not within the confines of the Constitution as it was wriiten and has since then been inserted under the guise of a "living breathing Constitution", taken from the letter written by (then President) Thomas Jefferson to the Danbury Baptists in 1802, where if taken in context one realizes that Jefferson was defending religion, not divorcing it, as the Baptist were concerned that a sect, a denomination of Christianity, not Christianity itself, would come to dominate the country - as different sects had the ear of those in Washington at that time.
Jefferson wrote that personal coorespondence letter to assure the Danbury Baptists that what they were concerned about was not going to transpire. One also much recall, that when the First Ammendment was written, which in truth is really the Third Ammendment according to the original document, Jefferson was in France as the American Ambassador to that country, having not even been in America when Madison penned the words of that ammendment.
Ok, back to the panel. On this pannel were three wonderful gentlemen who talked about the role that the church can play in politics in light of what God does say about certian issues that have been thrust into the political arena spotlight during our lifetimes. Two of these main issues being that of Life and Family. There's no doubt that God is Pro-Life (because He created it) and Pro-Family (He forged that institution too, in the Garden of Eden). That said there is nothing wrong with the church being involved in politics to support and undergird these issues by participating in voter registration, get out the vote efforts, and providing a arena for within which all canidates can share their views on these issues that are, in fact part of God's heart. Granted that yes, a church cannot tell someone how to vote (even though some churches do so), but raising awarenesss for such issues as Life and Family in relation to something that is the duty of every American, to vote, period.
Christ dealt with the political powers of his day, the pharisees, sadcucees, teachers of the law, and even Roman officials like the Centurion why should His followers not do the same?
posted by A. R. Welty at 8:01 PM
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