NOTE: Here at Manturity we aim to be
spiritually mature and give all the glory to the Father. This post does not necessarily reflect any opinions of Manturity. I asked a friend and brother in
Christ of mine to share his thoughts on issues pertaining to the upcoming
election. It should be noted that he does not hold the Bible to be infallible or
inerrant yet believes that all scriptures were inspired by the Holy Spirit and
that every passage should be viewed through the lens of hermeneutics and
exegesis.
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With the election upon
us, I was asked to take the opportunity to share my ideas and concerns about
the election. I am also very interested in hearing your thoughts and ideas on
the matters and issues. Being as I am a Christian man, I want to keep God at
the forefront of my thoughts and opinions. With as much humility as possible, I
have been blessed with a photographic memory and an IQ in the 95th
percentile worldwide. Of course, with great gifts comes along weaknesses; I
have no artistic or musical talent, and I find myself socially awkward because
I interrupt people thinking I know what they are going to say next. On the
other hand, I am able to understand viewpoints and opinions very well. I spend
half of my time between watching FOX and CNN. I understand 94% of Americans
hold diametrically opposite views on politics and the future - the fact is that
we are all selfish. Take Mitt Romney's comment about the 47%: he was lambasted
for telling the truth. Those people will never even listen to him because they
are scared something will be taken away from them. But the opposite is true
also: 47% of people will never give Obama a chance because he wants to take
something from them in the form of increased energy prices and taxes and
regulations.
Personally, I'm still
undecided who to vote for. I'd prefer libertarian federalists, conservative
statists, and liberal localists. I don't have an option to have my way. What do
I do? What matters most? I won't give you any talking points... You've heard
the lies from both sides a trillion times. Politics bring out the worst in men
and women and I long for a day of being ruled by a divine personality who isn't
subject to lies, distortion and greedy power needs (Jesus will come again soon we think… but even he doesn’t know the timing
so how can we?) It's obvious that this election will set the stage for
the next 20 years minimum - the time my kids will be growing up into adulthood.
Speaking of my children, I will start off the main topics with long verses
short term planning.
My strategy is to ask
questions. Why? Jesus used questions and parables because they force people to
think. Universal truths are timeless and not dependent on current social
paradigms. If you start thinking about a topic and you honestly seek an answer
from God, he is faithful to provide it in a way that is personally valuable to
you. I'm not going to manipulate or coerce you into doing/voting either way. I
don't intend to shock and awe but to get you thinking - like Jesus did.
NOTE: Main topics are highlighted for ease
of use; feel free to read all or pick your points accordingly.
FUTURE PLANNING
Clearly Jesus is the
visible image of the invisible Father. The Father is not male or female. God
creates personalities, he's the father of making and enjoying individuals -
individuals concerned with righteous justice ministry (R type Christians) and
social mercy ministry (D type Christians). Rest assured that God loves both
Republicans and Democrats. Jesus performed both types of ministry! That's why
he wants people to partner with him in prayer - he relates to us personally on
the level of the mind he’s given us. For his joy in his creation. It's always
about personal relationships and there is no doubt that better relationships
must exist between democrats and republicans for the benefit of the country.
Do we plan 5
generations from now? 10? 20? Or do we only plan for 1 so that our direct kids
have easier lives? Throughout history people have had wars and rumors of wars
and it doesn't appear that a whole lot of long range planning has taken place. America did it
through our beautiful and intelligent Constitution. The problem is that our
Constitution isn't followed much at all today. But things change and Amendments
have happened and Departments of this and that have been "Mandated"
by either Congress or Judges. Could a new way be a better way for the good of
the world and not just the good of America? Do we have a
responsibility for world affairs or the affairs inside our borders only? Again,
there are big differences in platforms in this argument between D and R.
In my opinion,
Democrats are much better for further future planning and for the World.
Republicans are much better for the here and now and for America. But
what world do I want my kids to live in? I can't decide.
Republicans irritate
me because they complain about some higher costs while sitting in oversized
houses with financed expensive vehicles and many other 'things' they're afraid
to lose for self worth reasons. Democrats irritate me because they complain
that Republicans aren't willing to give up more of their money to give out more
free things that were never allowed for in the Constitution for them to give
away.
My mind works like
this on some big, controversial issues:
Is there man-made
climate change or are the fluctuations from the sun's 11 year natural sunspot
and activity cycle? It's inconclusive. No doubt a zillion exhaust pipes aren't
good for my lungs or nature though. Democrats will make life currently more
difficult with higher gas prices (by design) and a big push for cleaner air
which is a win for an outdoor enthusiast like me. Bottom line is that it is
better for my kid’s future, the world's future and God's creation and that wins
it for me on this issue.
HUMAN REPRODUCTION & POPULATION CONTROL
Do humans have a
natural right to procreate? What about adoptions and foster kids? Does God
create people infertile just so they can help care for orphans? One of my
daughters has Down syndrome and can't procreate. Women spend hundreds of
thousands on in vitro fertilization instead of adopting an orphan. That doesn't
make sense. Is abortion ok in certain circumstances? Never? Always? Why is China doing so
well with their one child policy that they basically own our Country? Does it
make sense (we need major social change in the poor community) to have poor
women in America
having 6 kids with 6 different dads? Why does America have exponentially higher
birth defects and special needs each year? Is it because we don't abort as many
children as other countries and bad genetic lines are degrading the gene pool?
Genetics are real (how to reconcile it with God creating each person in the
womb I don't know) - I've studied it closely to learn why my child has too many
chromosomes. How do you talk about great and terrible genetics without
offending people? Should the future involve eugenics? Clearly whatever America is
doing right now is causing our children have higher and higher percentages of
birth defects and autism. The whole topic puts Christians on edge but does God
make deformities on purpose? Is a pro-life policy solely based on Psalm 139?
Why would we ever want to "force" a woman to carry a stillborn or a
person that will die upon arrival? It's such a hard subject to contemplate when
real lives are involved. Clearly the physical process of abortion is disgusting
and atrocious!!!! Clearly a "fetus" has their own DNA, fingertips but
I guess the question that Democrats would have to explain is when is the Soul
created to not classify it as murder? But if that is not the case and access to
air is the reason (hence late term abortions suck brains out in the womb so the
baby can't breathe) then can we freely kill CPR patients? Can anyone know...?
What is mercy? Who is the mercy focused towards? Democrats focus on mercy
ministry for the woman. Republicans focus on mercy ministry for the unborn
baby. Who's right? Before modern medicine was invented with fancy NICU's, my
daughter would have had almost zero chance to live. Is that God's abortion to
ensure appropriate genetic survival? I think about this all the time… is the
extreme rise in all of the diseases and special needs children because we're
saving babies against God's plan? If so, is it a sin to do what he was already
going to do through nature? Why would he create a child just to die? I'm 50/50
on the fence on this issue. I can see both sides and understand them
personally.
WAR
Is war ever good? Have
you read the Old Testament? It's gruesome and awful. Was God protecting a better
strain of people; or a more faithful people? Clearly chosen because of Abraham,
but it's inconclusive. Can people have genetic superior spirituality and can faithfulness
be passed down? Why would he kill off whole civilizations otherwise? Maybe it’s
because the Sons of God (Angels) came into the Daughters of Men and diverted
the natural order? Well that's the best Christian argument I've heard for
Noah's Flood. I'd still be mad at God even if I believed that story. How do
black people, Asians, Scandinavians, etc come from 8 people? It's the age old
"we believe in micro evolution but not macro evolution debate". I'm a
local flood guy, by the way. But should we kill off those in our way? Are we
justifying what happened to the Native American Indians? God wants the most
faithful to slaughter everyone? That's evil. What about wars in order to
protect the weak from tyrants? How do you know who you can trust? In Syria right now
both sides are committing unspeakable acts. This is the exact reason why we've
been stuck with tyrants in power even after we put them there (Saddam, Karzai,
House of Saud). Republicans want preemptive strikes and say Democrats are weak
for negotiating peacefully. WWJD? Clearly the Muslim world and Western world
will never be culturally compatible, so why not live and let live. If they want
to live a certain way (as evidenced by the elections of Islamist governments
during the Arab Spring) then it's not the job of our Government to be fighting
them. That's the job of the Church. I'm 50/50 on the fence on this issue to. We
have to protect our borders from attack (R win), have a strong deterrence
(Both), but negotiate if AT ALL possible (D except Obama because of secret kill
list).
The Economy is clearly
in the bag for Republicans. Democrats are funny thinking higher taxes with a
middleman (the Government) and then subsidizing certain businesses is a way for
economic growth. Obama has no clue about the economy. Romney has been
successful at everything he's done. I do think the Government should invest in
new ideas to spur new markets so I disagree with Romney about that -unless they
offer tax advantages for successful ideas but that would be hard to quantify.
Businesses will not want to come here for higher taxes and unions and stricter
environmental regulations. They will not want to buy our stuff if we punish
them through tariffs. Democrats don't get it at all on this. Republicans win
this category by the biggest margin of all my categories.
HEALTHCARE
Is healthcare a right?
Why did Jesus wait four days for Lazarus? To specifically show divine power as
a testament to faith in his message. Complete trust in the Father's love and
certainty of Salvation. Does it make sense to spend hundreds of thousands on a
terminal patient so they can have a few more months of misery? Shouldn't we
point them to divine power and give them so hope or peace? That's the main
fault of the Church: even Christian people aren't satisfied with salvation
enough to not want to endure hell before heaven. We shouldn't be afraid of
heaven enough to waste our children's inheritance on roughing out a chance of
another couple months? Does it make sense to drive up our debt to keep someone
brain dead alive on a respirator? God is merciful and just in his dealings with
each person. On the other hand, I'm glad that people have access to care now.
Yes prices will rise and appointment times will be longer but when I think of
middle aged people who lose a job and can't get some condition covered again if
COBRA runs out, that breaks my heart. I'm also mad at the Republicans for not
doing ANYTHING during their time in power while my personal insurance prices
rose way beyond my pay raises. However, it is very irritating that not one
Republican voted for this Obama care Bill and it was done in a very shady way.
Bottom line: I say leave it in place and modify it as necessary through
amendments or the Courts so Edge Democrats.
I prefer to have the
government continue maintaining Medicare and Medicaid. Both actually really
help my daughter. Her whole life is better and ours is easier. I prefer the
democrat plan slightly but don't see a reason why vouchers wouldn't work if
done right.
UNIONS
Do unions make sense?
Explain how that's different than organized extortion. There are so many laws
to keep things fair: OSHA, Child labor laws, FMLA, etc. How can we keep making
sense of the NEA's protection of bad teachers? I don't want to hear a teachers'
union complain and lobby all the time for keeping the status quo. The American
Education system is terrible. For all the money involved, the only reason why
we are falling behind the whole world in education is because of our system.
Having 5 deans and multiple principals all making twice as much as teachers is
ludicrous. The local school boards need more power and the feds shouldn't say
we all need to adhere to some dumb standard test. Teaching for tests never
involves changing a child's life. Think of the best lessons you've ever
learned. Teaching for test stores information in short term memory. No wonder
teachers hate teaching. My mom and sister are teachers and they can't modify
their own lesson plans. For me, Republicans have a big edge in this issue.
GAY RIGHTS
What is the role of
our Government as it relates to LGBT issues? Are they citizens or not? Should
Christians oppose it based off two scriptures and Sodom
and Gomorrah in
the bible? Or are we just freaked out by it because we just can't think like
that. Have you ever wondered why some gay men are so feminine and some gay
women are so masculine? My theory is that the rise in homosexuality is both a
testosterone related issue/genetic related issue with improper hormone
production and a social issue of too many single parents trying to raise the
opposite sex child by themselves. A woman can't model proper manhood to a boy but
perhaps if there was a mentor in his life he could see a decent example and
vice versa. Should we force them into hormone therapy and counseling? How
should Christians love them like Jesus would/does? He didn't turn away people
from his ministry… his only requirement was that they be sincere in seeking
him. What is the only requirement in the bible about salvation? Is it to
"believe on Jesus and renounce your homosexuality"? I know it's a
hard issue and I actually have a gay sister that I love very much. She said
she's always felt that way… who am I to say you can repent of your genetics? I
don't think the Government should make laws against the whole issue (with some
pseudo similar Civil Union mandate to protect "Marriage") and I think
that Government shouldn't be in the marriage business period. A marriage is a
promise of two people together before God, not the government's certificate. I
think the solution to the whole problem is to revise the tax code to treat
everyone as an individual and let whoever wants marriage marry and let God
decide whose promise he accepts. Also, with divorce rates so high even amongst
Christians… there's no moral authority. Slight advantage Democrats but I don't
want it shoved in my face so often by them.
EDUCATION
Clearly America should
completely alter our higher education system. Many kids go, take out huge loans
and go get drunk everyday and study a major that doesn't benefit society
whatsoever. I appreciate what Democrats have done with respect to Pell Grants
and lower student loan interest percentages since my wife is currently in
school studying Nursing. That is a smart idea to do. That solves a lot of
problems at once. It helps allow poor folks to get out of the societal rut
which propagates itself generation after general of illegitimate children, drug
use, and prison sentences. The Government has to step in a give social welfare,
housing, food stamps, cell phones, and childcare for them generation after
unsuccessful generation. Education can give them a way out. Community Colleges
should be subsidized more by state governments. If a person is smart enough to
get in, then they are a useful member to society. We need to build the
usefulness of Society to help our Country gain economically against other
countries. Universities should be treated similarly but useless majors
shouldn't be allowed. Alcohol and drug testing could be required of anyone
receiving student aid. Advantage Democrats.
Those are the major
issues that I see and that matter to me, my wife and our kids. It is a tough
choice and I'm undecided still. I encourage you to pray honestly, to try not to
vote selfishly, and to do as your soul dictates.
NOTE: We ask that you be mature and
respectful in your review and replies. We look forward to some great discussion
over these topics and know that everyone has their own opinions. As a
precaution, all replies will be reviewed first before being posted. Thank you
for reading and have a blessed day.
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This has been a guest post by a
great friend and brother in Christ, Ryan Evans.
