It seems we need a deeper discussion of the Christian faith this election year. Many moderates will never worship a personality, especially one that practices mayhem, disinformation and lies. Each voter must choose unemotionally, backed by reason and truth. A calm political atmosphere is what we should be aiming for. We must get rid of the divide and conquer mentality of so many and get back to moderate behavior in politics. We must reassert and venerate all aspects of our U.S. Constitution.
I am 87, a grandfather, a retired small business owner, and an army veteran with two older brothers buried in Arlington cemetery. They fought for their country and the U.S. Constitution.
I venerate and pray to a just God, Jesus Christ, as a Sinner not a Saint. However, I admire Saints; like St. Francis of Assisi, St. Thomas More and Abraham Lincoln.
Abraham Lincoln said he would belong to that church where the only proviso for membership is to “… love God with your whole heart, your whole mind and your neighbor as thyself”. Did Lincoln practice what he preached? You betcha! He is ranked consistently as the number one past American President. He was successful in freeing the slaves while holding our American union together. His Gettysburg address and 2nd inaugural address are a must read for all Americans. He once stated he was driven to his knees in prayer because he had nowhere else to go as President. A quote he liked from the Bible given in the 2nd inaugural address was “offenses are bound to come but woe unto him from where the offense comes”.
There are 40,000 Christian sects in the world. In the years since the Ministry of Christ, that is the number of men who have tried to create their own interpretation of what the Christian faith stands for. Since 1970 the applications to be a Catholic priest in the United States is down 70%. Why? Recently Detroit Catholic Bishop Thomas Gumbleton died at age 94. His Ministry was anti-Vietnam War, for assisting the inner city poor and for tolerating the gay movement. A book was recently written about him entitled The Radical Ministry of Bishop Tom Gumbleton. Radical?
There are several million ex Catholics in the United States, most of whom are moderate liberals. In one suburb of Detroit 10 years ago there were actually 6 Catholic churches for sale because of lack of membership. What gives here? A recent poll suggests there are still over 65% of Americans that believe in the Christian faith. And in the United States over 80% of Americans believe in a God.
Our founding fathers at Philadelphia in 1787 created the U.S. Constitution, now successful for 240 years. They did not want to set up a theocracy, so they put in the U.S. Constitution “no religious test” to hold office in the United States. Were they anti-religious? Absolutely not. Now all religious affiliations in the United States are able to practice their own spiritual version politically without fear.
American Christian Nationalists want their religion to dominate the American religious scene, especially in the area of abortion and gays. Is this reflective of the New Testament? No! The predominance of Christ's ministry was love of neighbor, also Mathew chapter 25, love of the poor, the sick, the hungry, and those in prison. The Rich Man and Lazarus in Luke and the Beatitudes are also quite reflective of Christ’s message. The main message of the New Testament is not about condemning abortion and gays. Most moderate Christians hold that abortion and gay bashing is often a position of hate, not of love. Hate is the delight of a little mind, correct me if I'm wrong. It seems we need a deeper discussion of the Christian faith this election year. Many moderates will never worship a personality, ("thou shall have no other Gods before Me"), especially one that practices mayhem, disinformation and lies. Is that personality a man representing our faith? Hardly! Each voter must choose unemotionally backed by reason and truth when walking into that voter booth.
Christ wanted us to “love one another as I have loved you”. He also said over government, "render unto Caesar what is Caesar's and to God what is God's". St. Peter said "honor your government, pay your taxes and pray for those in authority". Is all that still applicable? You betcha!
A calm political atmosphere is what we should be aiming for this election year. We must get rid of the divide and conquer mentality of so many and get back to moderate behavior in politics. And we must reassert and venerate all aspects of our US Constitution. Let’s keep it alive! And that applies to all religions in America.
God bless the United States of America. We should all now pray for the success of Ukraine in its battle over tyranny, at its boarder.
Opening Image: Pixabay, CNN