Nov 13
The Other "Thumping"
The Republican Party suffered a huge defeat at the November 7 polls. I had expected
the House of Representatives to fall into Democratic control, but I did not foresee them
gaining control of the Senate.
I don't feel any great loss from the election. The Democrats won because voters were
disgusted with the Republican scandals and the war in Iraq. It is hard for me to imagine how the
Democrats will be able to improve the situation.
Whenever we have a major election in the U.S., I look for ballot issues that relate
to the ongoing culture wars. I believe the moral health of our nation is a very good
indicator of where we are on the prophetic timeline.
Just as President Bush described the Republican losses as a thumping, there appeared
to be a moral thumping of similar magnitude. Here are some frightful results from the
mid-term election:
Oregon and California voters defeated measures that would have required parents to
be notified before a girl under 18 could get an abortion.
South Dakotans — by a margin of 56 percent to 44 percent — rejected a new state law
that would have banned all abortions except to save a pregnant woman's life.
Missouri votes, to the dismay of pro-life groups, have given their blessing for cell
research.
Arizona has become the first state to reject a ballot on same-sex marriage.
In all, 67 candidates endorsed by the Gay & Lesbian Victory Fund were elected to
federal, state and local offices.
Arkansas, Indiana and Alabama elected their first openly gay candidates, and
Missouri and Washington states elected their first openly gay state senators.
It does no good to cry over our political losses. The first thing Christians need
to do is figure out why we keep losing ground to the enemy.
For several years, I've been arguing that our main problem is a lack of a long-term, grass roots
vision for morality. Religious leaders have too much of a focus on short-term, hot button issues.
The devil has a master plan that involves many years of preparation. Once he lays out a foundation and
convinces people that a certain view is acceptable, it becomes part of the society's value system. For example, it took many years for abortion to be seen as a "constitutional right."
One of the best examples of the consequences of short-sightedness is Christian leaders failing to prevent corporate America from adopting "gay-friendly" polices. For years, moral watchdog groups have tried to use boycotts as a ploy to twist the arm of companies. The American Family Association is one such group. For over a year, they have been calling for a boycott against Ford Motor Company--with success.
While the AFA has been wrestling with one or two companies about their same-sex policies, the rest of corporate America has shifted in the wrong direction. I was amazed when I read an article on WorldNet Daily that cited a homosexual organization that listed nearly every major company in America as having at least some form of pro-gay policy. The report said the total number of companies reaching a perfect score was up by 10 times in just four years. The only three firms given a failing score were ExxonMobil, Meijer Inc. and Perot Systems.
If Christians are going to have an impact on our nation, they need to become involved in educating the public about sound biblical values. The enlightenment of people has always been RaptureReady's main goal, and will continue to be so until the very end.
Despite our dedication to contenting for the truth, I do have a fatalistic view of the future. I believe the slide into immorality will eventually reach a point where we will go into a freefall. The lack of results will cause Christians to give up.
Bible prophecy does have a negative outlook on the bigger picture, but I see no reason to quit. Because God's Word says the darkest moment will come at the end of the Church Age, we need to realize that our work is nearly over, and it is important for us to present the world with a final witness.
--- Todd
Referendum on Morality
I was skeptical when most political news pundits of national media wondered whether the “evangelical Christians” would stay home, thus improving the Democrat Party chances to retake the House of Representatives and the Senate in the mid-term elections. Certainly, that seems to be what happened. That particular “voter base” was at least partly turned off by many Republican office holders’ lack of resolve in standing for the issues that political base deemed critical to the nation’s moral health. And the rest, as they say, is history.
It can be understood, I think, that the so-called “evangelical Christians,” by refusing to vote, held a referendum of sorts on morality. Only, the referendum was, in my view, on their morality –not on the nation's morality. Not voting--because they wanted to show how displeased, even disgusted, they were with the politicians who didn’t uphold their promises--was, from my perspective, if not an immoral act, one of careless disregard for the morality of their nation.
A patriot once said: “The only way for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing.” That goes for women, too.
I’m not saying that those who voted, or who consider themselves to be Democrats are “evil”. What I am saying is that evil will assuredly continue this country on the road to oblivion, if we who name the name of Christ don’t vote in ways that will raise America’s moral position, in God’s holy view. To stay home and sulk over politicians acting like–well, politicians--is a less moral stance than the stance the godless office holder might take.
Make no mistake, this nation is not headed into a moral crisis because the House and Senate will change political hands in January 2007. America is in moral crisis up to our necks now –and have been for quite some time. The politicians have, and never will, bring us up from that mire. Only God, through the conduct of His Royal Ambassadors (that would be “evangelical Christians”) can stand the United States on solid moral ground again.
We see just the tip of the proverbial iceberg with the recent story of the congressman caught apparently trying to solicit pages for sexual reasons. That story spawned other stories of similar goings-on in different arenas of the national life. For example, the following:
“Dr. [I’ve omitted the name], 47, a resident at the Emory School of Medicine in Atlanta, has been placed on leave after being arrested over allegations he tried
to seduce a 15-year-old boy through his Web page on MySpace.com” (Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, Nov 7, 2006).
This same sin, which no doubt had an effect on convincing people which way to vote (or to not vote at all), was seen in yet another arena of American life, with the following:
“TERRELL, Tex., Nov. 6 — A prosecutor in this North Texas town killed himself Sunday as the police tried to arrest him on charges of soliciting sex over
the Internet from a person he thought was a 13-year-old boy” ("Prosecutor Kills Himself in Texas Raid Over Child Sex," By TIM EATON, AP Nov. 6, 2006).
Homosexuality, not to mention pedophilia, was one of the key factors in bringing the Roman Empire down, according to some historians. This type of decline and fall applies to other great empires--for example, the Greek Empire. Gay rights are at the forefront of America’s political agenda. This must be more than mere coincidence in considering where our nation stands with God.
My friend, Chuck Missler, recently made an interesting observation, based upon Bible wisdom and history:
“Hosea, one of the most provocative prophets of the Old Testament, was called by God to declare God's impending judgment on the Northern Kingdom:
They had been experiencing an unparalleled prosperity in their time; and yet they had sunk to the lowest moral depths of their two century history. It was
the Best of Times and it was the Worst of Times… As a result, God was about to use their enemies as His instrument of judgment. America, too, is in a disturbingly comparable situation: Unparalleled prosperity on the one hand, and yet immorality unprecedented in our two century history. Is God also going to use our enemies as instruments of His judgment?” (Chuck Missler examines the predicament of Hosea and compares it with the present horizon confronting America, eNews for November 07, 2006, Koinonia House Online).
We who name the name of Jesus Christ should hold a referendum on morality every day of our lives. We must never refuse to vote for God’s righteousness –through the political process, through our personal actions moment by moment.
--Terry
