Uh, oh, the "P" word...

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On Fri, 1 Nov 1996 15:50:54 +0000, you wrote:

>I hope this dosn't cause a riot, but I have a POLITICAL question for=20
>you (cringe, grimace, ect.)  I'm in a civics class, this year, and I =
have
>a question for those on this list.
>
>How do you feel about voting?  Do you have a problem with it, and so=20
>you don't vote?  Or do you not vote for another reason?  Perhaps you=20
>do vote, and have an opinion why you should?

Three issues prevented me from participating in this thread. 1- I did
not have time, 2- it is often presumed that a political uniformity is
supposed to result from common religious orientation, 3 - there is a
NEAR TOTAL blackout of interest in the present election: I've never
seen anything like it, and hae been puzzling about it, waiting for the
Lord to speak to me about it, and He has not.

However, today is election day. I'm sitting here in my preppie best,
ready to go to the polls (yes, we vote and are delighted to have the
priviledge), thinking about these principles, and feeling like writing
a book :) Nevertheless, a FEW comments...

Many people have come to question what exactly America stands for, and
what value it holds in the world today. They are disappointed with
what they perceive as being a failed power of righteousness and
somehow think that their vote might restore a broad picture of
righteousness. This implies a wide range of legislative, legal, and
sociological changes. The desire to see America "restored" (I'm not
sure there ever was a really uncorrupt government as some imagine, but
..) is a good thing, but there is another way to look at the matter.

We in the USA are inheritors and propogators of a great institution
called freedom. I vote because, despite the many frustrations
involved, in so doing I secure the essential participation in a
mindset which holds to self-government. I think Christians should
believe in SECULAR SELF-GOVERNMENT, even if there are people right
next door to you who are as yet INCAPABLE of self-government.

See, Christians must see this in context of the last millenium, not
just a few years. for 500 years there has been freedom from the
ecclesiastical tyranny of Rome. This means that the gospel can be
published without a contradiction by the secular government allowed by
the covenant of God., This means that where sin abounds, so much may
grace, as in the early days of the church, before the rise of
"spiritual strongholds" that joined to the local monarchy, and
persecuted those who propagated truth.

Some say that persecution must arise to empower the spread of the
gospel. This is untrue. While persecution does not and cannot surpress
the truth of the gospel, it does fetter the . Religious unity and
state enjoined religion actually restricts the power of the gospel.
Our freedom provided a cradle in which could develop the great endtime
church of the latter rain. I will not despise that by staying home
when its time to vote.

I vote because it contributes to the passion for a freedom that truth
seeking men and women of all ages have forseen in faith. We vote in
honor of and responsibility to pilgrims who arrived on these shores
with convictions, and a hope to se the will of God more evident than
it had been in England, Germany, France and the Netherlands. We vote
to lay claim on the civil territory which the millions who gave their
lives to resist human and spiritual tyranny have delivered to us by
their blood.

=46inally, I vote because, even between 2 (or 3, depending on how cranky
you feel) men... we have a choise. It may not be important from our
point of view, but it is from theirs. One of them goes home..

Christians ought not to pay too much attention to theories of
conspiracy that, not matter how appealing, suggest that there is no
real value in freedom, or democracy. Some actually believe that ALL
significant decisions are made at a level higher than their own
understanding allows them to reach. Be careful with this thinking. If
your life doesnt count, then neither does your holiness, neither does
your testimony. But if these things count, so does your vote.=20

If you believe that there is no point in voting, imagine being able to
tell the early members of the fledgeling US Congress, who rode
horseback many miles to spend time ensuring that people like them
would not again soon suffer the loss of their liberty. These men might
have been you or I, and carried with them, as do you and I, precious
practices and notions concerning the life they lived unto the Lord God
Almighty.

Yes, I vote.. How could I not..?

And today, Im voting for Bob Dole and Jack Kemp.


-mwb