As a Protestant with a Catholic sister and brother-in-law, this column, which raises the specter of withholding communion from pro-choice Catholics, incorporated an interesting oxymoron: faith voter. Yes, you can legislate morality. But such legislation doesn’t have the power to make a nation moral. Only God has that power.
Citizens and religious leaders who rely on government rather than God to influence morality, or on taxpayers to fill the coffers of “faith”-based charities, are anything but faith voters. This form of godliness, that denies God’s power, is exactly what the Apostle Paul prophetically warned Timothy about. This may explain why our nation is no more moral today--and perhaps even less so--than when Ronald Reagan took office.
Every statistic shows American church attendance is declining in almost every demographic, particularly among the young generation who were born during the Reagan Administration. I question the godly priorities of those who would abort the Church--Christ’s Bride and womb--to save unborn babies who, as innocent, none of us question go directly to live with their Heavenly Father.
Neither am I convinced it’s ethical for Christians to alter the Gospel of Jesus Christ to a “Gospel of LIfe,” which emphasizes temporal life over eternal life, being born over being born again. Or that a religion increasingly resembling a fertility cult, a type of pagan religion the Bible is highly critical of, could still be called Christianity.
I wonder if it’s ever occurred to anyone that it’s psychologically abusive to tell people their salvation is in peril if they vote the wrong way. Voting is a behavior the Bible never addresses. Though the abusive behavior Thomas describes is only associated with Catholicism, as an evangelical Christian I’m concerned that if Protestants don’t openly oppose such abuse it will be implicated to Protestant churches as well. And if we keep splitting hairs based on political views I suspect Americans will become so disenchanted with the narcissistic god who rules all political parties they’ll find it ever easier to stay home Easter morning.
Catholic Bishops are free, of course, to run their dioceses as they choose. However, I’m starting to understand why Christ and the Old Testament prophets were so critical of religious leaders.
Citizens and religious leaders who rely on government rather than God to influence morality, or on taxpayers to fill the coffers of “faith”-based charities, are anything but faith voters. This form of godliness, that denies God’s power, is exactly what the Apostle Paul prophetically warned Timothy about. This may explain why our nation is no more moral today--and perhaps even less so--than when Ronald Reagan took office.
Every statistic shows American church attendance is declining in almost every demographic, particularly among the young generation who were born during the Reagan Administration. I question the godly priorities of those who would abort the Church--Christ’s Bride and womb--to save unborn babies who, as innocent, none of us question go directly to live with their Heavenly Father.
Neither am I convinced it’s ethical for Christians to alter the Gospel of Jesus Christ to a “Gospel of LIfe,” which emphasizes temporal life over eternal life, being born over being born again. Or that a religion increasingly resembling a fertility cult, a type of pagan religion the Bible is highly critical of, could still be called Christianity.
I wonder if it’s ever occurred to anyone that it’s psychologically abusive to tell people their salvation is in peril if they vote the wrong way. Voting is a behavior the Bible never addresses. Though the abusive behavior Thomas describes is only associated with Catholicism, as an evangelical Christian I’m concerned that if Protestants don’t openly oppose such abuse it will be implicated to Protestant churches as well. And if we keep splitting hairs based on political views I suspect Americans will become so disenchanted with the narcissistic god who rules all political parties they’ll find it ever easier to stay home Easter morning.
Catholic Bishops are free, of course, to run their dioceses as they choose. However, I’m starting to understand why Christ and the Old Testament prophets were so critical of religious leaders.
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