tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4583193007270420795.post7122611369335510010..comments2022-10-15T09:11:52.019-07:00Comments on THE PEDESTRIAN CHRISTIAN : HOW THE UTOPIAN EVANGELICAL VOTER’S DEMAND FOR POLITICAL IDEOLOGICAL PURITY GAVE US BARACK OBAMA, IS DAMAGING THE UNITED STATES AND WILL DELIVER AMERICA INTO THE HANDS OF HILLARY CLINTONAlex A. Guggenheimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04534710796711749227noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4583193007270420795.post-56787740059552413332016-02-26T08:05:15.155-08:002016-02-26T08:05:15.155-08:00Daniel, 2 of 2
This brings me to your scenario as...Daniel, 2 of 2<br /><br />This brings me to your scenario as an example. The rules generally are that if a person is a "lying, cheating, stealing, raping, molesting, murderous, cruel, tyrannical, bloodthirsty man" we wouldn't be voting for him, he would be a tyrannical dictator or if he were such in a free country, he would already be serving a life sentence or awaiting execution,<br /><br />However, with that said, I do understand your intent and the main focus of your question which you did ask and that is whether there is a point at which a candidate should not be voted for or whether it is a Christian's duty to vote for less desirable candidate over another. Thus, here is my response to that.<br /><br />I do believe it is a Biblical duty to live in this world as a citizen of both heaven and earth. Our heavenly citizenship does not void our earthy obligations. While marriage ends on earth when we die and go to be with the Lord, we are duty bound to attend to it with love and care while under its contract here on earth.<br /><br />As well, God has clearly pointed to the divine nature of government/civil establishment as his prescribed means of nations existing to his glory and providing protection for its members that they may prosper and perpetuate, individually and nationally.<br /><br />Romans clearly reveals they are ministers of what Lutherans often called the Left Kingdom. <br /><br />Enter the individual Christian citizen.<br /><br />He/she has been given rights and tools, as a citizen, by his government and we hope by God as a blessing, at least with America. One of those tools is voting. Instead of Kings reigning through succession, the people get to speak.<br /><br />If you (I am speaking generally, here, not to you, personally) believe staying silent because no candidate represents your voice sufficiently, so be it. But remember, your silence always has a price in some manner. If you believe the price to be righteous and without blame before God, I cannot condemn such a man.<br /><br />However, I will challenge any Christian voting who has voted in the past and now might object to the two-party offerings coming soon in the general election. In the past when you voted, was your candidate without fault, always, or did you accept certain liabilities because he/she possessed other important properties? Why, now, do you believe you have crossed a threshold where you refuse to vote?<br /><br />Secondly, as I said, can you live with your refusal to vote which ultimate will aid a less desired candidate and are you so certain that the other candidate who for whom you refuse to vote will be as awful as you tell yourself because in the end, you have two candidates, and one of them will have an impact on this nation and on you, individually, to some degree and you wish to remain silent and not vote and take your hands off the controls?<br /><br />I think every man or woman, Christian especially, is duty bound to control and influence what they can where they can.Alex A. Guggenheimhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04534710796711749227noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4583193007270420795.post-12449826402195703272016-02-26T08:04:57.478-08:002016-02-26T08:04:57.478-08:00Daniel, 1 of 2
Thank you for visiting and offerin...Daniel, 1 of 2<br /><br />Thank you for visiting and offering a very reasonable question, one I am sure that many have asked. I will answer the question, directly, at the end of my response but allow me qualify it with some observations.<br /><br />1. Most things we do in life, with respect to the Bible, are not directly commanded or bounded rather, they are matters of degrees in our application of Biblical principles. That is to say, while a minority of issues in the Bible have strict and dogmatic commands that either direct us to or not to do something, most often we have to use discernment in our application of Biblical principles (a myriad at times) and come to a decision with a good conscience before God. We have believed God's principles and formulated a conclusion based on them.<br /><br />2. The value of a worst-case hypothetical - whenever we are attempting to formulate a Biblical personal policy with regard to a plan of action, it is normal to include a worst-case scenario. However, a worst-case scenario and a worst-case hypothetical are not necessarily the same thing (most often this is the case).<br /><br />A worst-case scenario which has a plausible chance of occurring though the odds are low. <br /><br />A worst-case hypothetical throws out likelihood and accepts remarkably implausible or unlikely scenarios.<br /><br />The value of the worst-case scenario is based in realism, though more remote. <br /><br />The value of the worst-case hypothetical is greatly diminished because it departs from realism and into more fictionalized possibilities. <br /><br />Thus, it is only the first which gives us a real far-end gauge for a worst-case possibility and a plan of action. Additionally, the consideration of a worst-case scenario will include the exercise of some principles that you may use in more-likely scenarios as you move up the chain of possibilities. And so it has added value there, as well, because it will force you to exercise and examine a number of principles more thoroughly that you may actually use in more-likely scenarios<br /><br />The worst-case hypothetical, other than for the sake of exaggeration to illustrate a point, is not useful as a tool from which we can derive principles for realistic application. Worst-case hypotheticals break the rules of realism thus, they change the rules thereby forcing us to write a script which generally is not useful in a context where the rules normally are followed.<br /><br />Alex A. Guggenheimhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04534710796711749227noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4583193007270420795.post-88441275772460799732016-02-23T14:12:29.844-08:002016-02-23T14:12:29.844-08:00Dear Alex,
Do you believe there is any point at a...Dear Alex,<br /><br />Do you believe there is any point at all at which a candidate should not be voted for? Supposing he were a lying, cheating, stealing, raping, molesting, murderous, cruel, tyrannical, bloodthirsty man -- if the other candidate were more so, would you say it is the Christian's duty to vote for the first man over the second?Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05422748423941879720noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4583193007270420795.post-67719372059570872212016-02-16T08:24:36.425-08:002016-02-16T08:24:36.425-08:00Micah
Thank you so much for your thoughtful and c...Micah<br /><br />Thank you so much for your thoughtful and challenging comments. You hit the bullseye, over and over again.<br />I am surprised by the preoccupation with insisting a candidate be staunchly against the legal right to choose to have an abortion as if that singular issue guarantees reasonable and righteousness rule in other areas. History demonstrates otherwise.<br />Regards<br /><br />AG<br /><br />Alex A. Guggenheimhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04534710796711749227noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4583193007270420795.post-70483708136006290982016-02-16T05:44:52.174-08:002016-02-16T05:44:52.174-08:00(Continued)
They are doing everything they can to...(Continued)<br /><br />They are doing everything they can to magnify his moral/character flaws and marginalize his policy proposals which would be beneficial to the country. The truth is that no president will have nearly the influence people think they will have with regard to the legal standing of abortion or on gay marriage. Those issues are battles that will have much more to do with Congress/Senate and the judiciary. Certainly the president can provide leadership on those issues, but he/she will have very little say ultimately in how those issues wind up. I get the feeling that too many Christians believe that a pro-abortion president means we're doomed on that issue and, conversely, that somehow a fully pro-life president will be able to reverse all manners in which the procedure has been legalized. It doesn't work that way. It has never worked that way. While I would absolutely love nothing more than to see it outlawed and for marriage between to be only between one man/one woman to be axiomatic, I'm not naive enough to think that my vote for any particular candidate is going to affect those issues one way or another. I'm much more interested in witnessing to the power of the gospel than I am in choosing a president to legislate those things out.<br /><br />I am much more concerned for the church when the likes of Anyabwile are speaking on its behalf. This is a man whose philosophy and ideology are informed by nothing more than liberalism and cultural Marxism. It certainly is not the scriptures. To the extent that it is, his interpretation is based on a faulty hermeneutics and contextualization.<br />Micah G.noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4583193007270420795.post-74646435121255407862016-02-16T05:44:19.290-08:002016-02-16T05:44:19.290-08:00Alex,
Good stuff. It's refreshing to here thi...Alex,<br /><br />Good stuff. It's refreshing to here this line of thinking from another brother. I've been extremely frustrated with the evangelical mindset in general over their attitude towards Trump. I am a Trump supporter and believe he is the best hope for preserving our freedoms and advancing the country economically. I believe his flaws, while absolutely real, are an excuse for too many to incessantly vent their self-righteous anger at him and characterize him as some form of evil incarnate. <br /><br />Just to be clear, I am under no illusions that Trump is a true believer in Jesus or that he molds his life in any way upon his His saving power. I also am, like many, concerned that he has a bit of an open mind when it comes to abortion.<br /><br />I, however, am not looking for a Christian king to rule over this nation. I'm simply looking for someone who has American values and desires to return America to freedom and constitutionalism and prosperity. Christians already have a problematic reputation for being mostly single or double issue voters only. That is, as long as the candidate is fully, unabashedly pro-life and does not support same-sex marriage, he/she is good to go regardless of anything else. Granted, this is a mostly unfair caricature projected by liberals, but most Christians don't do the church any favors by fitting themselves into this projection. That has never been truer than this election cycle. Don't get me wrong, I am fully pro-life and I don't believe there is any such as marriage between members of the same sex. The great priority, as I see it in following politics very closely, is breaking up the stranglehold that the establishment class has had on the GOP. This establishment, donor class (led by the US Chamber of Commerce) has effectively rigged our electoral process to get their preferred candidates into office and carry out their (not OUR) agenda. This agenda is nearly the same agenda of the democrat party and they have been attempting to rig the primary process (through rule changes and candidate splitter strategies) to get one of their preferred candidates (Rubio or Bush) on the GOP ticket. The establishment never planned for Trump and he is the only one who can break them and their shenanigans up. Break up the establishment is part and parcel of restoring conservatism. Cruz is a possibility to a lesser extent, but his record is of one who has still at times worked for establishment interests (not to mention a more worrisome issue for evangelicals being his dominionist leanings). The establishment wants evangelicals to laser-focus on Trump's character flaws and see him as nothing more than an angry, hate-filled individual. Christians should keep this in mind, that they are falling in line with how the establishment wants them to view Trump rather how their ethics may be informing them.Micah G.noreply@blogger.com