Veritas Rex

The Powers that Be

 The Best Wishes Series

Note to readers:  Conservatives are feeling anxious these days - we're on the brink of the most liberal policies our country has ever seen.  Below is an older blog which applies still today.

Guest blogger:  Brian McCrorie, Bowing Down

Best Wishes:  Ryan, congrats on your marriage; be blessed and rejoice in your wife while being ever vigilant to protect this vitally important union against all that will try to drive it apart in the years to come.  -Pastor Brian McCrorie

2006 November 8: The Powers that Be

As many of my readers know, I am an active participant in the political process.  I do spend a great deal of time during election seasons campaigning for the candidates I support.  This season was no different.  In fact, for the first time in my life, as I looked at the touchscreen in front of me in the polling booth, I was pleasantly surprised to realize that I knew each of the candidates personally for whom I was about to vote.  They have become my friends.

The election season gives opportunities for citizens to interact with leaders in their community who are striving for political office.  Most of these extraordinary people do not know Christ as Savior.  This election, two of my “friends” were born-again Christians which made the fellowship extra special.  I try as hard as I can to show Christ through my words and my life to these friends.

Sometimes, there are opportunities to interact with really extraordinary people.  My family had such an experience last Saturday when we were able to be up-close-and-personal with the President of the United States!  It was a thrill to expose my children to a man I believe to be a great leader in our country.  Even my three-year-old Jason (pictured above) enjoyed shaking President Bush’s hand!

Then came Tuesday.

In a few short hours, the men with whom I had toiled in the last several months began to lose, one-by-one.  I felt their pain.  They were remarkably gracious in their concession speeches, considering the level of negative advertising in recent days.  They move on.

So must we.

Paul must have dreaded Roman elections.  It seems from a historical perspective that quite a long string of Caesars held tremendous opposition to the Christians and their way of life and worship.  He would, in fact, die at the hands of such a ruler.  And yet, he gives us a remarkable exhortation:

Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God. Whosoever therefore resisteth the power, resisteth the ordinance of God: and they that resist shall receive to themselves damnation.

I have to admit: I don’t like thinking of Nancy Pelosi as a minister of God.

Read more...

Politics too messy for Christians?...San Diego Pastor might have a different opinion.

Fox News is reporting that San Diego, California Pastor David Jones and his wife Mary have been told that they cannot invite friends to their home for a Bible study — unless they are willing to pay tens of thousands of dollars to San Diego County.  According to the report:

"On Good Friday we had an employee from San Diego County come to our house, and inform us that the Bible study that we were having was a religious assembly, and in violation of the code in the county." David Jones told FOX News.

"We told them this is not really a religious assembly — this is just a Bible study with friends. We have a meal, we pray, that was all," Jones said.

A few days later, the couple received a written warning that cited "unlawful use of land," ordering them to either "stop religious assembly or apply for a major use permit," the couple's attorney Dean Broyles told San Diego news station 10News.

But the major use permit could cost the Jones' thousands of dollars just to have a few friends over.

If spiritually mature Believers were on that San Diego County Council would this even be an issue?  Of course not.  The problem is that too many of us believe that politics is too divisive for us.  We have been tricked into believing that if we really want to serve God we need only involve ourselves with certain "sacred" things like serving our local church, taking a mission trip or working at a soup kitchen.  Those outlets for service are great, but we must not limit the body of Christ to those alone. 

The institutions that are the darkest need Believers to shine the Light of Christ all the more.  Christ did not come for the healthy.  He came to redeem the sick...including sick institutions.  The more spiritually mature Believers take on the call to public service the more citizens will be able to enjoy a quite and peaceable life. 

U.N. Undermining U.S. Sovereignty and the Family

IFI, along with many other Family Policy Counsels across the country, is co-releasing a study entitled, "How U.N. Conventions on Women's and Children's Rights Undermine Family, Religion, and Sovereignty" with authors Patrick F. Fagan, William L. Saunders, Michael A. Fragoso of the Family Research Council.  

You can download the study here: Download CEDAW Paper from FRC May 4_2009 - Final. 

This study highlights activities with the United Nations that are undermining American sovereignty, undermining the sovereignty of the family unit and diminishing our ability to live according to the dictates of our faith.

Here are some of the arguments by the other side on this topic and our responses:

Parent-Child Relationship Tied to Religious Attendance and Family Structure

Want to have a quality relationship with your child?  Fight for your marriage and worship the Lord regularly.  Hmmm....I feel like I've read that advice in a book somewhere...(*smile*)

Here are the details of the study. 

'Hate Crimes' Legislation is Really About Silencing Christians

Matt Barber has an excellent article on the "hate crimes" legislation currently before Congress.  The bill is not about stopping or even punishing crime.  This bill is about muzzling those who disagree with the homosexual political agenda.  Check out the article and then contact your U.S. Senators and U.S. Representative and let them know that you oppose "hate crimes" legislation.

http://www.onenewsnow.com/Perspectives/Default.aspx?id=498106

Take Action: 'Hate-Crimes' Bill Headed for a Vote

Here is the latest on the federal "hate crimes" legislation.  Rep. John Conyers, D-Mich., is chairman of the House Judiciary Committee and reportedly said he is not hearing from family advocates on this issue. Please e-mail and/or call your U.S. representative and request a vote against the hate-crimes bill (H.R. 1913). You can find contact information through FOTF's Action Center.

by Jennifer Mesko, editor of Citizenlink

'In order to crack down on hateful behavior, thoughts and expression must also be targeted.'

The U.S. House Judiciary Committee is expected to vote Thursday on legislation that would create a new class of crimes based on the victim's "actual or perceived sexual orientation or gender identity."

Under "hate-crimes" laws like H.R. 1913, pastors could be prosecuted for preaching the biblical view of homosexuality. Similar laws have been used to prosecute religious speech in the U.S. at the state level and abroad.

"The homosexual activists' mantra is no longer tolerance — it's embrace and promote," said Ashley Horne, federal policy analyst at Focus on the Family Action. "Anything less will be silenced. Christians must speak up."

John Whitehead, founder and president of The Rutherford Institute, said the legislation is riddled with problems.

"The problem, which few want to acknowledge for fear of being labeled politically incorrect, or worse homophobic, is that in order to crack down on hateful behavior ... thoughts and expression must also be targeted — which runs diametrically counter to the First Amendment's protections for free speech and expression," he wrote in a commentary today.

The legislation is also unnecessary.

Whitehead cites FBI stats showing that of the nearly 1.5 million violent crimes in the U.S. in 2007, just 1,460 were reportedly based on "sexual orientation."

"Hate-crime laws are redundant," he writes. "There are already a host of stiff penalties on the books for those who commit acts of unspeakable horror."

Indiana Senators Support Liberal Judicial Activist

Judge David Hamilton's nomination to Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals has been met with strong opposition from conservatives nationwide.  Focus on the Family reminded us that Judge Hamilton's record of work is not as "moderate" as some would have us believe.  David Barton does an excellent job of chronicaling Judge Hamilton's history of judicial activism below.  At IFI we have tracked some of his more troubling cases over the years, particularly the decision (which was later overturned) that banned prayer in the name of Jesus in the Indiana House of Representatives.   

However, it seems that Indiana Senator's Bayh and Lugar are all aboard the Hamilton judicial activism train.  A friend of mine forwarded me the following response Sen. Lugar's office sent him regarding Judge Hamilton's nomination, which is below.  David Barton's email detailing Hamilton's history of judicial activism is after the jump. 

"Thank you for sharing with me your opposition to President Obama's nomination of Judge David Hamilton to serve as a Judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit. While I appreciate your concerns, I believe that Judge Hamilton's record of service to our state and nation warrants my support should his nomination come to the Senate Floor.

Thank you, again, for contacting me.

                                                            Sincerely,

                                                            Richard G. Lugar
                                                            United States Senator"

Kurt vs. Ryan on Notre Dame Obama Invite

A recent article in the Indy Star calls attention to a group of priests who are upset with Notre Dame over inviting President Obama to give the commencement address and receive an honorary degree at graduation.  IFI author Kurt Luidhardt posted an alternative view a while back, arguing that protesting Notre Dame's decision is not the right way to address the problem. 

I won't be driving up to South Bend to protest, but support those who do, and believe it is problematic that a prestigious Catholic university like Notre Dame would honor someone with an honorary degree (yes, even the President) who so clearly opposes their values and has demonstrated that on numerous occasions in his short tenure.  Inviting President Obama was a mistake.  Notre Dame should listen to the priests and reconsider.     

Conservatives vs. Liberals...new research from Barna

Very interesting information.  Conservatives are more driven by faith than liberals.  Not shocking, but good to know.  Check it out:

Great Sex God's Way

I think Pastor Jerry from Alabama has a great idea, though it has stirred up a lot of controversy.  Daystar Church has a website www.greatsexgodsway.com.  Pastor Jerry has seen the reality that the public conversation on sex is one sided.  Those who ignore and/or denigrate boundaries for sexuality are all we hear from on TV, at the movies, etc.  As Pastor Jerry says, do we really want Satan's message for sexuality to be all people hear or should the Church step up and give the other side of the story?  Check out his creative series on Great Sex God's Way.  It is the right message that followers of Christ should emulate.