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Pastors and Christians Are Afraid
"Many Christians and their pastors are afraid to state their moral convictions about abortion, homosexuality, pornography and other issues," says Senator Jim DeMint, R-South Carolina.
He says, "Before the 1960's, it was pretty clear that abortion was wrong, that sex outside of marriage was wrong, that unwed birth was wrong and pornography, homosexuality--all this was considered wrong by our society."
And DeMint says he knows why.
In a new book he co-authored, titled, "Why We Whisper--Restoring Our Right To Say It's Wrong," he says, "But government came in and turned right and wrong upside down."
DeMint blames the government, and the courts in particular, for turning wrongs into rights and barring religious views from public debate.
Government rulings he says, "Have changed American culture."
He makes the case that, "So many things that have a valued judgement about right and wrong can be related to religion, but government essentially said that religion must be separated from public life."
And by doing so he says, "People with really strong traditional views feel intimidated, and they whisper."
What he is saying is both true and troubling.
We join him in urging pastors and people of faith to speak up. America has lost her moral compass in recent years. If pastors and people of faith do not lead, who will?
I think the answer is clear. Secular progressives are quickly filling the void of those who fear to speak out on biblical moral issues.
Oprah and Obama have essentially presented a new version of Christianity, proclaiming that they are Christian and that they believe there are many ways to God, ignoring the teachings of Christ that He is the only way to the Father.
The so-called religious left is traveling the country explaining that God gives people the choice to accept Him, so why would He not give women the "choice" regarding abortion. And Obama says he believes the Sermon on the Mount affirms the homosexual lifestyle.
If people of faith and conservatives, particularly pastors, continue to whisper, the elections of 2008 and the legislation that will surely follow will accelerate America and many of our communities further from our Judeo-Christian heritage and the principles that made this country the greatest country in human history.
God help us.
_________________
Gary Randall
President
Faith & Freedom
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8 Comments:
It's pretty simple - get off the public dole and the issue goes away. After all, aren't you a free market guy, Gary? Let the people who attend the church pay for it.
Mark in Tigard
Gee, I see percious few "people of faith" whispering their condemnation of others. Why just this weekend, I had the joy of listening to a "person of faith" "whispering" their condemnation of everyone, who doesn't think like they do, through a blowhorn on the streetcorner.
Of course, if DeMint's claims that the courts and government are "barring religious views from public debate" were true, said "person of faith" would have been quickly arrested, right? At the very least, you'd think he'd get cited for disturbing the peace, what with all that shouting through a blowhorn, right? You'd be wrong. When I called SPD to complain about the noise (hey it was before 9 AM on a Saturday, and too hot to close the windows), I was told that it would be illegal if it were just yelling, but becuase it was "preaching" it was protected!
Seems there is a large and growing gap between hard right Christainists perception of their treatment by our goverment and their actual treatment. Gary, of course, seems to be doing all he can to enlarge this gap.
Maybe I am missing something - everybody in America knows that the Religious Right is literally screaming against homosexuality and abortion - this is one of the biggest news events of the Century.
At best, this sounds like a straw man. At worse? I don't know - judge for yourself. Sen. Jim DeMint seems to be totally off base on this one. I am a little surprised to see it published here.
Patrick
Gary,
The pressure you feel to "whisper" your view that your gay and lesbian neighbors are not your equals comes not from the courts, the television, or any other such entity. It comes from the fact that more and more people see your view as discriminatory and unfair.
This is a great country filled with intelligent citizens. While bad ideas sometimes hold on for a while (slavery, interracial marriage bans, bans on women voters, to name a few), our sytem of government -- with its church-state separation and balance of powers -- always eventually leads us down the right and fair path. The truth is eventually exposed. That's the genius of our system.
If equal marriage or other such ideas are bad, they will eventually fall by the wayside, too.
Blaming changes in attitude on the courts and Oprah is a copout.
Tony in Seattle
"If equal marriage or other such ideas are bad, they will eventually fall by the wayside, too."
Not necessarily true... If this WERE true, then businesses that succeeded for a long time would never go out of business. You're basically asserting that if something started out going in the right direction with a good system, it can't possibly, do something wrong in the future to screw up the good thing they had.
"Blaming changes in attitude on the courts and Oprah is a copout."
And assuming they don't have any major influence is foolish.
Mark
Mark,
Comparing a business to our system of government is invalid. Most businesses are run by a precious few people at the top and the vast number of employees don't have a say in the direction of the company. Our system of government decentralizes power and allows for escalating checks and balances. This country is run by nearly 400 million people.
Tony in Seattle
LOL.
So, if that's the case, then voters wishes will trump the judicial system that's being abused to overturn measures that voters have voted for? I don't think our government is as decentralized as you think, nor employees so different from citizens. The comparison is not invalid, but I suppose it suits your argument to try and dismiss it that easily. I guess I'll take the same approach... Comparing a business to our system of government is valid.
This fear that you talk about is not manifested in this blog or your organization FAITH AND FREEDOM.
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