Christian Faith and Voting

Good afternoon and welcome back to the Lion’s Den. I’m celebrating! It has been a GREAT week already. This past Sunday my friend Rick recommitted his life to Christ! His daughter has been praying for him, and the joy and exuberance you hear in the live worship song, Your Love is Beautiful by Hillsong, is a reflection of the joy I am feeling this afternoon. They REALLY celebrate!

You surrounded me with songs of praise
You have bought me to this place
Where your love and grace, move within my life
Now Your message is my light

Your love is beautiful
Your love is beautiful
It's the reason why I sing
All around the world, let the praise begin
All around the world, let the praise begin

I am planted here by the waters and I'm living for the King
I have found my peace in the house of God
This is where I'm meant to be

Wow! What a marvelous expression of Joy!
Well, I really looked forward to this spending this time with you today. Last week we opened the first program with a really hot topic, discussing the church and politics. So, today I want to take our discussion up a notch to the next level. How should we, as Christians decide when it comes to voting? Do we leave our faith at the church door when we leave the church, or should our faith influence our decisions in the voting booth? Specifically, how should it affect making a decision between the Obama/Biden ticket and the McCain/Palin ticket this year? Hey, I would really like to hear from you, on this why not leave a comment below or email me at thelionsden1430@live.com. I can share your comments next week on the program.

Now, both McCain and Obama claim to be Christians. So, does their faith play a role in the way they would govern? Personally, I think “Belief Matters,” to borrow a phrase from Josh McDowell, and whatever they really believe will affect the way they would lead our country if elected. Salt has no effect if it is left in the salt shaker, and Jesus says that we are supposed to be salt and light in the world.

Casting Crowns is right on target with the message in their title song to their latest album, The Altar and the Door.

Careless, I am reckless
I'm a wrong-way-travelin'-slowly-unraveling shell of a man
Burnt out, I'm so numb now
That the fire's just an ember way down in the corner of my cold, cold heart

Lord, this time I'll make it right, here at the altar I lay my life
Your kingdom come but my will was done, my heart is broken as I...

Cry, like so many times before
But my eyes are dry before I leave the floor, oh Lord
I try but this time, Jesus, how can I be sure I will not lose my follow through
Between the altar and the door

Here at the altar, oh my world so black and white
How could I ever falter
What You've shown me to be right

I'm trying so hard to stop trying so hard
Just let You be who You are
Lord, who You are in me
Jesus, I'm trying so hard to stop trying so hard
Just let You be who You are
Lord, who You are in me

Oh Lord, I cry.

This line, “I will not lose my follow through between the altar and the door,” really speaks to the issue here. If faith matters, then our time in the presence of God should impact the way we live. I know people say you’re not supposed to judge others, but you know what kind of a tree it is by the fruit it bears. In the same way you know real Christianity and real faith, by the fruit of one's life. Our relationship with God ought to have an impact on the way we live, and that includes the way we vote! That's the question. How should our Christianity affect our vote? Remember, you can call in and weigh in on any of our topics on Wednesdays, from 1:00 pm to 2:00 pm on The Lion’s Den on Renueva Tu Fe Radio 1430 AM.

Now, another thing that both McCain and Obama have said is that this is the most important election ever! I certainly agree with them! But why is this election so important?
The next president will likely to nominate several new Supreme Court appointments. Justice John Paul Stevens is 87 years old. It is highly unlikely that he will serve until the next election. Then there is Justice David Souter. Even though he is twenty years younger than Stevens, he is considered the most likely to retire. Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg appears to be in good health at 74 years old, but she would likely retire under a liberal administration. That way she would not risk being replaced by a conservative Justice. Since a Supreme Court Justice is appointed for life, the appointment of new Justices to the court in the next administration, will have a most profound impact on our nation for the next generation, long after the next president's term has expired.

Whenever we talk about the Supreme Court its historic decisions come to mind. For Christians one of the most damning decisions of the Court was Roe v. Wade. We have hoped for a long time that a new Court with more conservative, strict, constructionist Justices would overturn the Roe v. Wade decision and stem the tide of abortion in the United States. What kind of Justices would our presidential candidates choose?

Think about this. If abortion were a morally neutral issue, then of course it wouldn’t matter where a candidate stood. Your Christian values wouldn’t come into play. You could base your vote entirely on other criteria. But since abortion IS a morally charged issue then it should be important for us to know what these two men have said about abortion issues and how they have voted in the Senate.

Georgia Right to Life reports on the positions of the candidates with regard to abortion, and you can check it out on their website at www.grtl.org. But, what do we do with this kind of information?

For starters, let’s talk about the most horrible abortion procedure of all, “Partial Birth Abortion.”
When the Supreme Court handed down the Gonzalez v. Carhart decision in April 2007,
McCain said, “Today’s Supreme Court in Gonzalez v. Carhart is a victory for those who cherish the sanctity of life.”
Obama responded, “I am extremely concerned that Gonzalez v. Carhart will embolden state legislatures to enact further measures to restrict woman’s right to choose, and that the conservative Supreme Court justices will look for other opportunities to erode Roe v. Wade.”

In the Senate McCain voted to oppose Roe v. Wade (the Supreme Court decision that allows abortion for any reason). He said that he doesn’t believe the Court should be legislating the way they did in Roe v. Wade. Like Ronald Reagan, he would only support abortion in the case of rape, incest, or life of the mother.

Obama said, “I have consistently advocated for reproductive choice and will make preserving women’s rights under Roe v. Wade a priority as President.” He was a Co-sponsor of the “Freedom of Choice Act” which would make Partial Birth Abortion legal again and invalidate many state and federal limits on abortion. He supports abortion-on-demand up to birth for any reason or no reason and would make that the law of the land.

Since the first Century, Christians have been fighting abortion. Back then unwanted children would simply be left outside the city to die or be eaten by wild animals. Christians would rescue these children and raise them as their own. Do you think God cares about the abortion issue? This Bible calls Him our Heavenly Father, and I assure you that this is dear to His heart.

Acapella does a song entitled Abba Father that reminds us of just how much our Heavenly Father cares. The lyrics follow.

Somebody feels hopeless. Somebody despairs.
Somebody walks a path alone. Watching others walk around in pairs.
Somebody's in the street now. Somebody's in doubt.
Somebody has no place to go. Somebody cries out saying,

Abba, Father, take me higher
Abba, Father, take me home
Somebody is hungry. Somebody's in pain.
Somebody sleeps alone in fear. Somebody's in shame.
Somebody needs a friend to lean on. Somebody's not there.
Somebody's looking at the end. Somebody's in prayer, praying

Abba, Father, take me higher. Abba, Father, take me home.

Take me home. Take me home, Father.
Father, please, take me home Abba, Father

Do you think that how a candidate stands on the issue of abortion should be an important issue to Christians as we consider how to vote? When I shared that both candidates claim to be Christians, a caller named Virginia called in to comment about an article on the internet that said Obama was a Muslim. The truth is that Obama’s father is a Muslim. For some 20 years Obama attended the Trinity United Church of Christ in Chicago, where Jeremiah Wright is Pastor Emeritus. The controversial sermons of Obama’s pastor caused no small stir and brought so much national attention to both to the church and its pastor that Obama finally disassociated himself. Although Pastor Wright’s church is affiliated with the United Church of Christ, his unfortunate distinction has been the teaching of black liberation theology.

Now, here is my question. How could someone who claims to be a Christian defend abortion? Even more disturbing is the incongruity between Christian faith and a taking a position in support of such a horrific procedure as partial birth abortion. Don’t you believe that the candidates’ positions on abortion will affect the kind of Justices they would nominate to the Supreme Court?

One of the tragedies of our time is that there are voters who will sell their votes for the promise of entitlements. I wonder are these empty promises? These are certainly difficult times! People are hurting, but it’s not time to sell our birthright for a bowl of soup! How can we expect someone to really care about our needs and our hurts if they don’t care enough to rescue the weakest and most vulnerable, the unborn. Today on the Lion’s Den I am speaking up for the most helpless and most defenseless of our society!

Hey I want you to know that God cares about your needs today. He cares about your hurts, and you can trust Him, too. His promises are not empty. In fact Jesus says, “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.” (Matthew 11:28) Kutless has a song on their 2005 album, Strong Tower entitled All Who Are Thirsty. Here are some of the lyrics:

All who are thirsty, All who are weak,
Come to the fountain. Dip your heart in the stream of life.
Let the pain and the sorrow Be washed away
In the waves of His mercy As deep cries out to deep
(We sing)
Come Lord Jesus come
Holy Spirit come As deep cries out to deep

This Kutless song reminds me of these words, “Whoever is thirsty, let him come; and whoever wishes, let him take the free gift of the water of life.” (Revelation 22:17) Hey don’t forget you can comment below or email me at thelionsden1430@live.com. Until next week, when we share again in The Lion's Den.

Our First Show - The Church and Politics

The concept for The Lion's Den actually began months ago in the heart of my friends, Zeusis and Ernesto who have this great vision for Renueva Tu Fe Radio. Since the Spanish community here in the United States has become increasingly bilingual, they shared with me the need to begin programming in English on their station. The more I listened to Zeusis share his vision and his faith the more contagious the idea became. Well, now the rest is history. Yesterday afternoon we did our first show. It was a little rough around the edges, but it was great.

Instead of just doing a couple of songs and preaching for most of the rest of the hour, we wanted to take a polemic approach. We have an open telephone line for listeners to call in and introduce contemporary issues for the days discussion, then put some hopefully relevant music into the mix. Maybe, we can have some great discussion about some things that really matter, without talking your ears off, by taking some time to listen.

To kick off the first show, I introduced the topic of Religion and Politics. Since the second presidential debate with McCain and Obama took place the night before, I thought it might be both appropriate and provacative to ask listeners what they thought about the role of the church in politics.

I couldn't think of a better way to get off to a roaring start than to talk about politics. It certainly can stir up the lions. Let any pastor or church get the least bit involved in issues up for a vote during an election, and you will hear the critics crying foul. They say, "What about separation of church and state?" We often feel caught in the middle. We want to make a difference in our community. We want to have a positive impact during the election with regard to helping folks make the right decisions on the issues and the candidates, but feel like our hands are tied! Hey, if you want to share your opinion on this or any topic we discuss on The Lion's Den, you can comment here on my blog or you can email me at thelionsden1430@live.com.

Hey, are we caught in the middle? Well, most of us know what it's like to feel caught in the middle, and that's the message of the first song we played, Somewhere in the Middle from the Casting Crowns' album The Altar and the Door.

What do you think? Have churches or church leaders become too involved in politics, or are they not involved nearly enough?

Did you watch the presidential debate Tuesday night? Well, I joined the millions of Americans who tuned in, and when it was over everyone was asking, "Who won?" Both candidates claimed to be the man who would bring about change in Washington. The need for change was one thing they agreed on. They both were adamant that things just can't continue as they are. There must be change, and they have the answers, although they disagree on what those answers are and how to affect the changes we need. They claim to know what America needs.

We played a second song from the Casting Crowns' album The Altar and the Door, entitled, What This World Needs. The lyrics read, "What this world needs is a Savior who will rescue, a Spirit who will lead."

Man, Talk about great way for a pastor or church leader to end up surrounded by some hungry lions, just let him make his opinion known about a candidate or a political issue. It’s like hanging a target around your neck or a sign that says, “Here I am; shoot me!” But really, what do you think? Wouldn’t you say that there are some issues that are more MORAL than POLITICAL? What about ABORTION, or SAME SEX MARRIAGE. Do you think a pastor, or church leader should have something to say about issues like these? Think about it this way. When the issues or the candidates move into the arena of morality, haven’t the politicians moved into the arena of the church? Wouldn’t you say that a pastor or church leader then has a MORAL OBLIGATION to respond?

Are we intimidated? Are we afraid? Folks certainly try to intimidate. One local pastor reported that when he and his church joined others in the 2006 battle against Sunday Sales of Alcohol, opponents painted graffiti on the side of his church building! By the way, that didn’t stop him nor a number of others who have organized again this year to fight the two Alcohol referendums on the ballot here in Whitfield County. Look for their Red signs, “Vote NO to Alcohol again.” There may be conflict but they aren’t afraid.

In the Book of Acts, chapter 27, Paul was aboard a ship headed for Rome when there was a great storm, but God sent an angel with a message for Paul, a message that comes through strong in a song we play from Carman's Album, The Champion, Fear not my child.

Every election there are groups who try to intimidate churches and pastors in order to keep them silent. Fear and intimidation have worked well on many, but what about our first amendment rights? Do you think we should have to give up our freedom of speech just because we’re active in church or because we are involved in church leadership?

It hasn’t always been this way. Prior to 1954 church leaders were as free as anyone else to influence elections, and comment on issues or candidates. What changed? In 1954 the tax code was amended to silence an opponent who happened to belong to a tax-exempt group.
If you’d like more information or guidelines about what you can or can’t do because of the tax code, check out the ADF Website. That’s the Alliance Defense Fund Website at www.telladf.org. They have a pdf file you can print and share with others, or if you like you can just email me at thelionsden@live.com and we’ll email you a copy of their pdf file. ADF also has an 800 number (1-800-TELLADF) to call should you need legal advice if your church has been threatened by a government official or an activist group for exercising you First Amendment rights.

The prophet Daniel was full of faith and courage when he faced the political system of his day. With full knowledge of the evil intent of his enemies, he stood strong in face political opposition, whose goal was his destruction. Politics is certainly known for its dirty tricks. Have you or someone you know been the victim of some political tricks? Hey don’t let yourself be tricked. Ask question and be an informed voter. An Hispanic lady stopped by our business the other day, asking questions. She had gone to rally, right here in Dalton, for the “free food.” They were registering voters, and after she filled out the registration, they handed her a sample ballot, showing her how to mark her ballot for that candidate. She thought she had actually voted and asked if it was too late to change her vote. The good news is that she only marked a sample ballot. In Georgia you have to apply for an absentee ballot by mail or go to the Board of Elections and present legal identification and sign for your ballot.
If you got questions, we may not have all the answers but maybe we can help you find the answers here in the Lion’s Den, Renueva Tu Fe Radio 706-279-1430, or email me at thelionsden@live.com.

Sometimes we all feel like running away from the issues and problems instead of facing them. I believe the song, I Run to You, by Dennis Jernigan on the album, Break My Heart O God, tells us where we should run. Too many times we run away from our problems instead of facing the issues head on. If we run at all let's run to Christ for help and strength.

As we wrap up the first show, I am praying that you will have the courage to stand for righteousness in the middle of these difficult times. I believe that is how we make a difference. In the Sermon on the Mount Jesus said, “You are the Salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again.” If we are going to really be salt and light, then we're going to have to be involved, even in the political arena, but we must never forget that politics is not the answer! Government isn’t the answer! Our Hope is not Obama, and neither is McCain is not our Messiah. Our Hope is in Jesus Christ.

Thanks for sharing your time with me today here on my blog. Hopefully, I will update the blog each week before or after the program at 1:00 p.m. each Wednesday on Renueva Tu Fe Radio 1430AM. Until then be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. This is Dan Hocker in the Lion’s Den.