It is far past time for Christians to seek a union with politicians. No where is this more evident than what “The Left” is doing with Christianity as we speak. Test all things and hold fast to that which is true. That means that Christians should not vote this coming election and let evil overtake America.Following your advice David. I wonder how that makes you feel? Watching a decadent and perverted class of people take power over Americans. Watching evil be relabeled and repackeged for todays modern consumers of it. Christians survived Roman tyranny so the Democrats and RINO’s of todays modern Roman-like world called Liberal-Progressive here in America, pose little threat to the authentic Church community. As America slowly jettisoned morality and the “Judoe-Christian” concept of right and wrong and embraced this “anything goes” ideology of liberal-progressive influence, we should not be surprised that we are left with choices like Romney, Guliani, Clinton, Obama, etc., etc., being up front.(Or with leaders like Hugo Chavez rising to power “on the left.” The guy so celebrated by American liberals.) Good people are now labeled and discarded as bigots and phobics so as not to have to hear them. Christians should have never yoked themselves with politicians, liberals or progressives anyway. In the sewer of what politics and “social activism” has become, what good person would desire to be a politician? These people desire power, not justice. And we all know where power leads a person. And the populace following bad examples. We absolutely know where. They are not the products of freedom, they are the products of unrestrained corruption, perversion and chaos come home to roost as the redefinition evil as a diviersity that we have to tolerate. Whatever awaits the Christians in the coming of Leftist power and RINO GOP candidates, it will be the identifying of the weeds in the garden of the Christian Community.Truly, why not be wronged? Liberals cannot lead Christians. Though, they can subjugate Christians with the assistance of the masses that desire anything else except the Gospel of repentance and forgiveness. Because what can be clearly heard and seen in the wave of quasi and psuedo religious candidates leading the packs, is that there is a wide expanse between Christians that follow the Word of God, and those that only represent a version of it by words spelled correctly but used deceptively.

My goodness. A friend of mine says that Christianity has matured about a year for each century. We might remember that period of teen age church when we split up and played “I’m right and you’re not” – still there, but there are those among us who understand that this is fairly useless activity. The first centuries of church were times of wonder and figuring out – what does that mean. Tell me a story. The middle years – learning and playing at religion and still finding amazing insights. Then comes adolescence – painful to say the least – for all concerned. Well, we’re 21 now. Still willing to fight like gang members, still willing to destroy others to prove ourselves right. We have developed a conscience and have educated ourselves and many are leaving home looking for wisdom outside the family. But the center is still that moment – of resurrection – we might call it our birthplace – in humanity. When children are born they have faith because there is a gaze that comes back to them and that gaze is love. The church is the same. Wars between the left and the right are adolescent squabbles. Right now the right looks pretty silly, but I still remember when the left looked downright ridiculous. We must stop this nonsense now. Neither left nor right has God on their side. God is much bigger than our political certainties and our needs to control others. God is that gaze you can trust. And I do not trust those who need power in the name of religion.

“Liberals cannot lead Christians.” With thinking like that, the label bigot fits pretty well, dont you think?

There should be a tension between radical extremes and within that tension should be the rational. The first response to this post can only be described as belonging to the irrational – the far end of an absolutist kind of thinking that has nothing to do with Christianity and everything to do with control over others. Living in the tension is hard – it is so easy to fall into the end that claims the “other” to be evil. I have studied theology and church and been a practicing (emphasis on the fact that it needs practice) Christian for almost all my life. Those who claim to be correct, to be the good as opposed to the other extreme – never get anywhere. People see through them and eventually – Jesus wins. Not power, not arrogance, not a kind of hateful energy that is not capable of self criticism – but Jesus wins every time. I might recommend Raymond Schwager S.J.’s book – Must There Be Scapegoats – as a resource. Another source might be Volf’s ” Exclusion and Embrace”. One of the thinker’s I have somewhat wished to dismiss and can’t is Pope Benedict. He speaks of the rational and the need to begin not with our religious difference, but with our common humanity – a humanity created and beloved of God – all of humanity.

Matt, Read 1 Corinthians chapter six. Paul details the kinds of people that cannot lead Christians. They sound like the Liberals and progressives of today. And he was talking about the Romans in his day. It’s not about judging, it is about understanding. Especially the times we’re in.

And misplaced or misapplied ‘understanding’ is also called bigotry.

Or in Stephen’s case the word “nutcase” might be more appropriate.

Stephen Davidson, Reading the kinds of things that you write *almost* make me want to run screaming from this country. Because it sounds downright Nazi. But you know what? I think there are enough real Christians in this country to protect Jews from the likes of you.

Everywhere “Christians” see “liberalism” as the conclusion that they don’t want to reach. What about just following Jesus wherever he leads? That doesn’t appear to be in the cards when doing so would be “liberal”.

Steven, Ive read the passage and it applies just as much to conservatives and Republicans. Political attachment to a party does not make one pious and it doesnt prohibit piety either. A liberal can be truly pious and a conservative can be a sinful monster.

That Americans are becoming (more) debauched and anti-Christ shouldn’t surprise any student of history. Biblical or secular. We have arrived at the abomination-status where men are marrying men. It is too late to save America now.And we should be surprised that our politicians are reprobates as well? The Church came from persecution by religious fanatics and sexual hedonists. We are back where we began. Shake the dust off our feet from the deviants and let the anti-Christians perish of their own accord. Luckily we have a country based on “everyone” being allowed to walk their own path. Jesus let those that choose sin to grasp it and its consequneces. Why are Christians worried about the disgusting practices of Democrats, when it only harms the Democrats and their willing victims?

“Give me those old time abominations, they’re good enough for me.”

Stephen Davidson’s posts, chock full of strawmen, sound just like the same genre of posts by Donny. Hmmm

The sky is falling! The sky is falling! I find any form of religion that REVELS in letting the world crumble (and who better to blame than liberals) so that the savior will come whisk the righteous (i.e. conservatives) away to be more than a little bit creepy. In fact, its borderline delusional. Some extremist Christians seem to be only happy believing the end times are imminent. Not a very positive way to live life if you ask me.

Of course the simple explanation is that liberals and moderates (and even a lot of classic conservatives) have just about had enough of all this right wing religious extremism that has dominated American politics over the last 6 years.But its a lot easier to proclaim such a political sea change as a sign of the end times instead of acknowledging that maybe, just maybe, the cultural right might have made a misstep. Thank goodness a lot of moderate conservatives are realizing that their party made a bad choice in co-opting the votes of religious extremists. Maybe now we can all start talking to one another again. min.