Assimilation

We live with the consequences of our choices, and we have to make sure that we are making decision in accordance with the teaching of God's Word.  Joshua 24 says:
15 And if it seems evil to you to serve the Lord, choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord."
16 So the people answered and said: "Far be it from us that we should forsake the Lord to serve other gods;
17 for the Lord our God is He who brought us and our fathers up out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage, who did those great signs in our sight, and preserved us in all the way that we went and among all the people through whom we passed.
18 And the Lord drove out from before us all the people, including the Amorites who dwelt in the land. We also will serve the Lord, for He is our God."

The people declared and affirmed their faith in the Lord and dependence on Him.  Following this passages, Joshua challenged the people to re-affirm their faith, and they continued to boldly declare their intent to follow Him.  Our devotion to God is determined by our decision to love and serve Him - then our actions have to line up.  He calls us to give more than lipservice or to simply "go through the motions," as it's been said, but He desires for us to practice wholehearted obedience.

+++++

The Bible gives us the template for sound and godly decision-making.  In Deuteronomy 30, we read
these words of Moses:
19 I call heaven and earth as witnesses today against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing; therefore choose life, that both you and your descendants may live;
20 that you may love the Lord your God, that you may obey His voice, and that you may cling to Him, for He is your life and the length of your days; and that you may dwell in the land which the Lord swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, to give them."

I believe that Christians should allow our faith perspective to govern every area of life - and that includes our involvement in politics and the candidates we select.  That is especially important during an election year, such as what we're currently facing.

And, our positions on various issues should be governed by the Scriptures - that includes the issue of abortion, which again is front and center as we have recently observed the anniversary of Roe v. Wade.

The Daily Caller reports on a new survey that shows various religious groups' perspective on a number of topics, one of which is abortion.  Its article says:

Sixty-seven percent of white evangelicals said they support making abortion illegal except in cases of rape or incest or in case of a threat to the mother’s life, a poll conducted by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research found.

And, it goes on to state:

The poll results showed white evangelicals differ greatly from other religious groups on this subject — though 67 % of white evangelicals support strong restrictions on abortion, 39% of white Protestants, 33% of nonwhite Protestants, and 45% of Catholics support strong restrictions on abortion.

I actually went to the summary of the survey, which was predicated on the role that respondents believed that religion should play in addressing current political issues. The summary seemed to pit white evangelicals against other religious groups to pursue an agenda to tie white evangelicals to the President and to portray them as out-of-step from other religious groups.  And, the media seems to have a lack of understanding about the diverse nature of evangelicalism.  In fact, in this survey, I did not see a reference to black or non-white evangelicals - the conventional wisdom is that the group is too small to be surveyed; that is a fair assessment, but it is a bit uncomfortable, nonetheless.

As the Daily Caller summarized: "white evangelicals are more likely than these other religious groups to say their religion will influence their politics."  A wide variety of issues were covered in the survey, but abortion and LGBT issues received the bulk of the attention, it seems.  The Daily Caller stated:

The poll also questioned whether the government should bar discrimination against LGBTQ persons in housing, workplaces and schools. While about 60% of Catholics and both white and non-white Protestants support government barring of discrimination of LGBTQ people in these places, a third of white evangelical Protestants support such measures.

That language is troubling, as if to say that white evangelicals are discriminatory to gay people. A more accurate portrayal would have been to illustrate that a number of religious people do not support special privileges based on sexual orientation or gender identity.  So, two-thirds of white evangelical Protestants believe that gay people should be discriminated against in "housing, workplaces, and schools?"  What does that even mean?  This is the language of the dangerous Equality Act that the U.S. House passed last spring.  The data seems to be related in a manner that mischaracterizes certain people of faith in a negative light.

It's no secret that I believe our faith should influence every area of life.  That includes our personal relationships, how we conduct ourselves at home, at church, the workplace, and other venues.  And, our political posture should also be governed by principles of Scripture.

We can also recognize that to be pro-life, in the purest sense of the word, is to be against the termination of human life in the womb.  But, there has been a redefinition effort in place.  Last year, March for Life President Jeanne Mancini and Focus on the Family President Jim Daly wrote in the Washington Examiner:

Lately, there has been an increased and intensified discussion about what it means to be authentically pro-life. We have both witnessed a concerted effort among some members of the faith community and others, including friends and colleagues whom we deeply respect, to broaden the scope of pro-life concerns to encompass everything from race and immigration to healthcare and the environment.

Certainly, these are serious matters that affect each one of us. As men and women who believe that every human life is sacred and valuable, and as concerned and engaged citizens, we are bound by our faith and by conscience to care deeply about these issues and any issue that speaks to the dignity and worth of human beings created in God’s image.

Yet, there is a priority and urgency to the protection of the unborn.

The expansion of the definition of pro-life to include a variety of issues lessens the impact and priority of abortion and, as it's been contended, is being used to try to influence people who are single-issue voters to perhaps change their minds and be more comfortable with voting for someone who may be pro-abortion, but who is considered more socially aware on issues such as immigration.

This underscores the necessity of being prayerful and informed about our 2020 choices.  There are faith organizations across the political and ideological spectrum that are providing information regarding the vote.  We have to be discerning and use the Bible as our guide and select the candidates that best line up with our deeply-held beliefs.