On the Lord's Side

In our individual lives, in the Church, and in our nation today, we need the power and wisdom of Godly counsel; the application of the principles of Scripture is so vital in a day when worldly philosophies 
seem to rule the day. Psalm 33 states:
11 The counsel of the Lord stands forever, The plans of His heart to all generations.
12 Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord, The people He has chosen as His own inheritance.

Is God the Lord of America today?  We can certainly look back and see the influence of Christianity in the life of our nation. It is an imperfect history, but there is a desire that is prevalent in our land to serve and please God. Christian leaders are encouraging believers in Christ to seek revival and national restoration, which is tied into personal and corporate repentance in the Church. We know that God will show us the way, but we have to be dedicated to seeking His face and pursuing His principles.

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In the 29th chapter of the book of Proverbs, the Bible has some excellent guidance regarding 
government authorities; we see these verses:
2 When the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice; But when a wicked man rules, the people groan.

4 The king establishes the land by justice, But he who receives bribes overthrows it.

12 If a ruler pays attention to lies, All his servants become wicked.

14 The king who judges the poor with truth, His throne will be established forever.

The race for the Presidency, even though it has been tamped down by physical isolation and the standard campaign stump speeches and rallies are not prevalent, is continuing to intensify.  And, you can expect that religious faith will be a component of the race.

A preview erupted last week.  In one day, the former Vice-President Joe Biden spoke at a virtual religious gathering, in which he quoted Scripture, and that afternoon, he addressed a convention of minority journalists, in which he said, according to ReligionNews.com: "as president he would insist people refrain from holding large gatherings in places heavily impacted by the ongoing pandemic caused by the novel coronavirus — an issue facing many religious communities as they grapple with whether to hold in-person worship." Biden is quoted as saying: "There should not be congregations of more than 10 people.”  

Also that day, according to the article: "President Trump declared in Cleveland that his Democratic rival, former Vice President Joe Biden, would create an America with 'no religion' if elected, adding that Biden would 'hurt the Bible, hurt God' because 'he’s against God.'” Now, that's not exactly the way I would have expressed it, but as I'll share later, I can understand the sentiment.

Forbes reports that: "The Biden campaign refuted Trump’s assertion that Biden is areligious, with rapid response director Andrew Bates saying, 'Joe Biden's faith is at the core of who he is; he's lived it with dignity his entire life, and it's been a source of strength and comfort in times of extreme hardship.'”

Last week, there was a Believers for Biden event led by the former Vice-President's wife, Jill, and an Evangelicals for Trump gathering in Las Vegas that was held in a casino rather than a church because the restrictions on gathering size were more, well, charitable.  

The Biden campaign has hired a faith outreach director and is apparently determined not to make the mistakes of Hillary Clinton in 2016, in which there was seemingly little to no outreach to the faith community.  And, as it was commonly reported, over 8-in-10 white evangelicals cast their ballot for Trump.  

Biden, according to the article has "made faith central to his campaign, often telling voters he wants to restore the 'soul of America.'" Forbes goes on to say:

In an op-ed for Religion News Services in December, Biden wrote “my faith teaches me that we should be a nation that once again welcomes the stranger and shows a preferential option for the poor,” adding that Trump “doesn’t understand these things, because he... doesn’t know what it means to live for or believe in something bigger than himself.”

So, it's all hands on deck, it seems from the Biden campaign - the Forbes article also cites a Pew Research poll in which, by a 20-point margin, Biden is seen as more religious. I can certainly understand that - even though Mr. Trump has introduced policies consistent with a pro-life perspective and a support for religious liberty, he is not characterized as being a particularly religious man.

But, I believe that evangelicals who voted for Trump by and large were not voting for him based on his religious faith, but on his respect for theirs. Several weeks ago, The Christian Post published an article featuring Tony Perkins of the Family Research Council; it said: "In an op-ed posted to the FRC website, Perkins, who has participated in events at the Trump White House, called Biden’s new strategy of trying to attract faith voters an ambitious strategy that involves 'trying to win over a group of people [he’s] spent the last several years insulting.'”

Perkins went on to say, “This is [a] man running on a vision, not only of abortion-on-demand, but abortion right up until — and perhaps after — birth,” adding, “To cap it off, for those Americans who do have a biblical or moral objection to abortion, he says they should still have to pay for them with their tax dollars. How does he square ‘authentic’ faith with those radical positions?”

But he was only getting started: “He told nuns they'd have to fund birth control, churches they'd have to cover abortions, and U.S. taxpayers that overseas abortion would be our newest export...Someone please explain how this is a candidate that can connect with Christians ‘through a shared worldview?’” The article states:

He went on to voice concern with Biden’s “radical LGBT advocacy” that he fears could “gut religious liberty” and greatly impact the freedom of Christian schools, Catholic hospitals and faith-based nonprofits to uphold policies consistent with their beliefs on sexuality and marriage.

And, Perkins noted Biden's support for the so-called Equality Act, which, according to Perkins, "hunts down and punishes the same evangelicals whose vote [Biden] claims to want! One that also ends women's sports, girls' and boys' bathrooms, Christian counseling, privacy laws, conscience protections, millennia of biology, medical ethics, parents' rights.”

But, there is a concerted effort to motivate Christian voters to ditch the President in favor of the former Vice-President.  The Post article said:

One Republican organization is spending millions in 2020 on advertisements seeking to convince conservatives and faith-based voters not to vote for Trump, even running a TV commercial that tells Christians that Trump is “using” them.

In June, a new book edited by longtime progressive evangelical leader Ron Sider was released. It features the essays of 30 evangelical Christians explaining why Christians should not vote for Trump.

Part of the strategy, I have observed, involves trying to lessen the effect of the abortion issue on a Christian's vote.  One way that has been done is to broaden the definition of "pro-life," which includes a liberalization of immigration policy, even an embracing of the concept of climate change. 

This is likely not the last time that there will be a faith thread expressed in the Presidential campaign. And, it is certainly an area that raises my antenna.  I think of the quote from Lincoln, according to Our Daily Bread:

In the heat of the American Civil War, one of President Lincoln’s advisors said he was grateful that God was on the side of the Union. Lincoln replied, “Sir, my concern is not whether God is on our side; my greatest concern is to be on God’s side, for God is always right.”

Christians have to make sure that we are attuned and involved in not only Presidential politics, but other races as well.  It is not a sin or a distraction to participate in the political realm.  Now, if it spills into the area of becoming an idol, that's a problem. But, I believe the selection of leaders is a responsibility that we have been given as citizens in this country, and should not be taken lightly.

It is certainly a responsible practice to pray for the upcoming election. These are areas in which I believe that the Lord is interested.  We can discern what the Bible says about important issues and become informed about where the candidates stand. We can ultimately pray for God's will to be done. We can allow the authority of Scripture to guide us as we select who will be in authority in our government.

There are clear issues that continue to be important, as well as some that have emerged over the past few years: of course, the abortion issue is paramount - life, meaning the right for all human beings to live.  There continue to be threats to the institution of marriage, and to these new social concepts of gender identity, including transgenderism. Matters of justice are certainly at play, and how those would be addressed in a manner that is consistent with a Biblical worldview. And, the nature of America itself, founded on Judeo-Christian principles as a Constitutional Republic, is at stake, especially with the rise of socialism.