I am not American, but I am a North American. For the last several years I have been trying to understand the collective American psyche, personality or whatever you want to call it. I want to know why American do the things they do, especially American Christians. I want to know what it is about George W. Bush that the American Christian loves. Is it because he calls himself a Christian or is it because he says he will push (perhaps protect, becuase apperently he does that very well) the Christian (traditional) way of life? Having asked that, what is the Christian(traditional) way of life? Is the Christian way of life to wage war so that the right to profit from it can exist only for the greedy few that most Americans (mainly the right of center, Christians)seem to elect? I thought Christianity was about loving people. I thought Christianity was about salvation. When did Christianity become about politics? When did Christianity become about legislating a set of spiritual beliefs? Have not Christians learned lessons from history? The Spanish Inquistion, the Holy Crusades, etc. Did these events in history not teach Christians that Christianity is not about forcing your beliefs on others. Christianity is not of a Taliban order.
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I think it's important as Christians to be careful about saying "I don't know how you can be a Christian and vote that way!" to each other. To me, the people who vote for the Republicans on the basis of their Christianity in the US (there are others who vote Republican for other reasons, but let's stick to this issue) do so because they emphasise the issues of abortion and gay marriage. James Dobson of Focus on the Family circulated a 'Voting non-negotiables' document that focused on these issues, and Rick Warren of '40 Days of Purpose' fame passed it on. Lots of evangelicals see these as the key issues (they also have some ideas around the manifest destiny of the US and the role of Israel, but these are the vote-makers).
Those Christians who vote Democrat generally do so because they have a concern for the poor and oppressed, for Social Security and Medicare and education and are against the damage done by the war (in Iraq this time). They point to Jesus' concerns with peace and the poor.
Point is, both camps believe they are doing God's will. We can argue that the gay issue in Scripture is cultural, but it's there. And we might ask questions about pro-war but anti-abortion Republicans. But in the final analysis, I believe it's better to engage, to try to understand, to educate and to keep the channels open...
Good point, Bravus! It's so interesting to me as an outsider or observer to watch the workings of the American political machine. Sometimes it's so easy to comment on something or against something because it is so outside our frame of reference. Politics is not a very big thing for me and for so many of my peers, it's just fun stimulating conversation, a much ado about nothing if you will.
Here is something I have been pondering since last night...I think of the Christian right in the USA and I think it's kind of ironic that here is a group of people pushing to legislate a certain set of beliefs, (in my mind the joining of the church and state), but isn't this what the founding fathers of the USA were trying not to do in its constitution? It's also kind of funny though that much of the USA was built by many escaping religious persecution seeking religious freedom and liberty and throughout their history they have done much to take away liberty and freedom from others, and now they stand at the brink to do it again.
I recognize these thoughts are not new but it's what has been in my thoughts as of late.
Another interesting thing...a friend and I were talking lately and as he was reflecting on the inner workings of the American political machine, his thought...perhaps it is not about one religion over another, perhaps in the USA their state religion is politics. A very interesting thought, I think. Hmmm!
Comments anyone?
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