The Most Important Election Ever?

I got this as an email today from the American Family Association:

The upcoming election is the most critical election in the history of our nation. The very future of our nation’s foundation is at stake. Every person will be affected. If the liberals win, then our foundation will no longer be based on the traditional Judeo-Christian morality. It will gradually but assuredly be based on an ever shifting, ever moving foundation. If the liberals win, the damage can’t be stopped with elections two, four or forty years from now. America will forever be changed. We will keep seeing a gradual and growing hostility toward people of faith, especially Christians. The morals of our nation will continue to decline. Our children and grandchildren will pay the price.

In case you may think I’m a “the sky is falling” type of person, you should know: When it comes to predictions, I am a very reserved person. But not on this one. I cannot overstate the damage a liberal victory will do to our country. The upcoming election is the most important in the history of our nation. Yes, if the liberals win you will lose some of your religious freedoms and free speech rights. Churches and pastors will not be exempt. You will not be allowed to say certain things about a particular group. Every item of the homosexual agenda will be approved. All the laws protecting the unborn will be wiped away.

This sort of thing is not helpful at all. Frankly, it appears to me that it borders on hysteria. I do not put my faith in conservative politics but in the risen Lord Jesus Christ. Every election year, it seems, spells the end of the world as we know it if we do not go out and elect a conservative president. I'm all for a conservative president. I will vote conservatively. But I do not think that if Barak Obama is elected President of the United States that we are all somehow doomed. Look at what is claimed here:

1) "The upcoming election is the most critical election in the history of our nation" and "The upcoming election is the most important in the history of our nation." Do you believe that this is true? This is more important that the election of Abraham Lincoln or George Washing or George Bush Jr. or Richard Nixon or John F. Kennedy or Franklin Roosevelt? Really?

2) "If the liberals win, then our foundation will no longer be based on the traditional Judeo-Christian morality." The liberals cannot 'unfound' me or anyone else off of anything. This is a government of the people, not a tyrannical regime. I submit that our hope as a nation has never been founded on Judeo-Christian morality but on the promises of a crucified and resurrected Jesus.

3) "If the liberals win, the damage can’t be stopped with elections two, four or forty years from now. America will forever be changed. We will keep seeing a gradual and growing hostility toward people of faith, especially Christians. The morals of our nation will continue to decline. Our children and grandchildren will pay the price." Again, a mere election will do this? Will Sen. Obama get in the White House and wave a wand to make everyone hate Christians for generations to come? How does he know that Sen. Obama won't be converted and be the most stellar president in history?

4) "if the liberals win you will lose some of your religious freedoms and free speech rights. Churches and pastors will not be exempt. You will not be allowed to say certain things about a particular group. Every item of the homosexual agenda will be approved. All the laws protecting the unborn will be wiped away." Wow. If Sen. Obama is elected, we will lose some of our religious freedoms. I wonder which ones? We will also lose free speech rights. We will not be able to say certain things about a particular group. (What does that even mean?) As for the homosexual agenda, I think that they've gotten just about everything that they've wanted short of legalized marriage. I'm not convinced that the way forward for the gospel is to express personal indignation over homosexuality. It is sin. I know that. But so is adultery, gluttony, vanity, and pride. We are all sinners in desperate need of grace. I'm worried about abortion increasing as well. Have we forgotten that our sitting VP has a homosexual daughter and what his views are regarding this? Any positive gain we have had in this area seems to have only a little to do with the current administration.

I hate to write a post like this, I really do. Someone correct me if I am wrong, but despite pleas to the contrary, the author very much sounds like "the sky if falling" type of person. Imagine, after reading this, how this person will feel if Sen. Obama is elected. Could the writer pray for him? Has he called on anyone to pray for him? I can't see anything positive in this letter.

More on Huckabee

If you read this blog very much, you'll know that I came out "Pro-Huckabee" a couple of weeks ago. In that post, I listed the positives I saw with the Huckabee platform and some of my concerns. (You can read the post here). One of my concerns has been admirably addressed today by Joe Carter at The Evangelical Outpost. If Joe isn't already one of your regular blog stops, you should consider visiting. He's one sharp cookie, and you can't beat his regular Monday 33 Things.

Pastor Plays Political Pundit

The title of this post doesn't really make any sense, but it's alright because its alliterated. What you need to know is that this post is about the Presidential race and where I stand right now. I'm writing this for two reasons: one is that the primaries are creeping up and are only 3 months away, the second is because I have appreciated reading what others have written, and so I thought I'd toss in my two cents. If you are a member of our church, please remember that I'm speaking as an individual. I don't want to make your mistakes for you if I've been misled.

I freely admit that up until recently, I have been very disappointed with the candidates in the Republican field. If a Texan won't eat a Salsa dip from New York, then I seriously doubt that I currently need a president from there. Gulliani makes me as sad as any of the liberal Democratic candidates. I felt a vote for him is a compromise to the Republican party. I won't vote for Mitt Romney because I don't trust him, and I won't ever.

This left me rather candidateless for awhile. Fred Thompson came on the scene, but he was a dud in my opinion. I don't resonate with the guy, despite the efforts of some evangelicals to get other evangelicals on board with his candidacy.

Then I noticed this guy named Mike Huckabee. As I poked around, it seemed that the only objection to the guy was that he couldn't be elected. That sort of nonsense has never deterred me before, and so I looked into his platform a little closer. For the most part, I liked what I saw. So I thought I'd list the pros and cons and give you his website to explore to make your own decision. Here's what I like, in no particular order after #1:

Pros:

1. He is undeniably and completely pro-life. I truly believe he holds this position by conviction and not for political expediency.

2. He understands and supports the Second Amendment.

3. He wants to secure the border.

4. He is pro-marriage amendment defined as one man marrying one woman.

5. I agree with him about Iraq.

There are other pros to consider, such as his promotion of education and the arts, but almost every candidate says such things. Here are the cons, in no particular order:

Cons:

1. I'm afraid that he's not as fiscally conservative as I'd like. Though he's promised to cut taxes, I'm afraid he likes to spend money too much.

2. He believes he can make us "energy independent" by the end of his second term. That seems like a very, very unlikely promise to fulfill.

3. I don't understand his plan to "fix" health care, but I do like the fact that he doesn't believe in a universal, government mandated type of health care system.

4. He is seen as weak in the area of foreign policy.

That's the short list of the pros and cons I see. I hope that you find my observations helpful, and I hope that you will also look into the candidates and make up your own mind. If you feel that your candidate has been slighted or is better than Huckabee, make your case in the comment section. Here is Mike Huckabee's website: Mike Huckabee for President.