Thursday, December 22, 2011

Another Obligartory Yes, Christians CAN Vote For Non-Christians Post

Sigh! And a double face-palm.
Once again, a crazy Christian pastor is telling his flock, and by extension, anyone who is a Christian, that no, we can not vote for Mitt Romney for president.
I think that you know why. But I am obliged to delve into this once again.
Because Mr. Romney is a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. You know. The eeeeevvvvviiilllll Mormons.
The pastor in question is one Steven Andrew of a group called USA Christian ministries. And according to this article on The Blaze, Pastor Andrew is mad that Pastor Franklin Graham, son of Billy Graham, said in a interview that it is OK for Evangelical Christians to vote for a Mormon for president. Or for any office for that matter.
Well, Pastor Andrew believes it is a sin to vote for a non-Christian for office. So much so that he wants Pastor Graham to "repent".
Really?!
Because a true Christian can not vote for someone like Mitt Romney and or Jon Huntsman, Jr. No, no, no. And if one is a Buddhist, the aforementioned Mormon or Islamic, forget it. Can't vote for them. The exact quote from Pastor Andrew is this:

Consequences of Voting for Ungodly People
Voting for non-Christians (Mormons, Muslims, Buddhists and others), or people who just say they are Christians but don’t rule in the fear God, results in God’s Judgment.


I am going to bet that Pastor Andrew did not quite want to come out and say this one particular group. But I am certain in another time, this would top the others.
The. . .Joos!
OK, I consider myself a Christian. Sure, I belong to the Episcopal Church. And yeah, they need a lot of prayer. But I have voted for people that were probably not Christians.
And you know what?
I forgot another group that Pastor Andrew would have mentioned in another time or place.
The Roman Catholics.
Many people who call themselves Christians do not think that RCs are really Christians.
See, I vote for a candidate that is closest to my conservative policies. If that person is not a Christian, but is a conservative, I do not have a problem. Because we will agree on issues probably more than 90% of the time. Maybe on religion we would not. But, especially for president, I am voting for the person that can lead the United States. I am not voting for the Christian Theologian in Chief.
Sure, I want more people of faith to be involved in politics. And that maybe a non-Christian that I will possibly vote for.
So, regular readers may note that in 2008, I was all in for Mitt Romney for president. And the Mormon thing, really does not bother me. Because in a strange way, on some of the so-called social issues, my thinking is more in line with Mormons than my own Episcopal Church. And if Nr. Romney is the Republican presidential nominee, I will be for him with no doubts. Mormon and all.
We are a Christian nation in regards to the majority religion. The founders were aware of that heritage. But they were aware of the co-mingling of church and state. They did not want one religion, more precisely one form of Christianity to be the religion of the whole nation. And so far for well over 230 years.
Again, I want to assure wavering Christians that should Mr. Romney or Mr.Huntsman, Jr. become president this.
Don't look for a mass of Mormon missionaries on bikes swarming the United States direct from 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. And no, the capital will not be moved to Salt Lake City. And no, the SLC Mormon Temple will not become the new capitol building.
The business of the United States will go on. As it has for over 230 years.
So my fellow Christians, please do not pay attention to Pastor Andrew. And pay attention to Pastor Graham. For I leave you with this straight from the words of Pastor Graham:

“I think when we’re voting for president we need to get the person who is absolutely the most qualified. You can have the nicest guy and he can be a Christian and just wonderful but have absolutely no clue as to how to run a country.”

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