Potential influences on political candidates

[Pastor Scott]

I recently read an article on Barack Obama's contraversial church and senior pastor (check it out here: innerstate180.com/default.asp?Action=ART_CONT&ID=35)

With all of the debate about what we should and shouldn't look at in our consideration of a presidential candidate, I wondered what everyone else thought.

• Are there areas in a presidential candidates life that should be left alone?
  
• What are the largest influences in a candidates life that affect his presidential philosophies and strategies?
  
• And on a side note - why is it important for churches to leave politics out of the pulpit?
  

Let's see if we can stretch our minds a little and get some serious discussion going again.

[lordofthesquishies]

I did research on the front site, and before I post anything else, I must post the following: Their church library has the Apocrypha!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! That ticks me off more than any racist attitudes they may have.

For the first question, I don't believe ANY area of their life should be left alone. The person we elect to govern our country and lead us must be honest in everything, transparent to the people, and responsible not to this country, but to God. I was speaking with Travis Boop one day and he pointed out that in the Bible the only rating that Israel's and Judah's kings received was based on whether or not they did the Lord's will. While our country may not support such a grading system, it's the only acceptable one. We must hold the leader of our people to the highest possible standard.

Sadly, that's if there were any candidate who measured up. In America's money-dominated races, that's a truly insane hope. I still think candidates should be expected to submit their private lives to public inspection. Their beliefs will naturally affect their decisions. If inconsistencies are shown between their private lives and their public lives, there's a good chance they may be liars. In that case, monitor them closely, believe nothing they tell you, prepare for an impeachment, and ready up for a John Wilkes Booth... Or at least dream about it.

As for what most influences a candidate, I feel it would be the people they've given their respect to. This isn't always the same: Some people may hold their families in great esteem, while others may loathe them. The learning process also molds a person's thinking (insert a "duh" here) and their literary canon may be the most powerful influence on their lives.

All and all, I'd say that while a candidate's personal life should be probed, it's impractical. Were my idea to be used, the press would soon push it into obscenity. Propaganda and mudslinging would reign supreme, not careful examination of facts.

And for the last question: It is important for churches to leave politics IN the pulpit. I'm not endorsing name-bashing, party-promoting, fund-raising, or anything else tied to our nation's clunking political machinery. What I'm talking about is discussion of relevant issues. I firmly believe that the church has every right and every obligation to speak about abortion, marriage, and other topics. Should we not speak out against abortion, we would be on the same level as the Confederate churches who refused to denounce slavery. Should we not speak out against the wholesale slaughter of innocent, defenseless newborns in the name of convenience and the "choice" of the powerful over the choice of the innocent, we would be on the same level as the whitewashed graveyards that played hosts to murderers and soul stealers who sent helpless thousands to unmarked and unsung graves.

Condensed version: A politician should follow the same rules as a person. A person should follow the 10 commandments, every rule God set down in the Bible, every conviction the Holy Spirit sets on them, and have their relationship with Christ as their top priority. They should tell the truth to the people, listen to the people, and answer only to God.

I expect to be sad strange little man in the world of politics who never gives up anyways. Think of a rabid chihuahua trying to take down an elephant.

"I am able to do all things through Him who strengthens me." Phillipians 4:13

[medowbrookgoer39]

Mar 18, 2008 17:23:14 GMT -5 @lordofthesquishies said:

I did research on the front site, and before I post anything else, I must post the following: Their church library has the Apocrypha!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! That ticks me off more than any racist attitudes they may have.

Oh come on now.....give them a break. Our own church has an apocrypha in the bible on the stage. What say you now?

On a lighter note... I met Ron Paul today I guess you could say I'm now a potential influence on a political candidate :-p

[medowbrookgoer39]

Mar 17, 2008 9:15:54 GMT -5 Pastor Scott said:

I recently read an article on Barack Obama's contraversial church and senior pastor (check it out here: innerstate180.com/default.asp?Action=ART_CONT&ID=35)

With all of the debate about what we should and shouldn't look at in our consideration of a presidential candidate, I wondered what everyone else thought.

• Are there areas in a presidential candidates life that should be left alone?
  
• What are the largest influences in a candidates life that affect his presidential philosophies and strategies?
  
• And on a side note - why is it important for churches to leave politics out of the pulpit?
  

Let's see if we can stretch our minds a little and get some serious discussion going again.

I don't think Obama's church has much if any relevance for someone who is considering voting for him. If you do enough digging on anyone, let alone a politician, you could find semi to very influential people in their lives who could very well be the craziest people ever. We all know that politicians are the most scrutinized individuals in our country save celebrities. However, I don't necessarily think there are areas in their lives that should be left alone, because whenever you step into the political atmosphere you are subjecting yourself to immense amounts of scrutiny and probing. So they know what they're getting themselves into right off the bat. Also, I think what could affect a politicians choices in their careers is rather indeterminable. Unless you are delving into a specific politician, it really could be anything from events in their childhood, to how they were brought up by their parents or in school, or even to major events such as catastrophes in their lives.

The main reason I feel that its important for churches to leave politics off the pulpit is because of the many different perspectives someone can have on any one of the issues. Even say for abortion. There are many Christians who don't view abortion as such a black and white issue. Or even for gay marriage. When the church takes an official stance on something and especially when they begin to influence voters about them, they have really kinda overstepped their boundaries.

[lordofthesquishies]

Quick question: Why does our church have the apocrypha? I'm stunned.

[medowbrookgoer39]

Who knows....why is it such a big deal anyways?

To quote Wiki: All King James Bibles published before 1640 included the Apocrypha. In 1826, the British and Foreign Bible Society decided to only distribute Bibles containing the Apocrypha in special cases. Since then most modern editions of the Bible and re-printings of the King James Bible omit the Apocrypha section. Many modern reprintings of the Clementine Vulgate and Douay-Rheims version no longer contain the Apocrypha section. Many of the more modern translations and revisions do not contain an apocrypha section at all.

There are some exceptions to this trend, however. Some editions of the Revised Standard Version of the Bible include not only the Apocrypha listed above, but also the third and fourth books of the Maccabees, and Psalm 151; the RSV Apocrypha also lists the Letter of Jeremiah (Epistle of Jeremy in the KJV) as separate from the book of Baruch, following the Orthodox tradition.

[lordofthesquishies]

Well I feel ignorant... Time to do some research on the Apocrypha. I always thought it was like the Gnostic gospels.

Oh, I forgot to say this earlier: Absolutely awesome that you got to meet Ron Paul.

[Pastor Scott]

Our own Communion Table Bible has the Apocrypha... Bryce actually discovered this one Wednesday night a while back...

Then again, all of the best "thumping" bibles have the Apocrypha. I guess we need someone to make/market a display bible that doesn't contain the extra books.

If they made the font size just a little bigger on the remaining books, the new display bible could be just as large and heavy


On a more serious note... We discussed the Apocrypha a little during our Eternal Treasure series if you remember. There are a couple of types of Apocryphal writings - some are just other good letters and such from the time period that didn't meet the criteria to be considered canononical.

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I saw Ron Paul the other day too! It was in the bathroom at our own Lycoming Mall! I liked what he had to say... but then again I didn't read the whole article...