“For the LORD knows the way of the righteous, But the way of the ungodly shall perish.” Ps 1:6
“So you shall say to them, ‘This is a nation that does not obey the voice of the LORD their God nor receive correction. Truth has perished and has been cut off from their mouth.’” Jer 7:28 (emphases mine)
On last Wednesday I spoke with one of the fathers of the conservative/Christian movement.We were bemoaning the loss of a Special Election in a usually solid Republican House district in Louisiana.I commented to my esteemed friend, “We seem to have lost our way!”From things he has said and written in the past, I believe he agreed, albeit wistfully.
During a follow-up to my observation, I noted that we need a “spiritual” component to “our way”.I am convinced the 1980 – 2000 revival in conservative/Christian political fortunes was driven by interests /concerns /issues which are “spiritual” and Biblical in nature; and each one had an ardent advocacy group which worked feverishly for its cause.Let’s look at the ones which have been straws which have stirred the conservative/Christian pot in the past:
1.Abortion /Homosexual Marriage – These two topics (and other “values” issues) rallied zealous troops from almost every religious entity; without their energy and devotion, conservative/Christian candidates could not have won enough races to achieve a majority in Congress or in the states!(By the way, Larry Kudlow of CNBC just called Barack Obama “a baby killer”.He’s right – Hillary is, too.)
2.Communism /National Defense /Patriotism – During the Cold War, conservatives/Christians led the way in standing up to the communist threats and eventually defeating them; without President Reagan’s efforts, the USSR could still be around today; despite the leftists’ best endeavors, national defense and patriotic attitudes amongst the general population ruled during that era.
It is impossible to read Old Testament stories without seeing the importance God places on defending one’s land, city or state from attack.This is the primary God-given role of magistrates and those in positions of governmental authority (see Judges 2:16; 5:2; I Sam 13:19; 17:26f; 1 Kg 11:21; Neh 4:21; Ester 4:13-17; Ps 137:1; Is 21:6).
3.Taxes and the Economy – Except for the Clinton years, the country prospered during this period, primarily due to lower taxes and somewhat less regulation of the economy, thereby releasing capitalism to be more effective; there have been (and still are) strong and effective advocacy groups for these policies; it appears the Lord wants us to be free to use the talents, energy and opportunities He gives us, so we can prosper, take care of our families and contribute to our neighborhoods and cultures (see, for example, 1 Sam 8:11f; 2 Chron 10:4; Neh 5:4; Ezek 45:0; 46:18; Micah 2:1-2; Mt 17:25-26; Lk 3:12-13).
So, how have we “lost our way”?As a Church and a Nation, we no longer seem determined to pursue these crucial “spiritual” matters as before.Take abortion, for example. In the 1980’s this issue was front and center publicly and in the Church.This is no longer true.Since the “shedding of innocent blood” is so significant to the Lord (1 Kg 2:31; Jer 7:6), how can we expect Him to bless our land if we ignore the bloodshed (see Num 35:33)?
With regard to National Defense and Patriotism, the threat of anti-Christian Islamic jihad is ominously at hand, yet our government refuses to even identify it as “Islamic” or “jihad”, and the Church seems disinterested (see 1 Cor 10:14; 1 Jn 5:21).
Remember, this is supremely a “spiritual” or Judeo-Christian matter, since our enemies’ purpose is to overthrow the Judeo-Christian basis of our culture and install Sharia laws in its place.(Hello, Brethren, do you believe this?) (see Deut 28:14f)
We are looking away from this matter of National Defense and Patriotism, which will not invoke God’s blessings (see Deut 28:7).
Also, regarding the Economy, I believe a thorough reading of Scripture shows how strongly the Lord disapproves of tyrannical governments which issue oppressive decrees and steal our wealth (see Ezek 45:8-9; 46:18).Taxation and just governments ARE “spiritual” and Biblical matters and, again, we cannot expect to prosper regionally or nationally if we violate God’s Principles (see Deut 28:19-20).
In summary, until the conservative/Christian movement regains its moorings and walks in God’s Ways, and pursues His principles, our nation and our movement cannot expect to prosper as before.The Church MUST return to its First Love – Jesus Christ and His Word and principles for living – or we will continue to follow false prophets and foolish ways and receive His curses rather than blessings (see Deut 28:15f).
We have “lost our way” because:
1.The Church itself has lost its way and no longer injects itself (with Biblical Wisdom) into the public discourse; it is no longer SALT (Eph 1:18-19).[“His intent was that through the Church the manifold WISDOM of God should be made known…” Eph 3:10, emphasis mine]
2.The West no longer seeks TRUTH, which can only be found through Jesus (Jn 14:6); in place of Truth, we pursue multiculturalism, diversity, “tolerance” and relativism;
3.We lack TRUE political leaders, prophets and watchmen; instead we run after false prophets, false messiahs and wicked principles and philosophies (Micah 3; Col 2:8).
The Answer:
The Church!Preaching the Gospel and Teaching the Truth.Then we will begin to “find our way back”.Meanwhile, the nation and the conservative/Christian movement can expect a very unpleasant “wilderness” experience.(see Josh 5:6 – “For the children of Israelwalked forty years in the wilderness, till all the people…were consumed, because they did not obey the voice of the LORD…”)
How to Pray:
FOR THE CHURCH, YOUR CHURCH, AND OUR PREACHERS AND LEADERS: TO KNOW AND PROCLAIM THE TRUTH UNASHAMEDLY (Acts 4:29-30)!
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With all due respect, the world has never known the way, they have never HAD the way..
God's people know the way, and IF they have lost their way it is only because THEY are not following their Master, they are running after evil things.
Why is it called the 'Conservative Christian Movement' What does that mean? And just what is a Liberal Christian?
Either a person IS a Christian (a follower of Christ) or they are NOT, there is no in between. God wants people to be either HOT or Cold.
If anyone has lost their way then they have NEVER KNOWN the way, because God directs our paths. The problem is their are many wolves in sheeps clothing in the pulpits today, and those sitting in the pews aren't reading the Bible on their own to even recognize they are being fed manure. Click here to reply to this post
Very Sad
Posted On: 05/13/08 08:24:29 PM
Age 40, NH
To attempt to make unbiblical freedoms and capitalism and republicanism biblical is quite repugnant. God gave His people a King, then gave them a monarchy, never did He give them republicanism or anything like it. Amazingly enough, this site speaks of a biblical worldviwe deficiency in America and is correct in the accusation. Unfortunately, this site (for the most part) recognizes not that God is a King and that as His beloved children and subjects we have no rights outside of the right as co-heirs in Christ, not to own guns, keep our money or get to vote on politics or the spiritual, church matters.
Grace and Peace,
Jim Click here to reply to this post
2 Chronicles 7:14 puts the blame on US
Posted On: 05/13/08 03:19:27 PM
Age 47, MO
I like this article and I agree that the Republican party has not left Christians, Christians have left the Republican party. In typical fashion, we elected politicians who we thought would serve our needs only to find that we must constantly pull their strings. Folks, most politicians are unprincipled reeds blowing in the wind, which IS WHY they are politicians. If we want to turn America we must engage and keep the pressure on. We must hold their feet to the fire and it must start with PASTORS who are held to a higher standard. Friends, the people of God must choose this day who we will serve. John Click here to reply to this post
Mincing the Word
Posted On: 05/13/08 10:24:53 AM
Age 47, FL
The author makes many good points and uses the Word properly. The responents all come off as bitter, believers, but bitter. Which is why the author has a column and the respondents rant in empty halls. Click here to reply to this post
1 Cor 10:14 as an excuse for more military?
Posted On: 05/13/08 11:41:50 AM
Age 48, CA
If there is any idolatry going on here, it is neocon christians worshiping the flag and the military industrial complex.
Islam poses no threat to the truly faithful, only the cowards who hide behind the government and allow themselves to be terrorised. It should not be possible to terrorise a Christianwith the threat of pshysical violence. Click here to reply to this post
Huh?
Posted On: 05/14/08 08:11:27 AM
Age 47, MO
Islam posses no threat to the truly faithful? Tell that to the Christians in Bethleham, Saudi Arabia, or Denmark. I guess I don't understand "Jihad". John Click here to reply to this post
What about the Christians in Bethlehem?
Posted On: 05/15/08 11:00:32 AM
Age 48, CA
Or for that matter, the early Church in Rome? Where does Paul command anybody to take up arms and force any politcal view?
Quite to the contrary, the ansew to thier Jihad is not to build wonder weapons with money we don't really have and set about to liberate the world into decadence thinly disguised as Grace. Any Church which cowers behind a corrupt self serving military industrial complex has thier faith in the wrong place. Click here to reply to this post
Friend
Posted On: 05/15/08 08:25:38 PM
Age 47, MO
Why would you possibly suppose that to enforce or promote right vs wrong, or democracy vs socialism is to promote a political ideology? Even if it was, is not one ideal superior to the other? Is not Conservativism better than Liberalism, even if virtually indistinguishable these days? You think that you are right to argue perfect theology but your arguement is vain and tiresome. I don't know you from Adam but you appear to talk a rightousness beyond your own. John Click here to reply to this post
Better?
Posted On: 05/16/08 11:21:45 AM
Age 48, CA
Isreal, even in it's most decadent state was probably "Better" than the Pagan nations surrounding it and yet, God was not impressed. He allowed the Pagan nations to over run ancient Isreal. The Jews in the land of what was once Isreal were better than the Pagan Romans and yet, once again, God did not give them the upper hand. The Romans were far more civilised than the Barbarians up north and yet, even after oficially adopting Christianity, God sent the Barbarians to pillage and destroy them.
Your idea of "Better" is not the same as the Lords. Click here to reply to this post
What's your point?
Posted On: 05/17/08 10:25:28 PM
Age 47, MO
I guess I don't get the purpose of your writing. You preach to the choir that that the church is no better than the unchurched, the west is no beter than the east, the republicans are no better than the democrats, etc, etc. Well, so what? I don't answer for the church, the west, or the republicans, I only answer for myself. I can't even answer for my wife and all your repetitious battering doesn't help anymore than the "military industrial complex" or the "gospel of bullets." So again, I don't get the point of your harping posts. John Click here to reply to this post
Isn't that what the word of God is?
Posted On: 05/16/08 08:43:05 AM
Age 48, CA
A rightiousness beyond any of us? Where does God call ofr capitalism? Where does God call for us to build wonder weapons using money we don't have and to bomb the world into our godless decadent ways?
"Better" is on the eyes of the beholder. The world does not want our gangs, drugs, abortion, materialism, teen sex, and other depravities. If you wish to boast of our "Better ways" Jesus responds "You say I am rich and have need of nothing but I say you are Poor!Retched, and Naked!" Click here to reply to this post
I would like to say a hearty amen to this article. I do not have all the answers but I know the one who does and it is His face that we should be seeking if we are to find our way back to where we should be in the church and in our nation. I believe the so-called conservative movement has gone way too far to the left and has compromised on nearly every issue that we Christians have held so dear. America–the greatest nation on earth–was established by God. He gave the Founding Fathers the US Constitution upon which our "republic" (not democracy) was built. Both political parties–and probably more-so the Republicans–have sold us Christians out and yet, Christians keep hanging on to that party as if it were our savior, which it is not.
May I suggest that true Christians who stand for true liberty and true justice as afforded us by the US Constitution seriously consider going outside the two party system, which has done so much damage to our nation, to the Constitution Party? The CP is running a well-qualified Christian leader for president. Chuck Baldwin is a staunch defender of liberty who will uphold the US Constitution.
Most Christians, sadly, will balk at the idea of voting for Chuck because they believe a third party candidate will just take votes away from McCain and put the Democrat into office. If you think like this, shame on you! Where is your faith and trust in God? The God who specializes in bringing about unexpected results... remember David and Goliath? How about Gideon, the five loaves and two fishes feeding 5,000, or how about the colonists fighting against England in the Revolutionary War?
I believe it is time for all who call themselves Christian to take a stand for what is right and trust God for the results.
There are true political leaders to be found. You just have to know where to look for them and it's not very often in either of the two main political parties! I urge you to do a Google search on Chuck Baldwin and the Constitution Party and then take what you find to the Lord in earnest prayer to see what He would have you do.
In Christ,
Vicki L. Prentice Click here to reply to this post
Thank you
Posted On: 05/13/08 11:54:14 AM
Age 61, MO
Thank you, Vicki, for bringing to our attention the failure of the two party system. I agree with all you have said, and would also endorse Chuck Baldwin for president. George Cancilla Click here to reply to this post
I object
Posted On: 05/13/08 08:45:06 AM
Age 53, MN
to the combining of conservative and Christian as if one is the other. When I think of conservatives I think of Matthew 7:22-23 On that day many will say to me, 'Lord, Lord, did we not vote Republican, give money to televangelists, and attend rallies in your name?' And then will I declare to them, 'I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.'(my paraphrase). Conservative and churchianity can be combined with no objection. Christianity has one test, that of love, not the tolerate everything love but the "brood of vipers", "whitewashed sepulcher", honest love that wants the eternal best for the other. The problems this nation has is due to the Biblical illiteracy of its church going people. If we were to study, believe and obey, once again the world would be turned upside down, starting within our hearts. My opinion, I could be wrong, Zak Click here to reply to this post
True, but on the other hand....
Posted On: 05/13/08 06:23:10 PM
Age 48, CA
Liberal does not = Christian either. "Lord! Lord! Have we nor fought homophobic biggotry, given condoms to kids, aborted unwanted babies, diarmed the innocent while excusing the guilty forcing them to turn the other cheek all in your name?"
Same answer "Depart from me you who practice Lawlessnesss! For I never knew you!" God is not the mascott for any political party or for that matter, any human institution. Click here to reply to this post
Exactly
Posted On: 06/05/08 09:30:57 PM
Age 53, MN
That is why I believe the solutions will not be found in politics. I vote republican because it's the lessor of two evils. Christians should be devoting our energy to following the Lord, praying for each other, reading His word and praying for understanding. I don't see anything in the Word about political action, only personal behavior. If every Christian discipled two people within a short time Howard Stern would be out of business. Click here to reply to this post
Who is WE?
Posted On: 05/13/08 08:40:37 AM
Age 64, OR
Many of us will find offense to the title of your diatribe. The author may have lost his way but I certainly have not! Sure I understand the point being made but do resent how it is presented in a banner title. Perhaps a better title, unless the author is indeed including himself, would be, "How have some lost their way?".
Now, when the term "way" is used in the context of Christianity or Christian principles we need to look to the way as being the narrow path following Christ our Savior, and not socio-political or even religion. Losing the way is a personal thing and not a national experience. We all make choices and there are consequences to those choices. As individuals we choose, or not, to chase after apostate pastors, teachers, elders, leaders, et al. Just as Barack Obama CHOSE to sit under an arrogant, mean, angry, apostate, racist pastor, it is he and others who must suffer the consequences of being a religious lemming. Click here to reply to this post
Yes. We've lost it.
Posted On: 05/12/08 02:08:51 PM
Age 61, MO
The U.S. government has been primarily composed of officials from two main parties: Republican and Democrat. That government has become a monster tyrant with no checks or balances. These officials have used the sweat of working class Americans to feed their greedy imperialistic pockets. Whatever economic prosperity there may have been during the time period of 1980 to 2000, as this article suggests, was a contrived illusion. It came from deficit spending on the part of government, which in turn encouraged consumer debt spending. Actually, real wages and the average standard of living have been on the decline since 1972. The "Cold War" was an exscuse for the build up of the military industrial complex. It was an exscuse for the government to move full steam ahead toward imperialistic global exploitation, not to further the cause of domestic safety or prosperity, but to pave the way for many transnational corporations to prosper. Most of that prosperity never did "trickle down" into the hands of the average citizens, but it has been a gusher for many corporate executives, government officials, and bankers. If there was any doubt that Republicans and Democrats shared a common agenda of bigger government, then it should have been obvious this was the case when they stood almost unanimously in Congress to sell the American citizens down the river with NAFTA. But what else would you expect from a government that incinerated almost 100 men, women, and children in Waco, TX? Capitalism is a healthy economic system, but it has limitations that require government oversight. What the U.S. government has been promoting could be called MONOPOLY capitalism, which leads directly to Fascism. To say "we have lost our way" is a bit of an understatement! George Cancilla Click here to reply to this post
Lost their way
Posted On: 05/12/08 10:07:24 AM
Age 61, MO
Evangelical Christians lost their way when they thought they could get their Biblical moral agenda through the Republican Party. They whined when Bill Clinton won the presidency, and blamed those who voted for Ross Perot. Yet Ross Perot had much more to offer than any of the Republican Party candidates. When Pat Buchannan vied for the Republican nomination, the Christian Coalition backed him until the numbers didn't look good, then went mainstream Republican. Since then, other independent candidates and parties have presented much more of the ideaologies of Christianity, but the majority of evangelicals have thumbed their noses up at them. In the current election cycle, Ron Paul was the only candidate who stood out as a truely conservative Constiutional Christian, and he too was snubbed by conservative Christian groups. Evangelical Christianity has more than lost its way. It has paved the road to hell with its "good" intentions. George Cancilla Click here to reply to this post
too much, too deep
Posted On: 05/12/08 08:56:36 AM
Age 55, FL
I can't remember when I have seen so much baloney piled on so thick. This man is the perfect example of why the church is in the mess it is in. Remember that a mixture of truth with error is the best way to establish error. The more truth that can be attached, allows one to smuggle in that which is false. He misapplies so many Bible verses it is impossible to respond to them all. First it is misapplication of Scripture to apply God's orders to the Jews to any other nation-unless God specifies it. The instructions to Israel, are exactly that. Occasionally God does say that if a nation does this or that, it is good. To apply that is desirable. The U.S. is not Israel. We are not a replacement for Israel, neither is the church a replacement for Israel. We are grafted on, and we can be cut off and burned. The nation that lives by the sword will die by it. Building an excessive military creates the opportunity, even the need to use it where it is not called for.
While national defense is a critical function of government, putting up red herrings then spending billions to defend against it is reckless. The Soviets were only an existential threat to us AFTER we were an existential threat to them. We threatened and destabilized them in every possible way, even BEFORE they did it to us. They were often restrained while responding to strong provocation, many times. If our leaders had been telling us what the truth about the Soviets, we would not hae supported such excessive military spending. So much wasted money. Money that could have made us even stronger economically than we were. Instead of roads for commerce, we built tanks that grow old and useless. Double or triple or more was spent than was necessary strictly for defense. God told Israel not to build chariots, though chariots were the tank of their day. God is not for excessive expenditures for the destruction of their fellow men-especially Christian brothers. There were, and are many Christian brothers in the former Soviet Union. Our nukes would have exterminated them, if Doolittle had been allowed to use them when he wanted. There is no Biblical evidence that we were picked by God to control the earth. We were led astray by our leaders in order to manipulate the public into supported terribly wasteful defense spending. Defense spending for the existential threat may be important, but ultimately God raises up and disolves nations. With too much capability our leaders have been able to go crazy in giving us and the Soviets the ability to potentially destroy all life on earth. With such excess capability Korea, Vietnam, Kosovo, Grenada, and Iraq wars were generated by our leaders in places that were not our business. In addition it is reported that we have attempted to overthrow 50 governments in the 20th century, and succeeded in 25. Did the average American understand they were giving these madmen such authority?
People like the author of this article do so much damage to Christianity. They take the focus off of Christ, and put it on politics. While Dobson leads astray by focusing on the family, these people lead astray by spewing Bible verses that don't mean what they use them for-largely for political reasons. They set up straw men. I hope we are finished following them. If they lead your church, kick them out and go back to the ancient paths of Jeremiah 6:16, and the light yoke of Christ. Focus on Christ, not the family or politics. Click here to reply to this post
