The Christian Party

[JonC]

They are not Seminary professors. How does their platform align with His commands? How bout DNC?

I am not saying the GOP has to be made up of seminary professors. But does their platform at least proclaim Christ as Lord and affirm the gospel? If not, then it is not Christian....period.

The DNC is just as worldly. It is based on the sins of Romans 3.

 

[FollowTheWay]

What is unChristian about the GOP? The absence of Christ. The GOP does not glorify Christ, does not acknowledge Christ as Lord, does not give Christ the credit for good policy, and does not do the work of God's kingdom. It is a power of this World.

Jesus explicitly pronounced that He did not come to establish an earthly kingdom but rather The Kingdom of God. Those who wanted a militaristic Messiah to deliver the Jews out of bondage under Rome crucified Him for this.

Those who try to tie the Christian faith to Christianity do a tremendous disservice to the Church. Unbelievers are looking at them as hypocrites especially those who strongly supported an obviously immoral person who pretended to embrace Christianity but only used it for political gain. This has actually been going on since "The Christian Right" did the same thing. The Southern Baptist Convention which has strongly supported these "White Christian Evangelicals" has been steadily losing membership and baptisms are down because of this hypocrisy.

Republicans dominated the Roe vs. Wade court (6 Republicans and 3 Democrats).

Roe vs. Wade was decided with a 7-2 vote, and not along partisan lines. Those who ruled in favor were as follows, with the president who nominated them and the party of that president indicated in parentheses:

• Harry Blackmun (Nixon, R)
• Lewis Powell (Nixon, R)
• Warren Burger (Nixon, R)
• William Brennan (Eisenhower, R)
• Potter Stewart (Eisenhower, R)
• Thurgood Marshall (LBJ, D)
• William Douglas (FDR, D)

Those who dissented on Roe vs. Wade:

• Byron White (Kennedy, D)
• William Rehnquist (Nixon, R)

So five Republican-nominated justices and two Democrat-nominated justices ruled for choice, while one Republican and one Democrat-nominated justice ruled against.

A lifelong Republican justice, Harry Blackmun, wrote the majority opinion in the case, which basically stated that state laws that unduly restrict abortion were unconstitutional—not specifically because a woman had a right to choose to have an abortion, but because of a the right to privacy under the 14th amendment.

 

[SGO]

Let's apply the above standards for the Democratic admin/party too then.
Paragons of virtue? NOT.
Trump virtuous? NOT.

Trump's efforts to stop the MURDER of innocents:
Donald Trump’s Pro-Life Achievements (2016-2020)

 

[JonC]

Jesus explicitly pronounced that He did not come to establish an earthly kingdom but rather The Kingdom of God. Those who wanted a militaristic Messiah to deliver the Jews out of bondage under Rome crucified Him for this.

Those who try to tie the Christian faith to Christianity do a tremendous disservice to the Church. Unbelievers are looking at them as hypocrites especially those who strongly supported an obviously immoral person who pretended to embrace Christianity but only used it for political gain. This has actually been going on since "The Christian Right" did the same thing. The Southern Baptist Convention which has strongly supported these "White Christian Evangelicals" has been steadily losing membership and baptisms are down because of this hypocrisy.

Republicans dominated the Roe vs. Wade court (6 Republicans and 3 Democrats).

Roe vs. Wade was decided with a 7-2 vote, and not along partisan lines. Those who ruled in favor were as follows, with the president who nominated them and the party of that president indicated in parentheses:

• Harry Blackmun (Nixon, R)
• Lewis Powell (Nixon, R)
• Warren Burger (Nixon, R)
• William Brennan (Eisenhower, R)
• Potter Stewart (Eisenhower, R)
• Thurgood Marshall (LBJ, D)
• William Douglas (FDR, D)

Those who dissented on Roe vs. Wade:

• Byron White (Kennedy, D)
• William Rehnquist (Nixon, R)

So five Republican-nominated justices and two Democrat-nominated justices ruled for choice, while one Republican and one Democrat-nominated justice ruled against.

A lifelong Republican justice, Harry Blackmun, wrote the majority opinion in the case, which basically stated that state laws that unduly restrict abortion were unconstitutional—not specifically because a woman had a right to choose to have an abortion, but because of a the right to privacy under the 14th amendment.

Repealing Roe vs Wade is just a carrot the GOP uses to sell itself to Christians. It will never be removed. But even if it were, it would make no abortions illegal. The GOP masks itself in morality because so many Christians trust in the powers of this world rather than Christ (they seek a form of godliness while denying the power of the gospel to bring about legitimate change).

Social justice and addressing racism is the DNC's carrot. There has never been a mainstream political party more racist and dependent on continuing social injustice than the DNC. Many Christians are Democrats for the exact same reasons many are Republican. They also question the power of the gospel to bring about change.

 

[RighteousnessTemperance&]

…
Those who try to tie the Christian faith to Christianity do a tremendous disservice to the Church. Unbelievers are looking at them as hypocrites….

That sounds incredibly unhinged both ways, yet remarkably like just the sort of thing Dems would say.

 

[SGO]

Good 'ol carrot, the murder of babies.
So that is enough to discount it for many who view MURDER as low priority in a sea of troubles.

 

[Salty]

Repealing Roe vs Wade is just a carrot the GOP uses to sell itself to Christians. It will never be removed. .

I agree that it is very unlikely that R-W will be repealed - because of the high standard it takes to implement a Constitutional amendment.
2/3 of both houses must pass (290) + (67)
then
2/3 of all States/Commonwealths must pass (34)

In addition for the past few proposed amendments - there has been a 7 year limit.
because - what is now the 27th amendment was proposed by the first congress September 25, 1789, was finally confirmed on The amendment eventually became part of the United States Constitution, effective May 5, 1992,[2] completing a record-setting ratification period of 202 years, 7 months, and 10 days, beating the previous record set by the 22nd Amendment, with 3 years and 343 days.[3]

However, the failed ERA (in part since some States recinded their approval) was given another 3 years. Equal Rights Amendment - Wikipedia

But even if it were, it would make no abortions illegal..

True- then it would be up to the States/Commonwealths - Libs like NY, Calif, Ill would keep it legal ---

The GOP masks itself in morality .

I wouldn't say they mask- Many Christians register as R's due to the higher morality - but I would say that in the scheme of things - that moral issues do not tend to get the support they need.

So the answer -
We need more moral inclined Christians to enter politics - start local - even the school board ........

 

[Earth Wind and Fire]

 

[JonC]

I agree that it is very unlikely that R-W will be repealed - because of the high standard it takes to implement a Constitutional amendment.
2/3 of both houses must pass (290) + (67)
then
2/3 of all States/Commonwealths must pass (34)


True- then it would be up to the States/Commonwealths - Libs like NY, Calif, Ill would keep it legal ---



I wouldn't say they mask- Many Christians register as R's due to the higher morality - but I would say that in the scheme of things - that moral issues do not tend to get the support they need.

So the answer -
We need more moral inclined Christians to enter politics - start local - even the school board ........

I am not sure the argument of a higher morality is accurate. Christians who vote DNC view the DNC as a more moral option (in terms of providing for other people).

I just do not see the GOP as any more moral than the DNC (granted, the GOP's platform is not the sins of Romans 3, but this does not make the GOP any more a moral Choice).

Let's explore this, if you don't mind.

What is more moral about the GOP?

 

[FollowTheWay]

How the Republican party became pro-life - The Washington Post

But all that changed in 1976, when both political parties adopted official planks on the issue.
In a recent paper, University of West Georgia’s Daniel K. Williams recounts the unexpected challenge that the then “pro-choice majority” in the Republican national convention encountered that year:

As Ford’s campaign managers struggled to draft a platform position on abortion that was acceptable to the president, they recognized that it would be difficult to navigate a middle course between the wishes of social conservatives such as Melady and women’s rights advocates such as the First Lady. One adviser, taking the president’s previous statements as a guide, drafted a Republican Party platform plank that stated, “The 1973 Supreme Court decision and recent decisions have gone too far. The way abortion is treated should be decided by the people in their own state, close to their own homes.”

But Bob Dole, who was trying to win support from conservatives in his bid to become Ford’s running mate, realized that a strong antiabortion platform plank could conciliate Reagan delegates and gain approval from Catholics and social conservatives. With memories of his own successful pro-life reelection strategy fresh in his mind, Dole met with representatives of Ellen McCormack’s Democratic presidential campaign in order to find out what they would accept in a platform plank on abortion, and he then worked with Senator Jesse Helms (R-N.C.), a sponsor of a “human life amendment,” to draft a platform plank that opposed abortion in much more strident language than the president had originally desired. Helms, who considered abortion to be “murder,” was one of the earliest conservative Republican converts to the pro-life cause; by 1976, he had already written an antiabortion article for Human Events and had been a featured speaker at national pro-life rallies, so he was well versed in the language of the right-to-life movement. He was also a staunch Reagan supporter. By enlisting Helms’s support in drafting the antiabortion platform plank, Dole helped to mollify conservative Republicans, Reagan delegates, and pro-life activists, all of whom had been reluctant to support the president.

In other words, the Republican party decided to make abortion THE distinctive issue to draw in Reagan delegates, Catholics and social conservatives. Its been 50 years since Republican SC Justices brought us Roe vs. Wade. Why hasn't the Republican Party reversed it in all those years? Because they don't want to. It's a GREAT political issue for them.

 

[Benjamin]

Why hasn't the Republican Party reversed it in all those years? Because they don't want to. It's a GREAT political issue for them.

 

[RighteousnessTemperance&]

…In other words, the Republican party decided to make abortion THE distinctive issue to draw in Reagan delegates, Catholics and social conservatives. Its been 50 years since Republican SC Justices brought us Roe vs. Wade. Why hasn't the Republican Party reversed it in all those years? Because they don't want to. It's a GREAT political issue for them.

Are you taking the ridiculous sounding position that all other political parties, especially the Dems, choose platform planks for the purpose of hurting themselves politically?

 

[RighteousnessTemperance&]

...
So five Republican-nominated justices and two Democrat-nominated justices ruled for choice, while one Republican and one Democrat-nominated justice ruled against. ...

Being Republican-nominated does not equate to being Republican-minded.

 

[Earth Wind and Fire]

Let's put it this way - Scripture warns us that the powers of this world are in opposition to God.

Are Republican Christians able identify ways that the GOP is contrary to God's kingdom?

Who are the powers and do they support any one political party?

 

[Salty]

I am not sure the argument of a higher morality is accurate. Christians who vote DNC view the DNC as a more moral option (in terms of providing for other people). ...

Fully agree about that!
However the Dems thinking is give a man a fish ever day for the rest of his life.
Where the Biblical is to teach a man how to fish......

dont have time to get into the other discussion, leaving in a few minutes to take Mrs. Salty to dinner - her birthday.

 

[RighteousnessTemperance&]

...
In other words, the Republican party decided to make abortion THE distinctive issue to draw in Reagan delegates, Catholics and social conservatives. Its been 50 years since Republican SC Justices brought us Roe vs. Wade. Why hasn't the Republican Party reversed it in all those years? Because they don't want to. It's a GREAT political issue for them.

Abortion is the slavery issue of modern America, those arguing for abortion being those who would similarly argue for slavery in an earlier era. If the Dems turned pro-life, the Reps would not stop them undoing the travesty of Roe v Wade. They could even outlaw it nationally.

 

[JonC]

Who are the powers and do they support any one political party?

Ephesians 6:12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.

The World is not one political party. The GOP and DNC are on the same ground here. Both are by definition opposed to God's kingdom.

We are called to be a light in this world, not a part of the darkness. We have been called out of the world to be a people of God.

 

[Earth Wind and Fire]

Fully agree about that!
However the Dems thinking is give a man a fish ever day for the rest of his life.
Where the Biblical is to teach a man how to fish......

dont have time to get into the other discussion, leaving in a few minutes to take Mrs. Salty to dinner - her birthday.

Well give her my best... Happy Birthday!

 

[JonC]

So the answer -
We need more moral inclined Christians to enter politics - start local - even the school board ........

I disagree. The answer is we should not expect the world to be moral. We should not expect the world to be just. Trying to make the world a just and moral place will never work.

Instead of more Christians trying to change the world by entering into that system I think it would be better for the Church (and Christians) to stand in contrast to these powers.

The answer, IMHO, is Christians need to conform to the image of Christ rather than trying to conform the world to a "Christian" moral standard. The Church needs to be the Church.

 

[Earth Wind and Fire]

Ephesians 6:12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.

The World is not one political party. The GOP and DNC are on the same ground here. Both are by definition opposed to God's kingdom.

We are called to be a light in this world, not a part of the darkness. We have been called out of the world to be a people of God.

We are called to be martyrs then.