Faith & Freedom ...the other side

[Petrafan327]

I predict that Obama will be the last president we have, and this next election will be the last. We are upside down and China is getting ready to put it's foot on our neck. Maybe Apple can loan the government some money.

I hope and pray that you are wrong about it, but if Obama is reelected, this may just happen. The only option we have left is to ask God's forgiveness for our unfaithfulness, and as the Petra song goes, "Get back to the Bible".

[knotodiswrld]

So how can government be Christian, or Christians be in govt, if they won't do what Christians are supposed to do?

Asking "how can government be Christian" is like asking how an algorithm can be "Christian". A government is just a system. Nothing more. It can no more be "Christian" or "Unchristian" than could an algebraic formula.

God did not call governments to be Christian. He called YOU to be Christian. He called His Church to be Christian. He never called governments to be Christian. He does call kings to be His Servants, but that is because kings are people, not systems. A Christian king does not and should not equate to an attempt to make a "Christian" government.

What exactly is your goal in trying to form a government that does what Christians are supposed to do? To outlaw other religions? Christ wants no pretenders in His Kingdom, as happened when Constantine and the emperors which came after him made "Christianity" the official religion of the Roman and Byzantine empires. Is your goal To force those who have means to contribute money to a corrupt system so that some tiny percentage of the money eventually reaches those who have no means? Christ wants cheerful givers, not those compelled by force. By forcing such giving, government makes sinners of people who might be cheerful givers if given the chance.

Christ does not call governments to do what He calls His Church to do. Again, expecting the government to do the job of the church is like expecting the Church to raise armies to defend the nation or patrol the streets with guns to maintain order. Even I realize that would be a disaster. But it is no less a disaster if the government attempts to do what Christ called His Church to do.

Christ calls governments to do something completely different that what He calls His Church to do. Romans 13 tells us that the government is to bear the sword not the ladle. His Church ministers God's Mercy. Romans 13 tells us that the government exists as an agent of His wrath. Christ calls Christians to forgive. But He forbids the government from doing so.

Quite simply, a government can, at best, be spiritually neutral.

Also, asking how Christians can be "in government" is akin to asking how a Christian can work for IBM. A Christian who works for IBM should conduct himself as a Christian and give to charity out of his own means. He should not take money or resources from the company to give to charity.

IBM does not do what a "Christian should do". But I am certain that many of its employees do. And it is certain that many do not. The same would be true of Christians in government.

I have to be honest. I'm not at all clear on your objection concerning Christians in government. What, exactly, do you perceive to be the problem?

[knotodiswrld]

See, I'm still convinced that the church and Christians do help the actual poor. and we see plenty of examples of the Gov't trying to shut that down. I believe progressive Gov't has redefined poor and helped create a another class of people who are perfectly capable of making it on their own, but instead they rely on a Gov't that is all too happy to keep meeting their needs. In exchange for their vote of course.

All true, but you'll never hear the liberal media admit it.

[rexreed]

There sure is a whole lot of over simplification going on here.

[executioner]

There sure is a whole lot of over simplification going on here.

Explain!!