Help Yourself to the Salad

Having many friends who have been long time Democrats I regret the facts that have led to writing this Post. These are good people, very good people, who do not agree with the national party platform. However, to vote Democratic in the forthcoming Presidential election is to support the radical policies espoused in the platform. These policies will change America to mirror a Socialist state, actually a Marxist state.

Throughout the long political career of Kamala Harris in politics, both in California and in Washington, D. C., she had absolutely no positive or commendable accomplishments. She and her running mate, Minnesota governor Tim Walz, constitute the most radical left-wing ticket in American history.

The Democratic Party’s goal is to turn this nation into a secular socialist state that violates virtually every social, political and moral principle upon which America was founded. Make no mistake about it: the Democratic agenda is not only radically neo-Marxist, but fundamentally anti-Christian. Those disagreeing with that statement should read the platform for themselves rather than disparage the statement.

They propagated the idea that men and women are indistinguishable. This justifies the party’s attempts to mix and match the roles of the two sexes in society. They are opposed to the Christian idea that man and woman were made distinct from, yet complementary, to each other.

By framing abortion as a right, the party encourages people to blame others for their decisions to have sex. This is despite Christians asserting that all life is sacred and formed by God upon conception.

Based on Trump’s first term in office, there is little doubt that he and the Republican congressional coalition will serve the interests of the American people far more conscientiously and effectively than that of any potential  Democratic administration.

Hiding behind Harris’ skirt (make that pants suit) is VP candidate Tim Walz. He has a radical record as Minnesota’s governor. Such an agenda as he espoused there if enacted on the national scale will bankrupt America financially and morally.

Imagine what kind of a cabinet she would have.

Harris has several things going for her, such as, race, sex, freebies, Trump haters, abortion, and the party. She brings nothing to the table that simulates knowledge, skill, expertise, diplomacy, or independent leadership.

She would be outwitted by Vladimir Putin of Russia, Xi Jinping of China, or the Iranian Maulana.

Abortion is important, but is it sufficient to counter these issues?

To Vote or Not to Vote

If a voter considers him or her self a one issue voter they should know they really are not. If a person intends to vote for their favorite issue they must realize they are voting for the many other issues associated with the candidate supporting their favored one issue.

For example, suppose a voter is interested in a candidate’s stance on abortion they need to know they are supporting all other issues that candidate advocates. That may include such things as free sex change operations for prisoners, a lack of support for Israel, Medicare-for-All, support for the Green New Deal policies, and an expansive Socialist philosophy agenda The latter will completely remake America as another Venezuela.

A one issue vote carries with it endorsement of many other issues.

On the other hand a refusal to vote for the Republican ticket because of a dislike for the person at the head of the ticket is a rejection of the positive issues of the party. Enduring the offensives of the person in order to benefit from the policies is a positive move.

Regarding both candidates, if you get the policy you get the person. In both instances if you get one you get the other.

Socialism has hijacked the former formidable Democratic Party. In light of this there are still many long standing Democrats who are good people who insist on supporting the party. The byword is what is good for the party is good for the country. The reverse is true, what is good for the country is good for the party.

Globally there are millions of people who would love to have the privilege of choosing their leaders. Here at home older adults tend to cherish the right to vote more than younger voters. We voted early. In the room awaiting to hear their number call were almost exclusively older adults. It looked like a ward at the hospital. At great personal effort many struggled to vote. They did it though.

Don’t wait to vote before getting a perfect candidate. If you do, you will never vote. All human beings are flawed, all are members of a fallen race.

An extensive poll by the Barna Institute indicates the U.S. voting-age population is about 268 million, and the survey estimated that about 212 million adults qualify as being in the “people of faith” category. Since 49% of “people of faith” in the survey indicated they would not be likely to vote, that amounts to approximately 104 million Americans “of faith” who are unlikely to vote.

This voter block could change America were they willing to vote.

Yet Barna’s research also found that these nonvoters may reconsider their apathy if their pastors encourage them to vote.

“This research underscores the fact that simply encouraging people to vote in order to fulfill their biblical responsibility would not only be seen as doing their job while helping the community, but an estimated 5 million regular churchgoers would be likely to vote as a result of that simple exhortation,” Barna said in a press release on the findings. “That, in itself, could change the outcome of the election.”

Abortion: To Be or Not to Be

Abortion is such an important issue in the forthcoming Presidential election this column is being rerun. It will doubtlessly be a significant factor in the vote.

In a defense of abortion some resort to when life begins. In a lighter vein three persons were discussing the issue. One said it begins at conception, one at birth, and the third said life begins when the last child goes off to college and the dog dies.

“Webster’s Encyclopedia of Dictionaries” defined abort(ion) as meaning “to fail to come to fruition.” Consider some persons who would not have come to fruition if their mothers had followed through with their initial desire to abort them: Aristotle, Art Linkletter, Faith Hill, Priscilla Presley, President Gerald Ford, President Bill Clinton, Eleanor Roosevelt, Nancy Reagan, Steve Jobs, Dave Thomas, Edgar Allen Poe, George Washington Carver, Nelson Mandela, Nat King Cole, John Lennon, John Hancock, Leo Tolstoy, Tim Tebow, Eric Dickerson, Dante Culpepper, Tim McGraw, and Jim Palmer.

What potential talent has been lost due to an abortion!

The Bible defines the impropriety of abortion. The Greek word “brephos” defines life in Scripture. A Greek dictionary defines it as “an unborn child, or a newborn child, a baby, or an infant.” Thus, the preborn is considered a person as is the new born.

The Bible character, doctor Luke, used the Greek word brephos to describe the unborn John the Baptist in his mother’s womb. The Greek word is defined as “a breathing nursing infant.”

Luke later used brephos to describe Jesus at His birth (Luke 2: 12 & 16). He used brephos for an unborn and the same word for an infant at birth.

Modern science gives insight. A preborn is a living nursing infant. It oxygenates (“breaths”) through the umbilical coming from the placenta.

There is some evidence that a baby in the uterus does do what is considered “breath” or properly makes respirations. However, the only thing going in and out is the amniotic fluid. In this way the oxygen goes in the infant. The central nervous system begins in the pre-birth stage also. This is a common factor with the young infant.

The person going through open heart surgery called  cardiopulmonary bypass illustrates this. The lungs are artificially ventilated during the surgery to prevent them from collapsing. The patient gets oxygen through the blood in a manner like the unborn infant.

Jeremiah (20: 17) states a relevant issue: “…that my mother might have been my grave….” Had she not allowed him to fully develop before birth she would have been his grave.

We have inverted so many of our values. You can be fined $5,000 and get jail for one year if you destroy an eagle’s egg. How about the egg (ovary) of a human? This indicates our society values a bird as being worth more than a child.

Just 1% of women obtain an abortion because they became pregnant through rape, and less than 0.5% do so because of incest, according to the Guttmacher Institute. The other 98% are for convenience.

The Old Testament character Micah (6:7) asked a pertinent question: “Shall I give my first born for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul.”

Oh, add Ludwig Van Beethoven and Arthur Rubinstein to the list of those whose mother’s considered an abortion.

God or Government?

Jesus interacted with a group of bigoted religious leaders who sought to impel Him on the horns of a dilemma. They asked, “ Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, or not?” It was a gotcha question, a ruse. The groups questioning Jesus were the Herodians and the Pharisees.  The Herodians were pro-Roman, the Pharisees were anti-Roman.  No matter how Jesus answered the question, He was sure to offend one or the other.  To side with the Herodians was to commit heresy in the eyes of the Pharisees, for to pay tribute to Caesar was, in effect, to bow down before other gods; but to side with the Pharisees was to commit treason in the eyes of the Herodians, for to refuse to pay tribute to Caesar was an act of sedition.

Jesus asked, “Show Me the tax money.” So they brought Him a denarius. Jesus probed further, “Whose image is on it.’ They replied, “Caesars.” He said to them, “Render therefore to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” End of the conversation. They left. (Matthew 22:15-22).

A casual reader is likely to miss the primary point.

The tax money had the image of Caesar on it. By virtue of his image being on it, it was his.

Then Jesus made His point saying we are to render “to God things that are God’s.”

What thing bears God’s image? Only one, we human beings were created in the image of God. “So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him…” (Genesis 1: 27). The point, give yourself to God. Pay Caesar his due and God his due…. yourself. Have you ever done that? Do you do it daily? Renew that commitment daily. Once we give ourselves wholeheartedly to God then we know how to establish priorities.

There are a lot of competing claims in your life. By prioritizing them more can be accomplished. Jesus and His will for you as priority number one enables all else to be aligned in proper order. Family, friends, church, social clubs, sports, and society in general are but a few of the entities competing for your time and attention. Most are not evil, but they keep us from the optimum good if not aligned as priorities behind the Lord.

Jesus in response to His detractors focused on government, Caesar, and the Spirit. Both in proper order are good. His loyalists must relate to both properly. Don’t depend on the government to do for you what God alone can do. We should look to God, not the government, to supply our needs. Government has assumed many roles intended by the Lord to be provided by the church as His agent. The government can never do as well what God intended His church to provide as can a functioning church. Trust God, not Caesar.

One Vote Counts

An election year is a period when all the Democrats and all the Republicans devote their time and energy to save the country from each other. It is often hard to know who to vote for in that many candidates have straddle sores. Their purpose is to stay calm, cool, and elected.

With all the faults of our system it is still the best in the world, offering many of the best qualified people to serve. There are many wonderful candidates deserving our encouragement and support. We should be thankful elections are by ballots not bullets and we count the returns, not the remains.

The two candidates for President have positions on each issue. Do you? If so, vote for the candidate whose positions and yours are most alike.

A person who is a one issue voter needs to consider they thereby are supporting all of the other issues espoused by that candidate. Therefore, a one issue voter really isn’t a one issue voter.

Why vote? Because your vote counts and can actually be the determining vote. Former President Eisenhower said, “The future of the Republic is in the hands of the voter….” In this statement he noted two great truths. First, our form of government is a Republic, not a Democracy. After all, in our pledge of allegiance it is to “the Republic for which it stands.” Second, the importance of the individual voter is brought into focus. It has often been one person that decided an election.

Adolf Hitler won the leadership of the Nazi Party in Germany in 1923 by one vote.

One vote gave the Presidency of the U.S. to Rutherford B. Hayes in 1876.

In 1776 English, not German, was made the official language of America by one vote.

One vote gave control of England to Oliver Cromwell in 1656.

France was changed from a monarch to a republic by one vote.

By one vote the Pope was declared infallible.

By one vote Washington, Oregon, Idaho, and Texas were each admitted to the United States.

The trend in America has been for special interest groups to register their constituency and get them out to vote. Though a minority in society they become a high percentage of voters. Many of these are motivated to vote for people who promise to give them their desires, their entitlements. In most instances that translates as “money.” The government has no money, therefore they must take it from the people who do and give it to those who elected them. It is a modern day form of buying votes. It is simply that the money doesn’t come from the candidates as it once did but from the public. Meanwhile the majority of those from whom the money must come don’t vote. By failing to vote they mute their voice. Their position is reduced by a factor of one.

Edward Everett Hale put the importance of the individual in perspective in these words:

“I am only one, but still I am one. I cannot do everything, but still I can do something. And because I cannot do everything, I will not refuse to do something that I can do. What I can do I ought to do. What I ought to do by the grace of God I will do.” We ought to vote. Never underestimate the power of one.

The door of America’s future swings on the hinge of the American voter.