Christians and Politics

[BigPapaKain]

(01-28-2023, 03:52 AM)guyofthetiger Wrote: I was basically referencing politicians praying and then voting against the Bible. I guess you can pray to God without knowledge of the Bible. Like some people.

What's that old saying? Being a Christian is believing the Bible. Being an Atheist is reading the Bible.

[*Nately120*]

(01-28-2023, 03:40 PM)BigPapaKain Wrote: What's that old saying? Being a Christian is believing the Bible. Being an Atheist is reading the Bible.

What are you if you eat the bible?

[BigPapaKain]

(01-28-2023, 07:29 PM)Nately120 Wrote: What are you if you eat the bible?

No longer hungry, but not particularly healthy.

[*Nately120*]

(01-28-2023, 08:13 PM)BigPapaKain Wrote: No longer hungry, but not particularly healthy.

Constipatious 13; 24-7

[Dill]

(01-28-2023, 01:36 AM)Bengalzona Wrote: I've found the best way to follow the teachings of Jesus is to take his teachings as a personal code in which I should behave and not as something that needs to be forced or even suggested to others. And I've found that if you are doing it right (trusting in God and treating those you meet with consideration and compassion) some folks will want to learn what you believe and why without you ever having to show a cross or quote a Bible verse.

Well said from a guy who's been a model of considerate behavior and insightful posts for two decades (at least).

[Arturo Bandini]

The good thing about taxing the church is that suddenly all the crooks will do something else.

[BIGDADDYFROMCINCINNATI]

Hicks don't mix with politics- The Red Hot Chilli Peppers (Apache Rose Peacock)

[Dill]

(01-23-2023, 06:39 AM)guyofthetiger Wrote: I have observed things in politics that make me uncomfortable. Jesus never joined any government or political party. I understand leading a group of people is difficult. Christians can't even agree among themselves yet alone get involved in politics. However, I have a civic duty to vote and honor our government regardless of who is in charge because God places the leaders there. It is hard to swallow government decisions against your beliefs and worse yet the Bible. I personally just wish everyone can get along with respect. The media likes to stir up trouble for ratings.

Does God guide voters then? He is the one who really chooses our leaders?

In Medieval, feudal Europe, the Catholic church (e.g., theological like Aquinas) argued that subjects of a lawful king had no right to rebel. Since God placed the leaders there, rebels would be rebelling against God himself.  If the king burns your home and rapes your daughter, you just have to suck it up.  Feudal lords were 100% behind this doctrine. Aquinas did allow people could depose someone they (not God) had placed in power; Democracy was an oddity in Medieval Europe though.

It took a number of religious wars over bad leaders to finally get past this submission to secular authority. But I think it still lingers in some Christian denominations where leaders are believed to be chosen by God--a theme revived during Trump's presidency.

[Dill]

(01-25-2023, 09:08 PM)TheLeonardLeap Wrote: And the small ones are the ones that do things like soup kitchens, food pantry, emergency shelters for the homeless, and even some extremely affordable low income housing aimed towards poor working single parents.

Like all things, there's examples of terrible people/groups in any large sample size, but there's way more good than bad out there. There's just no rage-clicks or outrageous news headlines for good things.

They did a study awhile back in 11 cities and found that an average of 58% of the emergency shelter beds for homeless were provided from faith-based organizations. Less study-based and more personal experience, I had a friend growing up who only wasn't homeless because of a bunch of townhouses owned by a church that they used for low income working single parents. There's also church-run food pantries around here that would deliver some boxes full of canned and dried foods particularly for young children at risk of going hungry.

As I said before, I am not religious, but I think you'll find once you look past the politics, upper echelons of organizations, and headline scandals, that most of it at the lower (and significantly numerically superior level) is just people trying to do good and help others and doing it pretty quietly and without an attempt to be noticed for it. This kind of goes back to my problem with politics in general right now. We're letting small, vocal, shitty groups/examples define our perception of what huge masses of people are.

I very much agree with the first half of this. We don't "know" what religious groups are really like until we take a granular look at what they actually do.
Lots of church groups ARE helping people--one just paid rent for one of my renters in December. 

Second bolded though--we need to be more cautious. Religious groups can be used and manipulated by politicians and and unscrupulous ministers, especially at the grass roots level. Think of the Abramov scandal, when Repub operatives in Mississippi were able to protect their clients gambling business from competition by organizing Christians in Alabama to prevent legal gambling there, in the name of God. Evangelicals seem especially vulnerable to this, in contrast to mainline "Godless" protestants.