Election 2008: Keeping First Things First As the…

               Election 2008: Keeping First Things First
  As the November general election approaches, the Bible offers clear guidance to
Biblical voters to help them evaluate the candidates.

                Maintaining a National and not a Personal Perspective
   Because the Scripture declares that "Righteousness exalts a nation" (Proverbs 14:34),
then advancing issues that directly impact national righteousness must be a primary
consideration. According to the Bible (c.f., Deuteronomy 28; 1 Chronicles 21; 1 Kings
18), a nation's righteousness is determined by its public policies and how well those
policies conform to God's standards.
   So how does a nation ensure that it will have God-honoring policies? Proverbs 29:2
answers that question: "When the righteous rule, the people rejoice; when the wicked
rule, the people groan." Very simply, if a nation wants God-honoring policies, it must
have leaders like Daniel, Nehemiah, or David rather than like Ahab, Manasseh, or
Jeroboam. In America, the only way there will be God-honoring leaders is if God-
honoring citizens elect them; so the first and foremost consideration in any election is
whether the candidate will advance policies that promote Biblical standards of
righteousness.

                                  Prioritizing the Issues
   In recent elections, the millions of Biblical voters who sought to advance issues of
righteousness through their vote were dubbed "value voters." Those whose agenda did
not benefit from these voters are now trying to win their support by making their own
particular issue seem Biblical or moral. Therefore, the Rev. Robert Edgar (the former
general secretary of the very liberal National Council of Churches) asserts, "You can't
read the Old Testament without knowing God was concerned about the environment, war
and peace, poverty. God doesn't want 45 million Americans without health care."
Supporters of homosexual marriage now assert that it is "moral" to extend partnership
rights to homosexuals who have "committed" themselves to each other, and pro-abortion
advocates similarly claim that it is "moral" for a poor mother to have an abortion rather
than give birth to a child she might not want.
   But this is not to say that the Rev. Edgar is wrong in claiming that the Bible addresses
helping the poor, war and peace, the environment, and health care. It does ­ and it also
speaks about numerous issues he did not mention, including immigration, treaties,
taxation, property rights, and national sovereignty.
   Each of these is addressed in the comprehensive system of 613 laws delivered through
Moses in the Old Testament. But God also made it abundantly clear that not all issues
were equal, for within that expansive system He issued His "Top Ten" (the Ten
Commandments), thus creating a prioritization of what was most important to Him.
   Protecting innocent life did make God's Top Ten (#6), as did protecting the sanctity of
marriage (#7), but the issues of poverty, environment, health care, immigration, taxation,
etc., did not make His Top Ten. This is not to say that the other issues are not important
but rather that citizens should always keep the most important things at the top of the list.
Because the Bible does establish priorities, four of the highest ranking issues directly
affecting national righteousness will be presented below.

                            Issue #1 ­ Judicial Appointments
  The Scriptures direct that we are to "appoint judges who know the laws of God" (Ezra
7:25) and judges who will "rule in the fear of God" (Exodus 18:21), because ­ as Isaiah
1:26 unequivocally affirms ­ the righteousness of a land is directly impacted by its
judges. (America clearly demonstrates the truth of this Scripture, for it has been judges
and not legislatures who have imposed most of the un-Biblical policies now in place:
abortion-on-demand, homosexual marriage, prohibitions against the public
acknowledgment of God, etc.) A President will be gone in eight years or less, but his
judges may remain on the bench for decades afterwards and their influence is far greater
than that of the President who appointed them.
  This election will likely have a greater impact on the nation through the judiciary than
any presidential election for the past three decades, for when the next President takes
office in January 2009, six of the nine Supreme Court Justices will be at least 70 years
old ­ and five of those six Justices have repeatedly struck down public policies friendly
to Biblical values. Therefore, Biblical voters should make their selection for President
based first and foremost on the type of judges he will appoint.

                        Issue #2 ­ Abortion & Inalienable Rights
   Defending the unborn must continue to remain a priority for Biblical voters. The right
to life is the first of the three specifically enumerated inalienable rights set forth in our
founding documents, and American government was established on the thesis that certain
rights come from God and that government must protect those rights inviolable.
Significantly, if a leader does not protect the inalienable right to life, then all other
inalienable rights are likewise in jeopardy.
   Modern history demonstrates that when a leader is wrong on the inalienable right to
life, then he will almost certainly be wrong on the protection of private property (as
guaranteed in the Fifth Amendment to the Constitution), the Biblical right of self defense
(the right to keep and bear arms guaranteed in the Second Amendment), the right of
religious expression (guaranteed in the First Amendment), the sanctity of the home
(guaranteed in the Third Amendment), etc. Therefore, where a candidate stands on the
issue of abortion is of paramount importance not only for the sake of the unborn but also
for the preservation of our other inalienable rights.

                      Issue #3 ­ Homosexuality & The Moral Law
  If a candidate is willing to accept, empower, and advance homosexuality, it is a clear
indication that he does not embrace the moral absolutes of the Bible. Today, some have
rejected the Biblically-established rights and wrongs in favor of their own personal
preferences ­ a situation thrice denounced in the Scriptures as "every man doing that
which is right in his own eyes" (Deuteronomy 12:8, Judges 17:6, and 21:25).
  Previous generations understood that obeying God's moral laws always benefited a
society (Deuteronomy 6:24). In fact, a popular 1814 legal commentary documented the
adverse effect on a society from rejecting God's moral law regarding homosexuality:
   If it [sodomy] once begins to prevail, not only will boys be easily corrupted by
   adults but also by other boys; nor will it ever cease ­ more especially as it must
   thus soon lose all its shamefulness and infamy and become fashionable and the
   national taste; and then ... national weakness (for which all remedies are
   ineffectual) must inevitably follow; not perhaps in the very first generation, but
   certainly in the course of the third or fourth.... Whoever, therefore, wishes to ruin
   a nation has only to get this vice introduced, for it is extremely difficult to
   extirpate [remove] it where it has once taken root because it can be propagated
   with much more secrecy ... and when we perceive that it has once got a footing in
   any country, however powerful and flourishing, we may venture as politicians to
   predict that the foundation of its future decline is laid and that after some hundred
   years it will no longer be the same ... powerful country it is at present.
  While there are many areas specifically addressed by God's moral law (e.g., adultery,
pre-marital sex, etc.), only homosexuality is currently the focus of favorable political
action. Therefore, where a candidate stands on that issue is one of the best indicators of
whether he recognizes and embraces God's moral absolutes.

                     Issue #4 ­ Public Religious Acknowledgments
   The Ten Commandments begin with the pronouncement, "I am the Lord your God"
(Exodus 20:2). Christians often attach this declaration as a crucial prologue to the Ten
Commandments but Jews consider that forceful declaration to be the First
Commandment. They properly believe that acknowledging God is the highest priority
and that the commands listed after that affirmation have force only because God is
recognized for Who He is and is acknowledged as the Source behind those commands.
Therefore, acknowledging and honoring God is a priority in His Top Ten.
   Today, secularists have convinced many Americans to accept a compartmentalization
of their faith, telling them that it is appropriate to acknowledge God at church, home, or
in other private settings but not in public venues. If a candidate holds this position, it
means that he is willing to disconnect God from what he does, and the entire nation is put
at risk by leaders who compartmentalize faith.
   Biblical voters should select leaders who will seek to protect and expand rather than
restrict or weaken the opportunity for the public acknowledgment of God and the
inclusion of His principles in public venues.

             Separating Fact from Rhetoric ­ Investigating a Candidate
   In identifying a candidate's positions in each of these four non-negotiable areas, the
candidate's recorded votes are to be trusted far more than their public speeches (c.f.,
Matthew 7:20, Titus 1:16, and Luke 6:46). But how can an official's actions ­ i.e., his
voting record ­ be checked on any specific issue? Fortunately, dozens of groups now
track the votes of elected officials on numerous issues.
   For example, pro-life groups such as National Right to Life monitor votes on the
abortion issue and award a score to each official ­ as do pro-abortion groups such as
National Abortion Rights Action League (NARAL) and Planned Parenthood. Similarly,
pro-homosexual groups such as the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) and the Gay Lesbian
Straight Education Network (GLSEN) monitor the voting record in support of
homosexual issues, and militant secularist organizations such as the American Civil
Liberties Union (ACLU) and Americans United for Separation of Church and State (AU)
also monitor voting records.
  There is now a single website to which voters may turn to see the ratings of such
groups. (The candidate needs to have a high score from groups like Right to Life and low
scores from pro-abortion groups such as NARAL and Planned Parenthood, pro-
homosexual groups HRC and GLSEN, and secularist groups such as ACLU and AU in
order to win the support of the Biblical voter.) To see those scorecards:
   1. Go to Project Vote Smart (http://www.votesmart.org/).
   2. At the top right of the front page, click on "Presidential Candidates" (which
      will take you to
      http://www.votesmart.org/election_president.php?dist=bio.php).
   3. Click on the photo of a presidential candidate.
   4. When the page comes up for that candidate, under the candidate's photo, click
      "Interest Group Ratings."
   5. Dozens of scorecards will appear, listed alphabetically by categories. To see
      where the candidate stands on abortion, go to the "Abortion" section at the
      top. Scroll down to "Civil Liberties and Civil Rights" to see the ratings of
      secularist groups like the ACLU and AU, as well as the ratings of pro-
      homosexual groups like the Human Rights Campaign and the National Gay
      and Lesbian Task Force. Scroll down to "Conservative" to see the ratings of
      Biblically-oriented pro-family groups such as Christian Coalition, Concerned
      Women for America, and Christian Action Network; and scroll down even
      further to "Family and Children Issues" to find the ratings of Biblical-values
      groups such as the Family Research Council.
   6. Realize that in each category will appear the ratings of secular and religious,
      liberal and conservative groups; therefore make sure you know the philosophy
      of each group to understand whether its rating is good or bad from a Biblical
      viewpoint.

                                     Casting a Vote
   Once you have examined where a candidate stands on the four non-negotiable issues,
only then should you extend your consideration to include other issues (e.g., economics,
foreign policy, taxes, military, health care, energy, etc.).
   No candidate will ever be the perfect candidate and support everything you do, but that
must never be the sole measuring stick for selecting a candidate. After all, if that were
true, then today's faith voters likely would not have supported most of the Biblical heroes
had they run for office today, for David ­ although a man commended by God and
recommended as our example in numerous areas ­ was guilty of adultery (and more);
Noah had trouble with drunkenness; Samuel, Eli, and Gideon did not control their
children; Lot committed incest; Moses was guilty of murder; etc. God regularly used very
imperfect individuals ­ even individuals with major flaws ­ to accomplish great and
positive things in the life of a nation. We should therefore always support the candidate
most in line with the four non-negotiables, not the superficially "perfect" candidate.
   Biblical voters must develop an attitude of unswervable duty coupled with a resolute
steadfastness and must vote in every election. In Luke 19:13, Jesus commands: "Occupy
until I come," and for the sake of this generation as well as future ones, we must be active
citizens. The responsibilities facing God-fearing citizens in this election are somber, and
the potential repercussions from our actions (or lack thereof) are both far-reaching and
long-lasting.