Expert: Pastor Don Carpenter - 10/25/2007

Question
Hi,

I am a Christian who goes to a Baptist Church. But I am finding it increasingly difficult to think of myself as a Baptist. One of the reasons is because of the politics of so many Baptists in this country.

Some Baptists equate faith in Jesus Christ with faith in George Bush. As if the gospel of Jesus Christ has anything to do with George Bush or the Republican party.

George Bush is a big thorn in my side. He stoled the first election in 2000. There were so many votes which were thrown out in Florida in that election, and tons of people were not allowed to vote because their registration was revoked and they were not notified. Its funny how Bush's brother was governor of Florida, and it was the controversies in the voting in that one state which made Bush win by 500 votes. In fact he lost the popular vote.

Bush invaded Iraq when all evidence proved that there were no weapons of mass destruction. Iraq had nothing to do with 9/11, so why invade them? Seems more like revenge for his father than anything else. More Iraqis have died since we invaded than would ever have died if we just left the country alone. Saddam wasn't killing 10,000-20,000 civilians per month. Bush's family is neck deep in the military industrial complex. Whenever there is a war his family and friends make money. Haliburton is getting government contracts without bids, which is illegal, but this is happening because Dick Chaney is a former Haliburton executive, and he still has stock and a pension from them.

The Plame Affair, in which Scooter Libby got a slap on the wrist, proves how vengeful Bush is and how all his talk of being a born again Christian is nothing more than a lie.

This war and this whole administration is all about making money for Bush, and his family, friends, and the people who helped get him into office. The deficit is gigantic and we just keep printing up more money, devaluating the currency. One Euro costs $1.43, but when the Euro first came out it was 95 cents.

At the end of 2001 Bush gave away the government's 99 billion dollar surplus to various companies, many of which were big donors to his election fund. His buddies all made money on that.

Did you see the movie Loose Change, about how the whole 9/11 event is extremely fishy. When the plane hit the pentagon it supposedly disintegrated, which is impossible. No engine was found. And the grass around the pentagon was in prestine condition. Also no wings from the plane were found. And no wings hit anything. All video footage of the event from nearby companies was confiscated by the government and there is no explanation of what happened to the remains of the plane, or why there was no impact from the wings. Looks more like a missile hit the pentagon. And it's funny how the part of the pentagon which was hit was the part which was just recently reinforced.

It is so obvious that this entire war is about nothing more than oil and money, yet rich Christians, and those who are stupid enough to be duped believe in this man as if he was God himself.

I can't stand Bush, and I will be overjoyed when he is out of office. I can picture him roasting in hell for all the people he's killed and mamed due to this war. All for the love of money, which is the root of all evil.

All this sometimes makes me want to join another Church. We have the super-Republican Baptists, which are often rich, and they can afford to tihe, while poor Christians like me are looked down upon in our congregations because we don't have the money to tithe. It's easy when you can afford to tithe out of your excess. And then they have the nerve to tell us to support a money hungry murderer like George Bush. Maybe I should look into joining a Methodist Church, or Presbyterian.

What is your take on this issue.

Answer
Hi again Joshua,

WOW!  A little hostile are we!  It would seem that you have a problem with the president!  lol!  Here is the deal... when it comes to voting as a believer, there are currently two main issues that we must consider from the Bible:

1.  The promotion and normalization of homosexuality by seeking same sex marriage.  The Bible is clear that God judges nations that embrace and that lifestyle.  

Leviticus 18:22-28
22 Thou shalt not lie with mankind, as with womankind: it is abomination. 23 Neither shalt thou lie with any beast to defile thyself therewith: neither shall any woman stand before a beast to lie down thereto: it is confusion. 24 Defile not ye yourselves in any of these things: for in all these the nations are defiled which I cast out before you: 25 And the land is defiled: therefore I do visit the iniquity thereof upon it, and the land itself vomiteth out her inhabitants. 26 Ye shall therefore keep my statutes and my judgments, and shall not commit any of these abominations; neither any of your own nation, nor any stranger that sojourneth among you: 27 (For all these abominations have the men of the land done, which were before you, and the land is defiled;) 28 That the land spue not you out also, when ye defile it, as it spued out the nations that were before you.
The King James Version, (Cambridge: Cambridge) 1769.

2.  The other issue is abortion, the murder of unborn babies.  The blood of the innocent is on the hands of anyone who would vote for anyone who supports abortion.

I too am disappointed with some of the things that the president has done.  Biblically speaking, you could be a democrat, republical, or independent.  I do not see, however how a believer could ever support a candidate that is pro abortion or anti traditional family.

I must confess that I am a republican.  I hope that we can still be friends.  :)  I am very concerned about the next election.  THere are several republical front runners with weak stands on the family and on abortion.  I may have to " throw my vote away" on a third party, but I will not support a pro abortion candidate.

Do not leave a church over political disagreement!  There are republicans in church... so what?!!  I am a Baptist because Baptists embrace the scriptures.  The United Methodists do not typically hold that the Bible is God's perfect word.  Are you really willing to trade truth for politics?

I hope that this has helped without offending you.

In Christ
Pastor Don