We Do Declare

The Declaration of Independence at its outset has two appeals that mention God. One is in the first paragraph to which it states:

When in the Course of human events it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature’s God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.

In this they appeal to the right they have for the separation, namely that which is seen in nature and set about by God who is the power behind that nature.

The second mention comes very close thereafter:

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.

Again, God is invoked, this time as the Creator. God alone is presented as the progenitor of inalienable rights, not man or governments.  When looking at this, we immediately see the presuppositions that were brought to the table:

1. There was a God.

2. There was one God.

3. That man was created by God.

4. God was the source of liberty, the ability to pursue happiness, and life.

So, from the beginning, God was the one these men appealed to form their political system.  Furthermore, in the writing of the First Amendment, one of the rights that are protect

ed is that of religion:

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exerc

ise thereof…

It is therefore apparen

t that God and religion is a part of the political system in as much that the nation was founded on the appeal to God and that person cannot be compelled by the government or law to go against their conscience which is based on their faith.

Conscience and the Law

True faith is one that permeates the life and conscience of an individual. As it says in the Bible in the book of James 2:17:

Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone.

Faith, when it’s genuine, shapes the conscience of a person. Not only this but it shapes their whole worldview. So, when a law, policy, or edict is passed in the political realm that is anathema to their faith, it’s also anathema to their conscience. This will force them to take an opposite view or different take based on their conscience which is shaped by their faith.

False converts and secularist perpetuate the lie that the two can be separated because they don’t have true faith. Faith is not only a belief in God or whatever you believe in. True faith translates into living in accordance with that faith, not just saying you have it but living in the exact opposite way your faith espouses.

In addition, the Moral Law (which God created), put within everyone, is a law that innately tells us what’s right and wrong. Though some may not have faith in God, they may form their beliefs in accordance with the Moral Law.  This is then assimilated into their conscience as well. This explains how atheists can still do and believe things that are right.

So, any man or woman who is put in a political office will make, create, and support laws based on their conscience (or lack thereof) which is shaped by their faith whether that faith involves God or not. As such, politically, it’s impossible to abandon and separate your faith from your politics. They are inextricably tied together.

Faith and Politics: Debunking the Lie – Part 1

Here in the United States, there has been a big lie perpetrated throughout the country’s history that faith is to be separate from the public square and politics in general. We are now at a point where the faith of Christians is shunned, downplayed, and vilified by efforts of Godless people who hate not just Christians but faith in anything people call God. Yet, the founders of this nation didn’t believe that whatsoever.

On the other extreme, you have people who call themselves Christian who have given in to this lie and feel that the church of Christ shouldn’t have anything to do with politics and are even uncomfortable talking about such things with other Christians. Such an attitude is wholeheartedly unbiblical and quite frankly, selfish.

The Founders’ Beliefs

I’ve had videos of David Barton of Wallbuilders on here on the Truth Manifesto. He’s a historian who gives history as it was, not how secularist would like it to be. It is evident by far that most of the men who were signers of the Declaration of Independence were Christians (click here to watch the video). They placed a premium on freedom because God Almighty places a premium on freedom. That is why man has free will. God doesn’t force anyone to follow or believe on His Son Jesus Christ. He implores man to to turn to righteousness and He warns man that there are consequences for his decisions. But He doesn’t force man to choose anything.

William Penn wrote to the czar of Russia:

“If thou wouldst rule well, thou must rule for God, and to do that, thou must be ruled by him….Those who will not be governed by God will be ruled by tyrants.”

What we’re seeing today is what happens when a man’s freedom is threatened. Innately, man rebels against that which threatens a God given attribute whether they realize it or not. Though man’s reactions can be good or evil, his response is nevertheless the same.

Rodney King Syndrome

There are Christians who believe that the church being involved in politics is not right and we shouldn’t have any place there. We should simply preach the gospel. They suffer from the Rodney King Syndrome, a malady that is always crying, “Can’t we all just get along?” Any friction with others over political laws and policies is considered un-Christian or useless.

In the book Faith and Freedom, Mathew Staver, founder of the Liberty Counsel, sums up the Christian attitude when it comes to faith, politics, and religious liberty:

I frequently encounter a great deal of apathy among Christians…Most would rather run than fight and lose their rights than struggle for them¹.

This attitude is not only utterly wrong in the sense that it’s unbiblical on all kinds of levels as I’ll outline soon, but the Founders themselves didn’t believe that by the sheer number of them that held seminary degrees and who were theologians. They understood as Staver commented:

The issue of religious liberty is not simply a legal right-it is the ability to continue to spread the gospel in a free nation¹.

Faith In Politics: A Primer

Because this subject is extensive, I’d like to just give a primer before we go further.

Understand that as Christians, our faith is what defines us if it’s true faith. Read that sentence over again because it’s pivotal in understanding the rest of what will be presented. It is the depth or lack thereof of our theology which will manifest through how we think and who we are. This is why God tells us:

And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart: And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up. And thou shalt bind them for a sign upon thine hand, and they shall be as frontlets between thine eyes. And thou shalt write them upon the posts of thy house, and on thy gates. (Deuteronomy 6:6-9)

¹ Faith and Freedom; Mathew D. Staver; 1995; Foreward, page XI

The Truth Manifesto proudly presents a new podcast series dubbed The Hard Truth. It is a fifteen minute reflection on the news of the day from a conservative, Christian, and ultimately, biblical perspective. From politics to religion and culture, The Hard Truth presents all of these things in lay men’s terms, rooted in the Truth.

In this episode: Part two of the Act of Betrayal and a look at the proclamation by a federal judge that the National Day of Prayer is unconstitutional. Click and listen.

Can You Handle the Truth?

The name Benedict Arnold has been gone down in American history being synonymous with  traitor, much as that of Judas Iscariot with betrayer. I was invited the day before good Friday to speak at a small gathering on the movie The Passion of the Christ. This is a movie which I own but I’ve only seen once. It is, for me, spiritually taxing and emotionally draining. Even as I was discussing the movie, I cried in remembrance of the atrocity and murder of the Lord. This was all set in motion by the a kiss of betrayal.

Some of us have gone through some kind of betrayal in our lives. Actually, we’re currently in the midst of it now. We see an act of betrayal on display in our country right now as the administration in Washington D.C. seek to pass policies that tear at the foundation of what the United States on regardless of the outcry of the majority of American people. They seek to spin it as what’s best for the people when it’s simply a power move.

It’s a shot at the principles of our nation. It goes beyond the politics that are being wrangled throughout all of this. It’s an insidious shifting of the nation’s identity. As Obama so plainly stated in 2009, he does not think this is a Christian nation. This administration is the most anti-Christ to ever be put into office. They are pawns of the evil one and they do so willingly.  A betrayal against God Himself.

Our Own Back Yard

Betrayal can hit closer to home. I’ve personally seen this is in the church as splits happen under all kinds of sinful pretenses and the actions of those who are supposed to exhibit the character of Godly men reveal what’s truly in their hearts. The Lord was spoke truly when He said:

Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye are like unto whited sepulchres, which indeed appear beautiful outward, but are within full of dead men’s bones, and of all uncleanness. (Matthew 23:27)

I have personally been on the receiving end of betrayal from Christians more so than non-Christians. The axiom is true that you hurt the ones you love. It’s true because we have not realized the total depth and destructiveness of the sin and evil within us.

What To Do

There are may ways to react to betrayal. The first one is anger. Though anger IS an appropriate response, it’s what we use it for in our actions that will define us. It is hurtful and painful but the Lord tells us:

Be ye angry, and sin not: let not the sun go down upon your wrath:  Neither give place to the devil. (Ephesians 4:26)

We are in danger of letting bitterness rule and control us if we give in to excuse of saying we’re hurt. To be hurt for one day is expected. To be hurt for three days can be understood. But to be hurt for months and years is simply saying, “I’m bitter and unforgiving. ”

We take our cues as God’s children from the Lord. He says:

But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you; (Matthew 5:44)

We must surrender to God in this because we cannot deal with it. How this surrender should happen is written plainly in the words of scripture.  Yet, how do we apply this in our lives? How do we get over the pain? I’ll talk about that in my podcast later this week.

The Truth Manifesto proudly presents a new podcast series dubbed The Hard Truth. It is a fifteen minute reflection on the news of the day from a conservative, Christian, and ultimately, biblical perspective. From politics to religion and culture, The Hard Truth presents all of these things in lay men’s terms, rooted in the Truth.

In in episode 1, we take a look at how we should react to Obamacare passing, why in the grand scheme of things it’s not a big deal, and what to do about it where we’re at.

Can You Handle the Truth?

I like superheroes and have been a comic book nut for over three decades. There are long boxes full of comic books setting behind me as I write this. I’m a veteran of the online MMORPG City Of Heroes, have written comic book stories (you can see it here), and I run a Classic Marvel Superheroes campaign based on the 1986 advanced set. My DVD collection has a whole section dedicated to superhero material which includes The Dark Knight, Spider-Man, Avengers, and the Justice League animated series.

Oh yeah…100% comic geek here.

The reason for my attraction has nothing to do with trying to hold on to my childhood. Comics aren’t really for kids. Very few are and it’s been that way for a very long time. You have to pick and choose carefully. For me, the abilities and powers are cool but secondary. It just boils down to one thing: I like the good guy.

I don’t like anti-heroes (I don’t consider Batman an anti-hero. Far from it). I actually stopped reading comics because of it. The heroes I like are men and women who make the hard choices, put their lives on the line for the sake of others, and do what’s right regardless of protocol. They have a higher standard and believe in things like honor, justice, integrity, sacrifice, and loyalty.

We have heroes like that among us. Firemen. Policemen. Marines. Airmen. Soldiers. Seamen. No one asked them to do it. They chose to do it, some to the point of death.

Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. (John 15:13)

They’re not superheroes in the traditional sense but are heroes nonetheless. I respect them and thank the Lord that He’s raised up these brave and courageous people to stand for what’s right and fight the good fight. However, I’d be lying if I said that superheroes don’t inspire me just as much. Let me tell about my all time favorite with the powers He possesses… from a comic geek’s perspective.

He traveled from another dimension (dimensional travel) to come to earth. He healed people from blindness, muteness, and all kinds of sickness (healing). He can raise the dead (resurrection), cast devils from hurting souls (exorcism), and temper nature itself (weather control).

He can change water to wine (elemental conversion), walk on water (water walking), and can not be controlled by the strongest forces of darkness (iron will).  He can walk through walls (phasing) or suddenly appear in the midst of people (teleportation).

He sees the true nature of men (true sight, empathy), can see far distances (clairvoyance), and know what’s going to happen before it happens (precognition). He’s in tune with other dimensional beings (cosmic awareness), created the heavens, the earth (elemental creation), and everything in it (lifeform creation).

He’s the personification of courage, sacrifice, bravery, justice, honor, goodness, righteousness, compassion, and love.

There’s more but you get the gist. But here’s the best part: He’s real.

His name is Jesus the Christ. God in the flesh. He’s the reason why I love superheroes so much. He’s the Superhero of superheroes.

So yes, I love superheroes, particularly those who reflect the nature and attributes of the perfect Superhero. I love the Good Guy. I invite you to do the same.