NewsReal Sunday: Should Evangelicals be allowed to govern? Chris Matthews doubts it.
This week leftists were ready to pounce on Bob McDonnell, the Republican candidate running for governor in Virginia (which RNC chairman Michael Steele calls one of the most important elections for the Republican Party). It was appearing he might actually win the key battleground state (up by 12 points over the Democrat), so people like Chris Matthews and others were ready to knock him down.
On the September 1st episode of Hardball under the heading, “Shake up in the VA. Gov. race?â€, Matthews brought up a 20 year old thesis McDonnell wrote while working on a law degree at Regents University. Matthews then points out with a smirk that Pat Robertson headed up that school and then with a look of disdain says:
“So that’s a question in itself – why he went to Pat Robertson’s School?â€
I’m sorry Chris – does going to an evangelical Christian university make you suspect for governing? Does that disqualify you somehow? Are you really inferring after a week of Kennedy worship (a Catholic like yourself, who you praised for standing up against anti-Catholic feelings about a Catholic holding elected office) that being an evangelical Christian may be enough reason to reject someone from winning an election?
Matthews then goes on to talk with Michelle Bernard of Independent Women’s Voice about McDonnell being anti-women because in his Regent thesis he defended a traditional view of the family. And over and over again both Matthews and Bernard repeated that McDonnell must prove he has evolved. Traditional views are now a disqualifier and you must show secular evolution to serve in office. Next Bernard stumbled on her words and it is unclear if she is talking about either left-wing or right-wing feminists as “crazyâ€, “rabidâ€, and “foaming at the mouthâ€. Bernard goes even further by then calling stay-at-home moms “right wing feminists†who “like Sarah Palin for exampleâ€, but yet she claims they would be mad at McDonnell too for some reason. So who’s the one that needs evolving here on views of women? She then asks if McDonnell “can really act as governor†with such views.
Here’s an excerpt from this discussion:
MATTHEWS: In other words he‘s saying that, if you give tax cuts or tax breaks for people for child care, you‘re encouraging the wrong pattern in American life, women in the workplace.
MICHELLE BERNARD, MSNBC POLITICAL ANALYST:Â Yes.
MATTHEWS: That‘s a bad thing.
BERNARD: Yes. Yes, from his perspective—or at least from his perspective when he was 34 years old.
Here‘s the dynamic you have to look at. Sometimes, you might say, well, you can‘t say that somebody believes the things that they wrote or that they have not evolved if they wrote a thesis, say, at age 21 or 22. He was a 34-year-old — 34-year-old man when he wrote this.
MATTHEWS: This wasn‘t the indiscretion of youth.
BERNARD: Exactly. It absolutely wasn‘t the indiscretion of youth.
Second question, then, is, did he write this because he thought this would be appealing to the teachers at Pat Robertson‘s school, a very far-right conservative school, or did he write this because he actually believes it? Women are one of the most important voting blocs in the country.
Matthews closes out the segment by saying Virginia is “growing†and “thinking now†as if to say surely they will put down McDonnell – they are far more evolved than he. And Bernard follows up his statement about how thoughtful and growing Virginia is by mentioning how it cast its electoral votes for Barack Obama. So clearly Virginia isn’t a dumb, hick, traditional state anymore since they were smart enough to vote Obama.
Does being a Christian or especially an evangelical Christian really disregard you from running for office? I voted Huckabee in 2008, so I heard that argument made a lot. However, there is nothing in Scripture that would lead someone to believe that Christians can’t govern. No passages even hint at condemning it. Christians are supposed impact the world around them and shine as lights. What a great way to do that by serving your country in political office. There isn’t much about this issue in the Bible, but in Acts 25 and 26 the apostle Paul purposefully tried to lead some governing authorities to follow Christ and believe the gospel. He made no mention that they would then not be fit to lead.
If we ever get to the point in this country that holding traditional values or believing Christian principles disqualifies you from office than the culture war will be over. Secularism and leftist policies will have won. And our country will go the way of so many empires of the past – we will be ruined.
Chris Matthews, like Ted Kennedy, is a scandal to those who faithfully adhere to the Catholic faith. He is knows as a Catholic in Name Only (CINO), which to someone who really understands Catholicism means that he thinks he is smarter than the Holy Spirit.
If being a Christian makes a person ineligible to lead, then we are going about this the wrong way. If a person is true to their religious convictions and fights against government healthcare, social security spending, and abortions, and this is wrong, then maybe our country needs a divorce.
While that won’t happen any time soon, we do need to think about something important, and that is: when we lose sight of God and think we know what is right and wrong, we always choose the wrong path. We begin to justify everything, and none of it is right.
When we have moral relativism, we can be like those boys that raped the girls in the park in Dallas a few years ago. They were asked why they did it, and they answered, “Because we could.”
Liberal, socialist, communists democrats always want to force conservatives (and especially Christians) t0 compromise. Even if it’s a slight compromise it’s enough. The goal is to make the candidate look weak in the mind of those who may support them. Matthews could not possibly care less whether McDonnell “evolves”. He knows his audience in VA (both of them) won’t be voting for McDonnell. What he does want is for word to spread to conservatives and independents that another GOP Christian is willing to compromise and hopefully peal away a few votes or cause some conservative to just stay home.
What fellow Christians know is that the weakest among them is still a far better choice than the alternative non-Christian. And we also know that weakness is our nature and only through the power of God are we fit to serve. Our government was founded upon Christian principles. Our governmental system was modeled after Biblical principles and God’s moral and ethical standards that can only be upheld by religious minded men and women. If we want to return to those standards and see America once again receive the mercy, grace and divine providence from God as in history past, then we Christians must humble ourselves and pray. 2 Chronicles 7:14
Let Chris Matthews, or anyone else find fault with the teachings of Christ. No, they would rather point to the faults of someone who claims to follow Him!
“Don’t judge the Author of the book by the actions of someone who claims to have read the book.”
What a wonderful place this would be, if we all “lived” the message found in the words of Christ.
If that were the case, would we actually need the massive Government we now have?
I think not!
More God – Less Government
If Christians,Catholics and Jews who have been elected in the past had remained true to the faith they professed, I think we would not have this problem. Something happens to most peple once they achieve the power of governance, whether state or national. So few remain faithful. People assume it’s the religion that is false, rather than the imperfect people who try to live it. Rather than turn our backs on these people or our own faith, we should be praying mightally for our representatives, that they remain strong and faithful. We who do not hold power must also remain faithful. Fidelity to God is hard in the best of circumstances. Our culture today makes it damned near impossible. It is God who holds us up, not politicians.
Chris Matthews stands for the godless. He shouldn’t even be on t.v. because he uses it to promote his secular humanist propganda. God is in control and controls the politicians and they don’t even realize it. It is ashame that these politicians that were christians, get sucked into the world and they become faithless. There is not enough true leaders anymore.
Question: Should evangelicals be allowed to govern?
Answer: Well, what does the Constitution say, Chris? Why don’t we let the people decide who they want to vote for, you bigot?
Christians should not be allowed to lead. Anyone willing to ignore reason and facts in favor of “listening” to god should not lead. Faith: firm belief in something for which there is no proof. NO PROOF! You can cite all of the anecdotal evidence you want. Would you get surgery based on anecdotal evidence? If a person is a christian or has any other belief in god then you know right away that they are delusional. Is delusion a leadership quality that want in a candidate? I myself believe in god but I am rational enough to know that my belief is little more than superstition (when viewed OBJECTIVELY). If a political leader comes out and tells us that they were “moved by god” or “god spoke them” and that is what they are basing their decision on then they should quickly and publicly removed from office. why? because if you ask them what their reasoning is THEY DON”T HAVE A REASON! all they can tell is that god is pushing them in that direction. the only thing more insane than hallucinating an encounter with god or governing based on a gut feeling is having a leader that gets his/her answers from the BIBLE. Even if the bible is possible because of divine inspiration you are still a moron for following it simply because it has been passed down through HUMANS. there is absolutely no way that the word of god would not be perverted in over 2000 years of being interpreted by man. That is why people who believe in god should not govern.
So Andrew, do you have a problem with our Constitutional form of government? Or do you have a problem with religion in general, or just one particular religion? Maybe you don’t really feel that “We the People” is a viable idea? Perhaps we should amend the Constitution to outlaw religion or the ability of religious people to run for office. And it’s understandable that you feel that way. I mean, when you look around the world at the decidedly better way of doing things in secular humanist countries, it’s reasonable that you might believe that.
So, to what lengths are policy makers justified in going to, in order to erase this so called delusional portion of the population? Surely something stringent must be done to “tamp down” the mental illness of the majority of the world’s population. Some 80-85 percent I think it is.
Really Andrew, I guess what I’d like to know is how you visualize the country will look politically if people like you are running it – Marxists, I mean.
First, i am not a Marxist. I am a capitalist and a deist. Second, our constitution is only as perfect as we amend it to be. third, yes i do have a problem with religion but not with god (they are different). religion is that archaic set of rituals and beliefs that stifles personal growth. It allows anyone who is motivated to control those around himself to do so with a sanction from god (without actually proving to anyone that a. it was god that sanctioned it. and b. that it actually happened). When dealing with issues of policy it is outright stupid to expect an answer from an authority figure (god) who has clearly shown no interest in communicating his will to us humans. a man goes into the wilderness then claims to have heard a voice speak to him. the man then tells you that you should do what the voice says. are you really stupid enough to do what he commands? why would you elect a leader who believes in this exact scenario?
You’re a cultural Marxist. Your initial post smacked of it. Doesn’t matter if you’re a capitalist or a deist. Your claim to be a deist in light of what you said originally is ridiculous. You sound more like a New Atheist. Very militant, very vocally antagonistic to Christianity and secondarily to “organized religion.” I think it’s a product of your leftist indoctrination in school more than anything else.
If you don’t know what I mean by “cultural Marxist”, here is a short essay that won’t take to much of your time to read, at this link:
http://www.marylandthursdaymeeting.com/Archives/SpecialWebDocuments/Cultural.Marxism.htm
I’m still wondering what policies you would favor seeing enacted to ban anyone of faith from public office. Or would it only be certain people after a religious test? Do you really feel comfortable being so hostile based on what you’ve been told to think? Doesn’t it scare you that you can be manipulated so easily?
As much as i hate to see religious god fearing people at work in my government, they are here to stay. i do not support any program that would trample on their rights by systematically keeping them out of government. it is a personal preference and wish of mine that our leaders not look skyward for their answers. That being said i state once again that i am a deist (you and i believe in the same god) the difference is i can look at my beliefs objectively and realize that it sounds like complete bunk (the same way your wacky beliefs sound to me). also my leftist ideas were not learned in school (i went to trinity christian in Fairfax) they are a product of wider learning and reading done on my own. If you are a christian please remember Mathew 7:5 “You hypocrite, first cast out the beam out of your own eye; and then shall you see clearly to cast out the mote out of your brother’s eye.” you are the one who has been manipulated. you have been manipulated so thoroughly that you qualify as delusional. Delusions are irrational beliefs, held with a high level of conviction, that are highly resistant to change even when the delusional person is exposed to forms of proof that contradict the belief. rest assured that when we pass away we will both end up in the same place.
Jeff you said it all. GOD, is the answer to everything.But even when
JESUS was telling it to the people when He was here in person…people
didn’t want to hear it.Besides speaking out,not in hate,but in love
and praying is all we can do.But we as Christians know GOD can move
mountains,just pray.