Bible Talk

By KDF

January 7, 2008 10:56 AM | Link to this

Pastor Joe, I think your blog is something any paper should have — Praise God you have begun this. Yes, I believe a person’s spiritual belief is automatically worn on their sleeve. I would not f******* in life without mine, so any decision I make, I trust in Him to guide me.

By KDF

January 7, 2008 10:59 AM | Link to this

My original answer had nothing in it to ** out. It should have read “I would not make a decision in life…” Thank you.

By Pat

January 7, 2008 11:11 AM | Link to this

I enjoy your articles in the Tribune and we have done a session on politics and religion put out in the last election. I have a question for you. WHY do the newspapers not have more interesting articles on religion? Did you know that only the Star/metroplex had a small blurb on Kings Day and Nothing on Epiphany at the churches! I heard someone sa our country needs to pull together and maybe religion would be one way. Blessed Epiphany,Pat

By MBC

January 7, 2008 11:57 AM | Link to this

I think that a person’s religous beliefs are a very big part of who they are.It also speaks to a person’s character and will difinately have an impact on the decisions they make as president for me and this country.

By MGB

January 7, 2008 12:54 PM | Link to this

Absolutely! I believe that a candidate’s religious beliefs matter! If a presidential candidate, or any candidate for that matter, had no religious beliefs, they would have no other basis for their decision making than that of their OWN understanding as opposed to that of GOD’s understanding. Blessed is HE who comes in the name of the Lord!! And we are a Blessed Nation!

By JP

January 7, 2008 1:38 PM | Link to this

It is awesome that the Trib is allowing a religion blog! It is time for fellow believers to make their mark in WACO and in surrounding communities by voicing their opinions on these topics. Definitely, it is important what the candidate’s religious beliefs are. As a previous responder said, if they don’t have religious convictions then all they have is their own… and that is just not good enough!

By Donna

January 7, 2008 1:44 PM | Link to this

We live in a sea of followers and people will blindly follow because they like the way someone looks or sounds without a thought as to their hearts. FOR ALL THOSES OUT THERE WHO TAKE THE TIME TO RESEARCH THE CANIDATES WE KNOW THAT THEIR RELIGIOUS BELIFES MATTER. Our leaders shape our country and we should be turning to and not away from God.

By Craig

January 7, 2008 3:21 PM | Link to this

On the surface, I agree. In theory, a candidate’s religious beliefs would seem to indicate something about what type of a leader they would be.

However, of all the Presidents in my lifetime, the two that have been more closely aligned with my particular beliefs, Jimmy Carter and George W. Bush, have not necessarily been the best leaders.

So, who knows? I’d rather have a president who is intelligent, makes good decisions, and stands up for the little guy, but who may not hold the same basic assumptions about God as I, than to have someone who worships and believes in the same way as me, but who seriously lacks what it takes to be president.

By Wacoan

January 7, 2008 4:17 PM | Link to this

It would be hard to vote for a candidate based on what he (or she) claims to be their moral compass without a deep look into the actions of their lives. But then, all have sinned. The press does a pretty good job of tracking the sins of our candidates. Still, a summation of the (recent) past should set a presidence of how a person will act in office. To have a Godly leader is paramount although we are far from being a Godly nation. If you took a popular vote, those claiming to be a Christian in this country would be a staggering majority; yet our actions do not seem to be in align with our beliefs. Why do we lust for money? Why do we accept What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas? Why do we allow individual judges to remove all symbols of our faith from public view? The separation of Church and State has NOTHING to do with our faith and belief in God; it merely prevents the Church from running government. With a strong moral leader, perhaps a strong moral movement will sweep across our country and return the sense and sensibilities of value-driven communities. So, YES, not only does a candidate’s religious beliefs matter, their moral actions must be brought forth. Do they do the right thing or the popular thing?

By mb

January 7, 2008 10:24 PM | Link to this

Even if we take the time to research candidates and chose people who believe in application of biblical principles those in the past have not always stayed true to their value system. That however, should not discourage people of faith when choosing future leaders. We have a responsability to constantly lift leaders up in prayer! As long as we do our part to make educated and Holy Spirit guided decisions, we should have no regrets about our choice. Keep in mind that our leaders affect the entire world. Please be sure to research through reliable sources and even seek the Lord for those!

By DBS

January 8, 2008 9:20 AM | Link to this

On which biblical principles was our nation founded? The ones that allowed us to enslave another race? The ones that allowed us to oppress this country’s native race while stealing their land? The ones that allowed most of our founding fathers to be noted philanderers? Let’s stop kidding ourselves here. I surely hope that our leaders have strong moral compasses, but you’d be a fool to suggest that only Christians have morals or that professing belief in Christ is any kind of guarantee of a strong sense of morality or ethics. So far every president we’ve ever had has professed such a belief and history is a pretty accurate showing that it hasn’t guaranteed solid moral behavior.

I’m a Christian and I’m deeply offended by the pandering these candidates do by pimping their faith out to us and implying that they are the “Christian” candidate and that we have some kind of obligation to support them on those grounds. Many of them do it. It’s disgusting. A candidate must be judged based on what they’ve said and how well they’ve followed through. If that happens to align with your sense of morality, then there’s your guy or gal regardless of what they say about their faith.

By Pastorjac

January 8, 2008 10:10 AM | Link to this

A special thanks to all who responded to yesterday’s blog entry. A special thanks go to DBS- I like your convictions man! Keep tuning in and responding- thats what will make this blog so special-I want to hear your heart, not your political correctness. My hope is that both Christains and non-Christians will drop a comment on the blog site. Remember, the blog is all about your own personal convictions and how they line up with scripture1 God Bless all!

By RRD

January 8, 2008 1:30 PM | Link to this

I believe everyone lives by some set of beliefs/convictions. Of course, not all beliefs line up with the Bible, and as another commenter stated, their life shows what they truly believe. Therefore, I will look for that candidate that not only talks the talk, but walks the walk. Does that mean the candidate will be perfect…no way. I haven’t met a perfect person yet! I am truly grateful today that we have the opportunity to share our hearts about what we believe from all walks of life. Thanks!

By GJ

January 8, 2008 1:34 PM | Link to this

You said that the Constitution has “numerous examples of how our nation was founded upon biblical principles”. Actually, the Constitution makes no mention of God, Jesus or Christianity. When religion is mentioned, it is to exclude its influence on public life - no religious test for public office.

We are a secular nation and all are welcome.

By DR

January 9, 2008 3:27 AM | Link to this

Referring to GJ: With all due respect, you stated that the Constitution makes not mention of God, Jesus, or Christianity, in which you are correct. But the blog introduction was that the constitution has examples of these principles and the laws that reflect those principles. Principles are universal and can come from any religous source (murder, stealing, etc…). As much as we try to seperate the two and rightfully so at times, America just happens to be a country founded on Christian principles. The Declaration of Independence is one of many examples on the unanimous consensus that the founding fathers agreed upon. It states “the truths are self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator,(capitilzed in the original document)wit certain inalienable rights, etc…. Drafted and agreed upon by all 56 reps from the 13 states. As stated earlier, thiis is not a church/state issue or a litmus test for public office. The statement you made is that this was a nation that was secular in its origin, from your statement. Regardless of all the different doctrines that the founding fathers disagreed on when it came to Christianity (and their are many)they all unanimously agreed on one thing; That God gave those rights that this nation was founded on and therefore, we derive those from God through the Bible.

By GJ

January 9, 2008 11:45 AM | Link to this

Thanks for the comments DR, but the Founders were clear that this is a secular nation. Some of them were religious and some were not. Quoting Wikipedia: “”The government of the United States of America is not in any sense founded on the Christian Religion,” states the 1797 Treaty of Tripoli. This document was ratified by Congress without much debate or contention and stands today as a reminder of the founding fathers’ intentions.”

The seperation of Church and State is what has allowed all religion to flourish in our country. Check out what’s happened to faith in Europe after years of state-enforced religions.

By Sam

January 12, 2008 8:40 PM | Link to this

I do believe the ex convicts deserve a 2nd chance however the pastor of Church of the Open Door could have went door to door in this Bellmead neighborhood to inform the neighbors what was coming in and explain what was going to happen. I believe it’s called “Thou shal not covet thy neighbors goods” be it material possesions or their feelings or neighborhood spirit. He could have handled it much more professionally.

By bobe

January 21, 2008 10:50 PM | Link to this

No matter which Candidate we vote for, it is his or hers party platform that we are endorsing. I urge all Christians who will vote, to look first at the Party Platform Planks of the Candidate they chose to vote for. Remember that Candidate will not go against the Platform of his or her political party. I would also like to remind the Christians in this community of this verse: “For it is written, thou shalt not speak evil of the ruler of thy people.” Acts 23:5