I have a few thoughts I'd like to share...
sorrow over the state that America has fallen to. The cover ups, the multiplication
of sins through the use repentance as a protection against losing
the presidency because of perjury, the confessions because
of being caught - there is no righteousness in any of it. Even
to
some in the political wing of "the Church," it will most
likely become a tool to further advance a so-called call to
"raise up the kingdom of righteousness."
The true Church would never use the sin of the world to further
the gospel of Jesus Christ except that it be a call to repentance according
to the gospel, yet we may be seeing that in the near future.
In the midst of all of this is an ever-diminishing body of Christ
who love the truth of God's word and His true righteousness
and see all of this as a sign of the times we live in.
President Clinton has said his spirit is broken.
But we as Christians know that a person with a broken spirit has no
defense except for throwing one's self on the mercy of God. We also know
the results of such a repentance. I do not see that either.
America is in an uproar, but whether we like it or not
America belongs to the world and it speaks the language of the
world. God says His Church is His holy nation and speaks
the words of God.
We are not hearing a call for repentance before God come
from America. We are hearing opinions of whether it is
a personal moral issue or one of perjury. America has its laws
to deal with that, while the Church has a gospel to deal with
the personal nature of it. Which one are we hearing?
It has often been said that God is going to judge America for its sins,
that if He doesn't judge it soon, He will owe Sodom and
Gomorrah an apology. I don't believe that is for the
present moment of time. Scripture indicates that the world
will wax worse and worse until it reaches a state similar
to the days of
Noah. I believe, at this stage, then and only then will judgment come.
When we look at the apostasy in the Church and it continues
to escalate with no coming judgment from God, we see that
it is heading into unity with the world. No one
is crying out that judgment is coming on the
Church in this present hour. Yes, judgment begins
with the house of God. We see the "revival" as
growing and prospering and proliferating, yet we are not calling judgment
down on it because no such word has come forth. Why?
I believe it is because "the revival" itself is a judgment on
the Church for not adhering to the Gospel and the word of God
concerning His Son. It is judgment termed delusion, sent by
God to those who refuse to love the truth and so be saved. Then
why a judgment call for America? That will come in its
time, in God's time as well upon all the nations of the world. And it will
come upon the apostate Church as well. I believe we are not far from
a time of great tribulation when God's judgment on all will
take place.
I am not a politically minded person, but it seems to me that the Church
shouldn't be surprised by such events in the times we
live. When President Clinton defeated George Bush, many at that
time wore black arm bands signifying the spiritual death
that would come upon this country. Why? All there was to chose
from, it seems to me, was lesser of two evils. Bush only tore
things down so Clinton could step in and build up the system
for a New World Order.
At the time I thought, "Why would we expect anything less?"
and "Who wants the lesser of two evils when the end
of the age is here?" We certainly need to pray for
these men for their souls, but we must come face to face
that the entire world is soon coming under that
New World Order and the tribulation it will
bring. We must also come face to face with the fact that it will be God's
time to judge all things with the return of His Son.
Frankly, let America and its systems deal with it, knowing that
our God is sovereign over it all. We should be acknowledging it
as a sign of the times and take it as a call to prepare ourselves spiritually
for what lies ahead. The Lord knows us all and we
know Him, and He will speak to our hearts through His word. Maybe the question
is, "Are we spending as much time in His word as we
are in the "Clinton Chronicles"? Ed
Ralph Reed, a highly recommended candidate, was interviewed by a
magazine editor in early 1996. The name of the magazine
"The Door"
Door:
..Would Jesus be a Democrat or a Republican?
Reed:
Probably neither. I don't know that he would take a political stand..
In fact, when the Zealots or the Herodians tried to trick him into
taking a political stand, He always answered in an ambiguity so that
He couldn't be put into a political party of that time.
Door:
.. Can you be pro-choice and still be a Christian?
Reed:
Sure.
Door:
That doesn't bother you at all?
Reed:
I don't agree with it, but that wasn't your question..
Door:
..There are pro-choice people in the Christian Coalition?
Reed:
Sure.. they are endorsing our position and not the other
way around. We're a pro-life organization and we're never going
to retreat from that.
Door:
[In your book] you make the connection between the great
religious revivals and subsequent advances in human
rights. That's an interesting twosome.
Reed:
Pulitzer Prize-winning economic historian Robert W. Fogle has
just written a very provocative paper in which he in effect
argues that we are experiencing a political change in the rise of the religious
conservative movement that can be attributed to what he calls
"THE FOURTH GREAT AWAKENING." He connects it to the sharp increase
in church attendance that began in the 1950s, the movements such
as the Charismatic Renewal, the fundamentalist resurgency,
and things like Promise Keepers. He argues
very strongly that there is a direct connection between the country's
move to the Right since 1980 and the religious flowering that has occurred
since the 1950s.
Door:
Fogle says we are in the midst of that revival right now? in
1996? With Madonna and Bosnia and Howard Stern and O.J. Simpson and
Paul Crouch?
Reed:
.. he argues that there is an increased religiosity and
increased focus on spiritual matters and I think that's true.
Door:
..It is also intriguing how often you talk about the separation of
church and state - .. there seems to be a lot of misinformation about that
topic on both sides of the political fence.
Reed:
I think that most conservative religious people
- and certainly most Baptists and Evangelicals in general -
support the separation of church and state. It is not a liberal idea,
it is an idea that originated from within Evangelicals...
What I object to is the deliberate distortion of the properly
understood doctrine of the separation of church and state
by extremists on the Left whose real agenda is not to keep government
and the church separate, but to insure that religion
is expunged and driven out of the public square.
Door:
Does that mean you have consciously helped guide the formation of
the Christian Coalition away from the political party
model?
Reed:
Definitely. We do not see ourselves as a political party. We
have Democrats and Republicans involved. We have indicated
that we will not become involved - or, at least, do not anticipate
ever becoming involved - in the formation of a third political party. {This
brings several things to mind. 1. The organization "Focus
On The Family" left the Republican Party to do just that and
2. Many Christians especially in the Southern Baptist Convention,
are being told that they have to join the Republican Party and
have decided to leave the church, not wanting to be told
where to run politically.}
We do not train candidates. We do not endorse candidates. We do
not contribute to candidates. And there is no such thing as
a "Christian Coalition candidate" for office...
Door:
Even so, you write that the Christian Coalition was formed out of
a need. It is hard to maintain momentum in off-election years?
Reed:
Certainly the interest of the broader society waxes and
wanes, but the core activists that we are training and mobilizing on a
daily basis remain fairly consistent. I mean even though
1995 was an off year, we were very active in the passage of the
Contract with America: we issued in May our own Contract with the American
Family; and in November 1995 we introduced the Religious Equality Amendment
to the Constitution by Congressman Henry Hyde. So we are fully immersed
in legislative and lobbying activity and we are only secondarily involved
in elections in our activity and programs.
Door:
Compared to Pat Robertson's books.. yours are less confrontational towards
the press.
Reed:
Pat and I just have different roles. Pat is one who speaks with a
prophetic voice and speaks as a visionary to awake the
slumbering religious community, to get them to wake up and see
the problems that our society confronts, so he is presenting
a more black and white picture of what is going on, which I
think
in more instances, is very accurate. Because my role is
as a lobbyist, as a political strategist, I am trying to teach
people how to respect their opponents even as they oppose their
public views..
Door:
There is a quote on page 130 where you say, "People
of faith must build their own institutions that will present
their views accurately." Are you afraid that's sometimes
just singing to the choir? That you are not reaching anybody
else if you do that?
Reed:
.. I want to live in a society where you can have Mother
Angelica and Jim Dobson and Pat Robertson and Rush Limbaugh and
Dan Rather and Peter Jennings and Tom Brokaw - I want to have a
great deal of diversity. {He calls that diversity?} But I think
what I and many other conservatives are tired of is
the dominant, so-called "mainstream" media not presenting
accurately the view of millions of committed Christians and conservative
people of faith {an interesting classification: "Conservative
people of faith" stated as another group outside of Christianity,
sure has a pope-ish ecumenical feel to it}. So the institutionalization
of alternative communication media is absolutely critical if we're
going to be a viable political and cultural force. {Attributes of
developing the "Third Reich" which was considered to be
a force were "unity as well as segregation reigned by means
of uniforms on young and old, marching, con-
trolled propaganda, personal appearances and promises of a moral perfect
Reich.} Door:
The Jerry Falwell quote on page 253 intrigues us:
"The thing about Christians is when they lose, they quit.
When they win, they quit. They just quit."
Reed:
It's a great line. But I think with the Christian Coalition,
we're well on our way to winning that battle.. I think that what the Christian
Coalition is attempting to inculcate in people of faith is that citizenship
is not a crusade - and it is not a
hobby. It's a way of life. And it's not a choice, it's a duty and an obligation
and you have to do it not for one year or one
election, but you have to do it for your entire lifetime and you have
to display the same level of commitment to remaining in
volved as the Left does. And the Left is very persistent and we
would be wise to learn from them..
Door:
..Where did this Quit mentality come from?
Reed:
I think it is primarily due to a lack of experience, based on the
fact that Conservative Christians and Pro-family Roman
Catholics were not politically active.. they did not know what is required
to win.. And what is required to win is to stay and stay and stay for as
long as it takes and as many years as it takes to
move the country. And I think now these activists who man the phone banks,
who walk the precincts, who go door-to-door, who lick the envelopes - they
are now seasoned veterans... They are much savvy-er, much tougher,
they bear the scars of many battles and I think they're the
better for it.
Door:
So you are in this for the long haul.
Reed:
Absolutely. For the rest of my life.