THOUGHTS FOR REP. RANGEL
ABOUT GOVERNMENT DEBT:
A MINISTER'S REPLY

Rep. Charlie Rangel (D-NY) said on Fox News Sunday that the current debt crisis was a moral issue, that he wanted to hear from “the rabbis and the priests and the ministers and the imams. This is their business, not just politicians.” Earlier he had indicated that Jesus would have something to say about the debt ceiling.

What would Jesus say? Jesus commanded us to pay our taxes, to “render to Caesar (Matthew 22:21).” Rep. Rangel was the first Congressman censured by the House in nearly 30 years for failing to disclose over half a million dollars in assets, and not paying taxes. His political compatriots such as Secretary of the Treasury Timothy Geithner, Pres. Obama’s choice to scrutinize government spending Nancy Killefer and Obama’s choice as HHS secretary, former Senate majority leader Tom Daschle, all had their own tax issues.

We all make mistakes, especially when the tax code is so burdensome and complicated, but if one is going to make a moral issue of taxes, then one ought to pay them. Jesus said, “You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother’s eye (Matthew 7:3).”

Jesus certainly did tell us about our responsibility for the poor. “For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.” (Matthew 25:35-36). And we see the early church selling their goods and sharing with needy Christians. But these are individual and church responsibilities, not the government’s.

President Obama’s proposals include reducing charitable giving tax deductions. This would harm the very mechanisms Jesus intends to provide for the poor by discouraging people from giving to charities and churches. Jesus knows that man must work (“ If anyone is not willing to work, let him not eat [2 Thessalonians 3:10],” the apostle Paul wrote) for their own character development. So, too, those who help the poor need to help them as directly as possible. Charity is a private responsibility, not a governmental one.

Scripture also teaches us to be good stewards of our money. Government shouldn’t spend money it doesn’t have. Jesus teaches an important principal: “For which of you, desiring to build a tower, does not first sit down and count the cost, whether he has enough to complete it? Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation and is not able to finish, all who see it begin to mock him…(Luke 14:28-29).” Our government has desired to build many towers with no funds to build them. The United States has become a mockery as a result.

Proverbs teaches us that “the borrower is the slave to the lender (Proverbs 22:7).” Our $14 trillion debt has not only made us the object of mockery, but our ever increasing borrowing has made us a slave to the avowedly atheistic communist Chinese government. Can Christ be pleased that our government must honor a foreign government that systematically oppresses those who seek to worship Him?

Jesus described Himself as “the way, the truth, and the life (John 14:6). He is the giver of life. Yet our government continues to borrow money to fund abortion mill Planned Parenthood, a taker of the most innocent of lives.

Again, Proverbs tells us that “when the wicked rule, the people groan (Proverbs 29:2).” Rep. Rangel, I think you are right. There is a lot Jesus and the Bible has to say about the current budget debate.

OBAMA SKIPS CHURCH FOR THE GYM

Unlike his predecessors, President-elect Barack Obama finds the gym more attractive than church services:

President-elect Barack Obama has yet to attend church services since winning the White House earlier this month, a departure from the example of his two immediate predecessors.

On the three Sundays since his election, Obama has instead used his free time to get in workouts at a Chicago gym.

Asked about the president-elect's decision to not attend church, a transition aide noted that the Obamas valued their faith experience in Chicago but were concerned about the impact their large retinue may have on other parishioners.

"Because they have a great deal of respect for places of worship, they do not want to draw unwelcome or inappropriate attention to a church not used to the attention their attendance would draw," said the aide.

Both President-elect George W. Bush and President-elect Bill Clinton managed to attend church in the weeks after they were elected.

Does that raise the question of whether a messiah should go to church or should the church come to him?

HOMOSEXUAL 'MARRIAGE' DEFEATED IN THREE STATES

In what would seem to be a counter-intuitive result considering Tuesday's overall election returns homosexual marriage was defeated in three states, two of which went for Obama:

In California, where same-sex marriage had been performed since June, the ban had more than 52 percent of the vote, according to figures by the secretary of state, and was projected to win by several Californian news media outlets. Opponents of same-sex marriage won by even bigger margins in Arizona and Florida. Just two years ago, Arizona rejected a similar ban.

Of particular interest is who supported the bans:

Exit polls in California found that 70 percent of black voters backed the ban. Slightly more than half of Latino voters, who made up almost 20 percent of voters, favored the ban, while 53 percent of whites opposed it.

Apparently minorities aren't buying homosexual marriage as a so-called civil rights issue, while whites are happy to go along with it.

JERRY FALWELL HAS died at 73. I know everyone is already aware of it, but Theosebes would be remiss not to note his passing.

Falwell was a mixed bag. I applauded his willingness to speak out on moral issues when others would not. I am glad he was able to cause limp-spined politicians to squirm through the influence of the Moral Majority. On the other hand, he would often say odd things (eg, his comments about the ever annoying Teletubbies), and I can't say I'm overly thrilled about the evangelical right's elevation of American patriotism to near (?) religious status. Falwell certainly played his part in that. Certainly, I had many theological differences with a premillennial Baptist.

Without a doubt, his influence on American political life was profound.

BLACK FLOCKS ABANDONING LIBERAL LEADERS

As preachers in predominantly black churches 'evolve' and 'grow' in their understanding of Scripture, particularly as it applies to homosexuality, they are finding their flocks are moving on:

When the Rev. Dennis Meredith of Tabernacle Baptist Church here began preaching acceptance of gay men and lesbians a few years ago, he attracted some gay people who were on the brink of suicide and some who had left the Baptist faith of their childhoods but wanted badly to return.

At the same time, Tabernacle Baptist, an African-American congregation, lost many of its most loyal, generous parishioners, who could not accept a message that contradicted what they saw as the Bible’s condemnation of same-sex relations. Over the last three years, Tabernacle’s Sunday attendance shrank to 800, from 1,100.

The debate about homosexuality that has roiled predominantly white mainline churches for years has gradually seeped into African-American congregations, threatening their unity, finances and, in some cases, their existence.

Historically black churches have been quite conservative morally, but the hangover from the civil rights movement was an alliance with the Democratic Party by many black 'leaders' (eg, Jesse Jackson, Al Sharpton). As the Democrats moved left, many black leaders knew they had to move left to if they wanted to keep their power. But many in the pews weren't there for a political handout, they actually wanted to worship God. Many of these historically black churches are going the way of the American mainline denominations. And considering their continual rewriting of Scripture to fit the the prevailing cultural milieu, I won't shed a single tear for them.

[Thanks to Wild Bill for the link.]