The Holy Spirit distinctly and expressly declares
that in latter times
some will turn away from the faith,
giving attention to deluding and seducing spirits
and doctrines that demons teach,
Through the hypocrisy and pretensions of liars
whose consciences are seared (cauterized),
Who forbid people to marry
(1 Timothy 4:1-3)
As many Christians watched the election results on November 6, 2012, a sinking feeling overcame many in the GOP as reality sunk in and folks began to realize they had been hoodwinked into believing Mitt Romney was going to win. Even though I have been a lifelong Democrat, I've been a Christian even longer, (and I've been gay even longer than that). I was very proud of our country as Americans wholeheartedly rejected the unChristian lies coming from the Romney camp itself, but also from what has been dubbed the Conservative Entertainment Media Complex. I believe President Obama has more than earned his 2nd term as the leader of the free world, and I look forward to the next 4 years with an eager anticipation filled with great hopes for this administration, and the future of our great nation.
I know the election was a disappointment to many people. Every election leaves someone disappointed. But continuing to ignore the missteps of Governor Romney and the nonfactual reporting of the Right Wing Entertainment Media will only result in continuing to isolate the GOP from the mainstream of the majority of Americans...and many leaders in the GOP are beginning to say so.
As a democracy, we are governed by majority vote. As long as the GOP alienates folks who may otherwise vote for them, they will continue to lose elections. As long as the GOP refuses to establish themselves as trustworthy messengers of a path forward for our country, refuses to provide the level of transparency Americans have come to expect from our leaders, and refuses to come clean with their own personal finances, America will continue to be skittish about voting for anyone representing the GOP party...at least anyone vying for the the highest offices in the land.
But all is not lost. There are ways for the GOP to regain a majority by first coming up with superior ideas that move Americans forward, not backward. The American democratic process is based on a 2 party system. We expect both parties to present ideas to Americans for us to choose between. In this election cycle, (and the former one with McCain/Palin), the GOP failed to develop ideas that appealed to the majority of Americans. They shed vast amounts of their professionalism and credibility by pandering to the most extreme (aka "crazy") voters, with the most extreme (aka "say anything to get elected") candidates they could find to run. And they lost. Big time! This has left many individual conservative voters disappointed and disillusioned.
It's time for some truth.
It's time for some truth.
The Right Wing Conservative Entertainment Media does not care about individual conservative voters. They make money based on advertising and viewers, not votes. The same goes for activist Christian pastors. While statements based in a false reality created by these two powerhouses of conservative communicators may indeed draw an audience, garner advertisers, and generate "AMENS" in Church, (and even though they may even generate a large swath of agreement amongst individual conservative voters who want to portray themselves as "team members"), these created realities are useless in a very real election where non-conservative voters become part of the electoral equation as well.
As many conservatives are beginning to see, folks like Rush Limbaugh make all kinds of money for themselves, but that doesn't necessarily create votes at the ballot box, and clearly doesn't do conservative voters any favors in terms of how they are perceived by the majority of Americans. Right Wing commentators like Ann Coulter and Sean Hannity brand conservatives (just as many Christians brand Jesus) in ways that do not reflect the reality of the vast majority of conservatives, and they do it by branding liberals in ways that do not reflect the reality of the vast majority of liberals. It gets them on TV, but in reality, it doesn't generate votes for the GOP. If anything, this election proves that it actually costs votes. These Right Wing pundits give both conservatives (and Christians) a bad name...but what do they care? They (like Karl Rove), are being paid millions of dollars, whether you ever vote Republican...or not.
As many conservatives are beginning to see, folks like Rush Limbaugh make all kinds of money for themselves, but that doesn't necessarily create votes at the ballot box, and clearly doesn't do conservative voters any favors in terms of how they are perceived by the majority of Americans. Right Wing commentators like Ann Coulter and Sean Hannity brand conservatives (just as many Christians brand Jesus) in ways that do not reflect the reality of the vast majority of conservatives, and they do it by branding liberals in ways that do not reflect the reality of the vast majority of liberals. It gets them on TV, but in reality, it doesn't generate votes for the GOP. If anything, this election proves that it actually costs votes. These Right Wing pundits give both conservatives (and Christians) a bad name...but what do they care? They (like Karl Rove), are being paid millions of dollars, whether you ever vote Republican...or not.
While some individual conservatives may be entertained by that, (or made to feel an inflated sense of their own self importance), until they begin operating in a fact-based world, conservatives will continue to lose voters, and Churches will continue to lose members. But there are ways Christians themselves can save the GOP, and each of these ideas are actually listed in the Bible. Knowing how few Christians actually read the Bible, I thought it may be helpful to bring some of them to light for your consideration as a Conservative, as a Christian, and as a voter.
These ideas include embracing LGBT people and affirming us as full participants in the spiritual life of the Christian Church per God's Own commands (Isaiah 55:11 - Isaiah 56:12), as described in detail in Chapter 4: Messengers of The King. This one simple step will lead to increased membership in the Christian Church. God prophesies we will bring offerings to His altar. This one simple step will lead to increased finances for the Christian Church. These two steps alone will open the door for conservatives to begin speaking into the lives of LGBT people with messages other than "you're going to hell!"
Such messages may garner "AMENS" from the pews, and help pastors fleece the flock to fund a false (and failing) war on same sex marriage, but they do nothing to increase church membership or church finances, and do nothing to bring LGBT people into the Conservative flock.... instead, they have the exact opposite effect of pushing us away from both conservatism and Christianity....and our money (and votes) along with us, as illustrated in Chapter 20: Fire From Heaven. And it doesn't stop there!
Isaiah 56:8 must come to pass in order for Romans 11:25 to come to pass. This simple step means LGBT people begin to more keenly recognize our own vested interest in a more robust relationship between the United States and Israel...and Gaza. It defines a prophetic role of LGBT people to prepare the Church for the 2nd Coming of Jesus (Luke 24:44), and opens the door for the entire Christian Church to begin preparing Jews for the arrival of the 1st Messiah they will recognize (which are one and the same events), described in detail in Chapter 22: Jesus, Jews, and Gays.
In light of the recent military skirmishes between Gaza and Israel, we even find a remedy from God's Word which involves LGBT people becoming ministers of peace among all 3 Abrahamic religions (and every other religion), as explored in Chapter 21: Gaza: Holy Land for Gays.
There's much more to share in this regard, and I have discussed some of them at length in other chapters of The Bed Keeper. Often times, these ideas are rejected out of hand because Christians have never heard of most of them, even though each and every one is demonstrably illustrated by God in the Bible, whether the Church--or those politically motivated activist Christian pastors--ever say so, or not. This wouldn't be the first time the Church was wrong about something.
So perhaps it is time to revisit some of those ideas, and perhaps it's time for Christians to set aside their preconceived notions about LGBT people, and open their eyes to see us as God sees us: as naturally born members of God's Created Order, destined to fulfill various prophecies issued by God Himself, with a goal of preparing the world for the return of Jesus....with the side benefit of increasing membership and funding for both conservatism and Christianity....which will inevitably translate into more GOP votes.
While it may take years for LGBT people (and Americans in general) to ever trust the GOP again, we are a forgiving people. We all want to see the GOP get its act together, and once again begin providing Americans with viable plans for the future to go head to head with the Democrats' ideas. Most LGBT people I know feel confined to vote Democrat because the GOP has seemingly rejected us (and our votes) with their opposition to same sex marriage even though the Apostle Paul himself ordained it, as Chapter 2: God Sanctioned Gay Marriage illustrates.
We have felt condemned by the Church simply for being born as LGBT people, even though Jesus Himself taught we are born naturally in order to fulfill a vital prophetic role in His return, as Chapter 1: Born This Way clearly demonstrates.
Christians have traditionally misapplied passages from Scripture that were actually addressing heterosexual men married to women who engaged in adultery with other men--and not LGBT people--as illustrated in Chapter 16: Leviticus, Chapter 18: Romans, and Chapter 19: Go, and Sin No More. Instead, God's Word demonstrates that there is but one proper way to begin speaking to LGBT people about Jesus, as revealed through the account of the Ethiopian Eunuch in Chapter 3: For the Kingdom of Heaven.
And Christians have traditionally misapplied passages from Scripture that were actually addressing God's purge of fallen angels--and not LGBT people--in the account of Sodom's destruction, as demonstrated in Chapter 14: Men of Sodom.
Maybe the best thing Christians can do to save the GOP is read the Bible, and recognize that God has reserved a place for LGBT people at His Table, in His Kingdom, and in His Church--as well as in the prophetic role of Jesus' return--even if the Church chooses to ignore it. After all, until these things come to pass, Jesus cannot return (Luke 24:44), and until Jesus does return, nobody gets resurrected to the eternal life He died to give us. (1 Thessalonians 4:16-17). So reading the Bible in this case wouldn't simply be a homework assignment....your own personal resurrection depends upon it, whether you know it now or not.
Maybe the best thing Christians can do to save the GOP is invite your own LGBT family members to church, and begin to recognize (and treat them) as members of God's family too, because we are, whether you know it now or not.
Maybe the best thing Christians can do is to confront some of those activist Christian preachers that recommend you beat your gay kids, or recommend supporting government sponsored genocide of LGBT people, and replace them with a pastor who actually preaches the Bible, and not just what you have always been told the Bible says about LGBT people.
And maybe the best thing Christians can do is stop getting all their news from the Right Wing Entertainment Complex. Check out several sources, both liberal and conservative. It doesn't take long to find the Fox in the hen house!
And maybe....just maybe.....the GOP can pull this one out of the crapper....
Maybe the best thing Christians can do to save the GOP is invite your own LGBT family members to church, and begin to recognize (and treat them) as members of God's family too, because we are, whether you know it now or not.
Maybe the best thing Christians can do is to confront some of those activist Christian preachers that recommend you beat your gay kids, or recommend supporting government sponsored genocide of LGBT people, and replace them with a pastor who actually preaches the Bible, and not just what you have always been told the Bible says about LGBT people.
And maybe the best thing Christians can do is stop getting all their news from the Right Wing Entertainment Complex. Check out several sources, both liberal and conservative. It doesn't take long to find the Fox in the hen house!
And maybe....just maybe.....the GOP can pull this one out of the crapper....
...but that's up to you guys.
PS: I know many Christians' first repsonse to this will be: "Well, that's just impossible! Homosexuality is an abomination to God!" (or something along those lines). If that's you, it may be helpful to begin by reviewing the Frequently Asked Questions reference guide.
PS: I know many Christians' first repsonse to this will be: "Well, that's just impossible! Homosexuality is an abomination to God!" (or something along those lines). If that's you, it may be helpful to begin by reviewing the Frequently Asked Questions reference guide.
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