Battle Over “Guns and Religion”

It is Saturday morning in Terre Haute Indiana. Things have calmed a bit since Bill Clinton and Barack Obama have headed out of small town America, but not in my spirit! I am still fired up and proud to be a Christian and an American! Wow, what a privilege it is to have these conversations even though they are heated and full of emotion.

I know that as a pastor I am walking on dangerous ground, but as an American it is holy ground! I have the right as a citizen to speak my views on issues. I don’t have a right as a pastor to publicly from my stage at Maryland Community Church promote a candidate and I respect that. This isn’t about ‘a candidate’. It is about an issue or shall we say a mixed bag of issues.

First, I am one of those small town people that Mr. Obabma was talking about. I am by my standards a conservative politically, there you go I said it. I do want to address the heart of what this candidate and the other two said about his statement. Generally the statements he made centered around relying on “guns and religion” when the government isn’t listening to us. Here are some direct quotes from Fox News on the issue:

Mr. Obama:”It’s not surprising, then, they get bitter, they cling to guns or religion or antipathy to people who aren’t like them or anti-immigrant sentiment or anti-trade sentiment as a way to explain their frustrations.”

Mrs. Clinton: “Americans who believe in the Second Amendment believe it’s a constitutional right. Americans who believe in God believe it’s a matter of personal faith. Americans who believe in protecting good American jobs believe it’s a matter of the American dream,” she said. “People embrace faith not because they are materially poor but because they are spiritually rich.”

I truly believe what both of them said is true! I will say that most of us that I know in the Mid-West don’t have a hot-line to the White House. But I must also remind all of us, we do have a computer, email, telephones, paper and pen, and the right to talk to those in office at all levels. For that you should be grateful and thank God for!

Our country was founded on a general belief that we as citizens have the right to protect ourselves against a government turned evil. We can possess and use a weapon in such a case. There are of course folks like myself who choose not to, but I do have a right to. There are many nations in which citizens do not have the right and are in a horrible situation when an evil dictator takes over the government. I don’t like thinking about such things but I and all citizens must at times.

Let me also be very clear, the owning of a weapon does not entitle me to use it to kill innocent people. We all struggle with the horrible use of military style weapons being used in our schools and towns for the wrong reasons. It is a very very hard balance to maintain. Our government and we as citizens have a hard and complex issue facing us. I believe we should work hard to both allow the possession of weapons under the best and most manageable means keep them out of the hands of criminals who will harm other people. Sounds like a no brainer…..but it isn’t.

As for God. Wow, I don’t even want to begin speaking for Him! But, as a pastor who has been called by God to proclaim the good news of Jesus Christ I must speak on behalf of what I know and am willing to die for.

No government or President is above God’s Law. As a citizen I have not only the right but the obligation as a follower of Jesus Christ to make sure I pray for my government and my President no matter who he or she is. I must add, this process; prayer and obedience to the Lord Jesus Christ are my primary weapons for change and the power to have peace for all my fellow citizens of this world. I could quote you some bible but I don’t think that is necessary.

These are hard times. Who isn’t for change! None of us, including President Bush, want things to stay the way they are. Shame on us if we think it is that simple.

I don’t honestly believe any of us want this to be about sexuality, race or religion. We want the best for our country and the right to follow our God in the process. We want peace on the earth, we want a roof over our head, food on the table, clothes on our back and have it be safe to walk our streets.

Please, vote your conscience and your belief, but vote! Don’t just get frustrated and angry at the democratic process. It could be worse! I didn’t have a choice about where I was born, but every day I make a choice to live here. I say, God bless America! I say America Bless God! I say God save the world! I say citizen of the earth, live responsibly! Your life matters and counts! You are somebody and don’t ever for get it, no matter where you live!

As someone famous once said, “Ask not what your country can do for you, but ask what you can do for your country.” I want to also add, don’t ask, what can God do for me, ask, what can I do for God!

A humble and proud citizen of God’s earth living in Terre Haute Indiana and serving Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior.