restoring our biblical and constitutional foundations

To Blog Or Not To Blog?

 David Alan Black 

The Bible does not talk about blogging. Directly, that it. Our Father would be pleased that all of His children serve Him to the best of their God-given talents. Caleb asked for a mountain, Jabez for an enlargement of his coastline. I do not believe that the Lord meant for us to pray Jabez’s prayer regularly (or even at all), but I do believe that most of us live in cramped and narrow borders. Perhaps we need to push out our coastlines a bit, to enter the rest that remains for the people of God (“rest” in the sense of purposeful duty as those co-yoked with Christ).

Contrary to popular notions today, blogging is not easy. The fact is, it is much easier to begin blogging than to continue it. As in Malachi 3:16, I fear that many blogs are merely public eavesdropping, and God hears them. That ought to put a divine seal on our lips when we would speak unadvisedly. But at the same time it ought, perhaps, to make us more vocal in the things of the Lord, provided of course that out of the abundance of a Spirit-filled heart the mouth speaketh.

It must have been an odd sight, that first blog. I suppose mine must have been about the thirty-billionth to invade the blogosphere. Alas, man has fared badly with many of these cybernetic intrusions. In my judgment, a good blog is one that combines solid, substantial satisfaction of the mind and soul with gladness and rejoicing – even a bit of frivolity at times. It must also have a logos – a message, as the ancient Greek rhetoricians would say. I suppose the message of my blog is that our manmade Babylons are in shambles, and that includes our “evangelical” Babylons. Thankfully, because the Lord loves us He rebukes and chastens us.

The blogs I enjoy reading the most are those that have – to use the language of the old-time preacher – “unction.” Without the anointing and enabling of the Holy Spirit the blogger may strive and sweat, but all to no avail. Earnestness is no substitute for truth, and just because someone enjoys scintillating oration does not mean that God is in it.

So why should one blog? Some of us have been on life’s road for quite a long time now, and sometimes we wonder how it will be with us the rest of the way. Do we still have a contribution to make? I may no longer be able to mount up with wings as eagles, but I can still run and not grow weary and walk and not faint. There are some things that experience has taught me, and I share them with my readers in the hopes that they, too, might find encouragement for the journey.

I have often wondered why more of my friends and associates do not blog. Many of them have so much to share. I do not mean every little headache, every petty vexation, every little grievance or pet peeve. Everyone has those. But we whose hearts are fixed on God have an open door as never before to address both a timid church and a tortured world. Bedford prison could not lock up John Bunyan’s pen, nor could Fanny Cosby’s blindness her hymns. In the words of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow:

Something remains for us to do or dare,

Even the oldest trees some fruit may bear.

For Age is opportunity no less

Than Youth itself though in another dress.

And as the evening twilight fades away

The sky is filled with stars invisible by day.

One sure sign of revival is that it sets people testifying. God is not only their salvation, He is their song. When He puts a new song in our hearts, why should the singers be silent?

August 30, 2005

David Alan Black is the editor of www.daveblackonline.com. If you would like to know more about becoming a follower of King Jesus, please feel free to write Dave.

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Time for a New American Revolution?

 David Alan Black

For some time now I have sensed that many people claiming a Christian commitment are careening down an unmarked road. They believe the road is going somewhere, but they’re not sure where that destination is or how they will be certain when they’ve reached it. Occasionally we hear of fellow travelers who have crashed, and we wonder why they were not smart enough to keep in the lane. But the majority keeps pressing on ahead, unable to turn back but unsure of what’s ahead.

In my forthcoming book Why I Stopped Listening to Rush I seek to show how modern-day Christians can tie themselves too closely to the establishment by embracing doctrinaire political conservatism and the evils of a culture religion. The manner in which the New Right captured Christianity is a topic too vast to be explored here, but it is aptly illustrated by the capitulation of Christian America to the driving force of nationalism that is evident everywhere this Memorial Day. As Martin Niemoller, the courageous German pastor who endured eight years of imprisonment for opposing Hitler, confessed after his release: “We, that is the Church, have failed, for we knew the wrong and the right path, but we did not warn the people and allowed them to rush forward to their doom.” So it is today. As the forces of evil spread across the country, the children of God do nothing to resist this development. Perhaps one day they, too, will discover that they have fallen victim to the mounting terror and oppression until finally no one remains to speak up.

For a country that is 7 trillion dollars in debt, the United States should be Utopia. Everything should be perfect. Instead, we have the worst of both worlds—we are deeply in debt without anything to show for it except, as Mark Dankof notes:

…a $550 billion dollar Federal budget deficit; a $600 billion dollar manufacturing trade deficit; the achievement of the dubious high bar figure of $7 trillion dollars in national debt; the outsourcing of another 2.7 million jobs abroad since his inauguration in January of 2001; the carte-blanche acceptance of another 12 million illegal aliens within our boundaries; the ongoing legitimization of New World Order trade agreements like NAFTA, GATT, the WTO, and PMFN for Communist China that preempt American law and sovereignty; a USA Patriot Act that destroys 4th Amendment guarantees against unlawful search and seizure by empowering Federal intelligence agencies to break into any home or business in this country without a warrant or even a consultation with a Federal judge; the continued tax subsidization of stem-cell research and Planned Parenthood abortuaries nationwide; spending increases for un-Constitutional and counterproductive Federal departments like the Department of Education and the National Endowment for the Arts; a closer alliance with the Log Cabin Gay Republican caucus; and a preemptive military strike against a foreign nation on faulty intelligence, false pretense, and without a formal Congressional declaration of war.

Fortunately, there are signs that Christian young people are turning against the complacency that now grips and paralyzes a large segment of our society. Others may sing about an alabaster city, undimmed by human tears, but they know better. They have stopped telling themselves that everything is alright and that all the fundamentals are sound. They realize that people with a drinking problem must admit they are alcoholics before they can be cured.

The question facing the good citizens of the American Republic this day is, “Who will reject the values of materialism and the lifestyle that emphasizes power and pleasure?” Of all people, Christian young people should recognize and act on these facts and thereby help their elders to come to grips with the sin of nationalism. As I see it, the task before the Christian movement is (a) to free itself from apathy and indifference, (b) to refuse to be a part of the status quo any longer, and (c) to commit itself unreservedly to the lordship of Jesus Christ. Far too much of Christianity has become culture-bound and tied to materialism and nationalism. It is clear that our leaders, like those in Nazi Germany, are only too happy to “use” religion as a part of their national programs to whip up and maintain a high level of support for their war efforts. It is a fearful and shameful fact that Christianity was a crucial impetus in creating and sustaining the imperialism we see at work in the Middle East. If it did nothing else, the current occupation of Iraq pointed up the problem of Christian support of the status quo—in this case a degrading imposition of American style “democracy” on a nation that was never a threat to the United States.

I would like to see some altar calls in our churches for men and women who would publicly declare their commitment to a higher loyalty than the state, namely, Jesus Christ. We have tried the gimmicks, the programs, the promises of a thousand and one gurus of the faith. Why not go back to the tried and the true?

If the American people don’t stand together, putting the people in Washington back in the role of servants, then the system won’t ever be fixed. Let’s stop blaming our elected officials for failing to address these problems. They are simply reflecting our priorities as reflected in endless but accurate polls. Let’s face it: We, not our elected officials, are the real wimps.

Now is the time to stand, the time to speak! Now is the time for a new American revolution!

May 31, 2004

David Alan Black is the editor of www.daveblackonline.com. His latest book, Why I Stopped Listening to Rush: Confessions of a Recovering Neocon, will be released in June.

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Three Cheers for Ben Curtis

 David Alan Black

The sports pundits are scratching their crania this morning trying to figure out what happened yesterday at Royal St. George’s. I mean, how could this guy win the British Open, beating such world-class players as Thomas Bjorn, Davis Love III, Vijay Singh, and Tiger Woods?

After all, where was Ben Curtis this time last year? Playing on the Hooters Tour—you know, that restaurant chain that specializes in, um, fried chicken.

In the end, however, when Bjorn’s 35-foot birdie attempt on the 18th green failed, Curtis was the surprised and shocked Open champion. “Surprised” champion to everyone but the champion himself, that is.

Throughout the competition, Curtis, ranked 396th in the world coming in, was confident and in total control. Not over-confident or braggadocious, mind you. Anyone playing in the Biggest of the Big would feel some nervousness. “I was shaking in my boots, obviously, but I was just out there very focused on what I had to do and let my work speak for itself,” said Curtis. “And if it was good enough, fine, if not, I can live with it.”

Pundits, got it now? Here’s the attitude that brought victory to Curtis: Focus on what you have to do, do the best you can, and be satisfied with the results—whatever they are.

What a refreshing approach to professional sports.

Listen again to Curtis: “Oh, man, that’s about all I can say now,” he said. “I came in here this week just trying to play the best I could and hopefully make the cut and compete on the weekend. And obviously I did that and went out there and probably played the best weekend of my life.”

When he rolled in a 6-footer for par on the 18th, Bjorn was at 3-under but in the process of double-bogeying the 16th. Love, Singh, and Woods were at even par.

“When I looked up at the scoreboard when I finished and saw that I was two back, and [Bjorn] had three holes to play, and those are not easy holes—I knew 17 and 18 especially were playing really difficult—and I knew I needed to make that putt to have a chance,” Curtis said. “I knew I needed that putt on 18 to win—to have a chance, at least, I should say. I didn’t necessarily think it was going to be the winning putt. And then just on the driving range I just was having fun and just trying to keep relaxed and not really think about it.”

“Just having fun.”  All the while outlasting Tiger Woods and a collection of super-stars to win his first major championship.

“Many people are probably saying, ‘Well, he doesn’t really belong there,’” Curtis said after the tournament. “But I know I do, so that’s all that matters.”

It’s Lake Placid all over again. David versus Goliath. “The last shall be first.” Little guys can beat big dudes.

Give it all you got, and leave the results to God.

July 21, 2003

David Alan Black is the editor of www.daveblackonline.com.

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Thoughts on the SBC Convention in Orlando

 David Alan Black  

So, how was Orlando? Expensive. The seminary very graciously put me up in the Hilton. Not cheap. However, I noticed a nearby Days Inn whose rooms went for half the price. That’s where I spent my second night. Felt good to be able to save the school some money. Besides, little David had something Goliath lacked: An internet terminal in the lobby where guests could check their email. Gotta have that! I met lots of people, both colleagues and students (former and prospective). Jason Hall did an absolutely phenomenal job of setting up and managing the SEBTS booth. David Allen sauntered by one day, as did many other good friends.

Multiply these encounters a hundredfold and you’ll understand why these conferences are so much fun. I don’t know how many messengers attended this year’s meeting but the place was packed solid. The SEBTS luncheon on Wednesday, at which both Danny Akin and Johnny Hunt spoke, was fantastic. I came away from the convention with a new realization that a Great Commission resurgence will not begin at the denominational level. It will end there. A Great Commission commitment must begin in our homes and marriages, and then in our local churches, each one of them. This is clearly the pattern of the book of Acts. The church at Antioch, the world’s first missional church, is proof of that. As I came to this realization, I was filled with excitement. Clearly missions is now possible on a scale as never before. I’m not talking about professional missionaries only. The work of the Great Commission will certainly include them. But the work is much broader than that. The playing field has been leveled as never before. It is level in the sense that everyone can now be a player, and in venues once thought impossible. Just do a Google. I did so the other day and found an interesting site, in Iraq of all places. A new American University has just opened there and is willing to pay you to be a fulltime missionary to Iraq — as long as you are willing to teach business or English. Here education, as it so often has done in the past, is leading the way in breaking down walls and knitting the world together. The dynamic behind this globalization in education is practically begging us North Americans to capitalize on it. (I am tempted to grab a quick degree in ESL and apply for the job myself.)

Let’s say you want to do missionary work in China. Did you know that secular Chinese universities are hiring Americans to teach courses in biblical studies? A couple of years ago I got an email from an American scholar who was taking a sabbatical in China and teaching at Shanghai University. He wrote to tell me he was using my beginning Greek grammar in one of his courses. I was flabbergasted. Here was an American evangelical teaching both Greek and New Testament Introduction in a Chinese university, at the expense of the Chinese. In Dalian — China’s silicon valley — there are 22 universities and colleges with over 200,000 students. Most of these ambitious young people are eager to study English. The era of top-down missions — where all missionaries are professionally trained — is rapidly vanishing. Something infinitely more satisfying is arising alongside the traditional model. The faster the transition, the greater the potential for involving larger and larger numbers of “laypeople” (you and me) in the cause of the Great Commission. This flattening of world missions has the potential to unlock pent-up energies for hundreds of thousands of North Americans, Southern Baptists included.

It is impossible to exaggerate how important this development is. Couple this with developments in communications and transportation and the world has become not only flatter but a lot smaller. Becky’s missionary parents traveled to Ethiopia for the first time in 1954. Their trip by freighter took 6 weeks. Today we can fly from Washington DC to Addis Ababa in a mere 19 hours. Moreover, wherever you’re going, there’s probably a job skill God can use. Working in a secular job while actually being a fulltime missionary may sound rather routine and dull. But these jobs often pay well, and you have a natural venue for establishing relationships with a view toward sharing the Good News. In addition, biblical education is possible as never before. It’s is no longer campus-centered, and you can easily educate yourself — even in Greek and Hebrew — online. When Bill Gates co-founded Microsoft, his goal was to provide every individual “IAYF” — information at your fingertips. His success is obvious.

The global information revolution has impacted missions. The world is now connected, and it seems that nothing will stop the digital representation of practically everything. Back when my in-laws were working in Ethiopia, this infrastructure was missing. Now everyone is online — writing, blogging, tweeting. (Personally, I believe HTML is the greatest invention of the twentieth century, since it has allowed average people like me to author web pages with ease.) We have reached a point in missions that almost any of us can become personally involved, whether it’s by going or informing or teaching via one’s website. The great thing about modern missions, as I heard over and over again at the convention, is that anyone and everyone can be involved. Indeed, everyone ought to be involved. Even a Facebook page or a Twitter account can become a powerful evangelistic tool in this day of social networking. In other words, once the idea that every Christian is a fulltime missionary is accepted, the work of missions will advance with much less hierarchy — and much less wasted money. In time, I think we will see a new equilibrium emerge in which professionally-trained missionaries will work side-by-side with an army of volunteers in a low-friction environment that enhances cooperation.

For me, working in Ethiopia is a dream come true. When Becky and I went to Ethiopia in 2004 our sole purpose was to see the places in her childhood that shaped her. Today we make two trips a year. There are many professional missionaries working in Ethiopia, but Becky and I have still found plenty of room to maneuver in places where most foreign missionaries would never think of going. As with blogging, where an army of citizen journalists has matched the official media outlets in the information gathering and disseminating routine, today there is an army of citizen missionaries harnessing the power of the Spirit and channeling it into significant ministries. And as never before, these ministries can stay connected. It is impossible to gauge the impact of the internet on the SBC, but when you hear Johnny Hunt say that he read hundreds of tweets during the Orlando convention it is clear that the social media are successfully monitoring the news. My generation had to adapt to the internet, but the current generation is growing up online. (I once read that one third of grade school students have their own email addresses.) The bottom line of what I am saying: It’s time for us to wake up to the fact that there is a fundamental shift talking place in the way many of our churches are thinking about missions. We face the potential of tapping into the energy and abilities of five times as many people as before. As missions becomes flattened, local churches will realize they can plant other churches or send out missionaries themselves. The missions “connection” will move from vicarious support of foreign missionaries via missions giving to raising up local personnel and sending them forth. “Let’s get the job done!” is a rallying cry I’m hearing from more and more Southern Baptists. And the students I’m seeing these days in seminary are like Swiss Army Knives — sharp and adaptable. This is what happens when the missionary enterprise is no longer outsourced. Collaborative innovation flourishes — and the result is expanded involvement on all levels in the Great Commission.

The point I took away from Orlando was a simple reminder: We are all fellow missionaries. The Body of Christ is moving into a world where less and less of the work of global evangelization is being outsourced. When we develop a missional mindset, we get rid of the notion that missions is only for others. We are moving into a world where more and more of us will do the work of an evangelist. In the meantime, missionary communications are being revolutionized. During the Orlando convention I kept up with a friend’s mission trip to Greece via his tweets and twitpics. (I imagine he was keeping up with the convention as well.) In short, my two days in Orlando showed me that there is potential for our priorities to get completely reshuffled — with an accompanying awareness that missions is ultimately the responsibility of local churches — yours and mine. As I said earlier, a Great Commission resurgence will not not happen in the convention without it happening in my own life. Let’s face it: We can say we are “Great Commission Christians” until we are blue in the face. Meanwhile, the world is going to hell. This week the BP chairman apologized for the oil spill and added: “We made it clear to the president that words are not enough. We should be judged by our actions.” Southern Baptists need to hear that loud and clear. More and more of us are asking which of our values are worth preserving and which should disappear. I hope that all of this gets sorted out at the denomination level (and I predict that it will). But even if it doesn’t, there is nothing to keep me and my local church from doing all we can to help advance God’s kingdom on earth, both through our support of the CP and through our personal involvement.

September 10, 2010

David Alan Black is the editor of www.daveblackonline.com.

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Thoughts on the Anniversary of a War

 David Alan Black 

We seem to be living in a time when we have acquired an Empire on which the sun never sets, and have lost a Republic on which the sun never rises.

Forgetful that our nation was founded upon the ideal of a limited, constitutional government, and proclaiming the “wonder-working power” of democracy in place of the Gospel, we strut along in self-absorbed importance.

God has always laughed at the antics of carnal men; He does so still today. Unlike God, Americans rejoice in the rise of institutions and instruments of power, of empires rising from the dross. We seek endlessly the fantasies of the ego, of power and success, of our insatiable appetites.

One of the great attractions to me of Christianity is its absurdity. In purely human terms, it is ridiculous to think that a person (or a nation, for that matter) could be transformed not by political or military means but by a simple message expounded two thousand years ago. Nicodemus thought it was absurd that a man could return to his mother’s womb and be born again, yet precisely that happens all the time. It happens whenever mortal men acknowledge their own wickedness and are drawn into the kingdom of heaven.

Far from admitting our mortality and our dependence upon our Creator and Redeemer, we believe in establishing our own little kingdoms on earth through mortal means. In return, God freely grants us what we want – our Gulags, our hubristic empires, democracy without end, Amen.

For me personally, as I reflect upon the second anniversary of our invasion of Iraq, I cannot imagine a more ribald example of how far we have departed from our biblical and constitutional moorings. We have been enticed, like the foolish Galatians (Gal. 3:1), into forgetting that “all the world is a grain of sand” (to quote Blake) – a mere speck in relation to the totality of God’s creation. We prefer instead the beguiling lies of Orwell’s Newspeak and Doublethink.

“All the word’s a stage,” said Shakespeare, but today the opposite is true. All the stage is a world, presented by our co-opted media that purports to traffic in news but actually purveys propaganda in living color. Only, occasionally, do vague doubts assail us, but in the end who would dare challenge Groupthink? The best educated and certainly the richest population in the world has become a fathomless reservoir of credulity.

I find it fascinating that most Americans still believe that Saddam Hussein was connected with 9/11 and had WMD – despite proof to the contrary and even the admission of the administration. And woe betide the gainsayers! It reminds me of the time when Don Quixote secured the release of a group of galley slaves, and the first thing they did was to pelt him with stones.

The precise motives that induce human beings to prefer comforting lies to the disturbing truth are impossible for me to unravel. I am horrified to note it, but I am utterly incapable of explaining it. As a defender of the Old Constitution, I sometimes feel like a piano player in a brothel, whose repertory includes hymns intended to get the attention of distracted clients and inmates. It’s like making bricks without an oven, or growing lemons without a tree.

Still, over the past months and years, here and abroad, I have been wholly preoccupied with talking about the reality of Christ in contradistinction to the hubris and fantasy so evident on every hand. I cannot speak for anyone else, but for myself, I have only recourse: and that is to flee to the Lover of my soul and find my rest in Him.

March 18, 2005

David Alan Black is the editor of www.daveblackonline.com. If you would like to know more about becoming a follower of King Jesus, please feel free to write Dave.

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Thoughts on Election 2012

 David Alan Black  

Most of you are aware of my conviction that there is no distinctively “Christian” position on political issues. In this light, it seems to me that in principle there is no inconsistency in being a Christian and voting for a non-Christian (or a Mormon) for political office. (I’m not saying I would do this, only that I see no inconsistency in acting this way.) As I pointed out in my bookChristian Archy, followers of Jesus aren’t called to get (overly) involved in political causes or disputes.

At the very least, we have to resist the temptation to put our hope in any political solution to what ails our society. Our time, effort, energy, and financial resources should be invested in serving the world sacrificially and in sharing the Gospel both relationally and relentlessly. This is why I’ve gotten out of politics on my blog. (This is quite an admission for the man who gave the convention sermon at the Constitution Party’s National Convention in Valley Forge when Michael Peroutka was running for president!) I think it’s every Christian’s job to be well-informed about politics, but I think it’s fruitless and self-defeating to engage in movements and political causes.

I suspect the reason so many American Christians are rallying behind their “Christian” candidate is because the church in America has largely failed to live up to its calling to be the conscience of culture. Jesus Christ came to seek and to save the lost, to turn society right side up, but most people do not realize this. They think Christianity is about rules and regulations and political platforms and social causes and have no earthly idea that Jesus can solve their greatest problems and meet their deepest needs. This sad state of affairs will likely continue until the church decides to take up the cross instead of the sword. In the meantime, I’ll vote my conscience come next November (or not vote at all — that too would be exercising my democratic rights), but I won’t waste my time or energy expecting government to do what the kingdom is intended to accomplish.

Church, let’s get busy being the church. Let’s get busy looking like Jesus, and this means sacrificially serving others. It is only as believers come together and lay aside our political differences in repentance and ask for God’s Spirit to bind us together in love — only then will the church be stirred out of its apathy into service. We as American Christians need the power of the Holy Spirit of God as we need nothing else. When people see that we have found treasure in Christ and are not ashamed to radiate His love; when they see us taking responsibility for homelessness and poverty and racism; when we begin to show solidarity with sinners, they will perhaps glimpse something of the radical love that Jesus has for each and every one of them.

So, I believe, our focus this election cycle should be on being the church, not mobilizing political movements. Think of the moral and transforming power that lies behind such an attitude. But before the church in America can do this, the Spirit has to break us of the disobedience and lethargy that come so naturally to us. When He is allowed to have control in our churches, and in our individual lives, then the possibilities for societal renewal are endless. But only then.

October 14, 2011

David Alan Black is the editor of www.daveblackonline.com.

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Thoughts of a Roving Missionary

 David Alan Black  

These miscellaneous thoughts occurred to me today. Perhaps they will stimulate your thinking.

1. You can serve Christ and still end up in chains. Just ask Paul. There’s nothing easy about missions. I won’t kid you – there’s a price to be paid for serving Jesus.

2. “Leave it behind and keep it out of sight.” That’s what Jesus told His disciples when He sent them out. “Travel light,” He said. I’ve been instructed to wear only one shirt while I’m teaching pastors in Ukraine. It’s sort of a visual aid to show that the Gospel is not about material things. Very wise.

3. Evangelism best takes place in the web of human relationships. Just stick to the basics of loving, caring, and serving in the name of Jesus. The rest will fall into place.

4. If Peter needed his sheet from heaven, how much more do I need one? Missions means leaving our personal prejudices and judgmental attitudes behind. Holier-then-thou attitudes are incompatible with the Gospel of Christ.

5. Receptivity is totally a God thing. Divine preparation must always precede human activity.

6. The obverse is that we must expect God to do great things. Faith is expecting enablement when we need it. It also means expecting blessing even when we’re not qualified for it.

7. Evangelism is more than tell. It’s also show. The Gospel must be demonstrated, not just verbalized. If we don’t play the music people will never hear the words.

8. Don’t try to do it all. Do what God has gifted you to do. He still uses loaves and fishes.

9. Love, love, then love some more. We fit into God’s redemptive purposes by loving Him and by loving others until they ask us why.

Now here’s the deal. None of these missionary principles mean a hoot unless I practice them in my own community.

Now that’s convicting!

May 24, 2007

David Alan Black is the editor of www.daveblackonline.com.

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Those Predictable Republicans

Bob Strodtbeck 

Upon any review of GOP betrayals of the “Contract with America” principles that catapulted the party to its majority status in Congress in 1994, a predictable pattern of responses emerge from loyal Republicans. Shoulders and backs stiffen, chins drops slightly to tilt heads forward, brows furrow and nostrils flare and soon some brilliant jewel of political debate like, “So, you want Kerry to be president,” bursts forth like jelly out of an improperly eaten doughnut. Such presumption suggests that only Democrat voters criticize Republicans and that the GOP is beyond the analysis of anyone else. It is also reflective of an arrogant political perspective that only Democrats and Republicans are entitled to contemplate the mechanisms of government and politics.

Certainly either Republicans or Democrats will occupy most positions of power in Washington and in the various state capitals throughout the country, but if there are a considerable number of individuals who choose not to vote for Republicans or Democrats is there a problem with the wildcat voters or with Republicans or Democrats? Consider that if the millions of voters who vote for alternative parties are added to those who are not even inspired to cast a ballot then Republican and Democrat candidates would sink to a distant second and third place in most elections.

The point should be noted that criticism of the Democrat Party is considered here to be a monumental waste of time. Such is similar to informing an old sow hog that her pig pen stinks – she doesn’t care because wallowing in the slop of her own making is her nature. Similarly Democrats revel in a perverted view of American liberty that is a vast departure from the principles of classical liberalism. Consequently, the party has put itself in a position of defending everything from debauchery to subversion, and it is deaf to the reasoning of logic, science, or heritage.

The Republican Party, on the other hand, has ascended to power by proposing to restore the balance of powers between states and the federal government, keep federal budgets in balance, protect free markets, and end the intrusion of the government in the daily lives of citizens. Over the decade that the GOP has held majorities in the US Congress and most of the state legislatures there has been no progress made on any of those promises, and, in fact, the agenda of “Compassionate Conservative” Republican government actually contradicts those principles.

The promises of the GOP over the past decade has attracted voters who are generally a decent lot who respect moral absolutes, do not want a nanny state, and value the opportunity to build stable, safe communities with their convictions and commerce. They tend to have a conscience that helps them avoid the type of antisocial behavior that is embraced by the Democrats. They also like to believe that the candidates they support with their votes will defend their virtues and hopes that government will reduce its size, cost and intrusion into our personal lives

Funny things happen to the high talk of candidates when they’re thrown into the sausage grinder of American legislative politics, however. Somewhere among the 40,000 lobbyists, legislative pecking order, and demands from campaign donors convictions are reduced to guidelines and guidelines become little more than references in amendments to bills or subjects of non-consequential resolutions that are passed for the political benefit of office holders seeking reelection.

Let the presumption be made here that the only influence from voters that candidates for political office really understand is their ability to help them win or cause them to lose elections. This influence will only be taken seriously when it is applied. If the actual record of the Republican government contradicts promises that attracted voter support, then it is not unreasonable to suggest that further votes for Republicans are wasted. Rewarding Republicans with continued electoral victories is not going to make them repent of their profligate ways to return to the principles they claimed to believe and have since abandoned 10 years ago.

July 28, 2004

Since 1993 Bob Strodtbeck has been writing commentaries for The Apopka Chief, a news weekly circulated in a community ten miles north of Orlando. His analyses investigate a wide range of topics from what he calls a “Christian pragmatic” view – that is to say, he considers that human interactions are largely driven by the human instinct toward self-service, which is traditionally known as sin. This perspective has given Bob great liberty to criticize governmental officials from both parties upon the standards of constitutional laws they swear to uphold and review cultural and economic phenomena from moral standards defined in the Bible. Bob currently lives in Orlando with his bride Pam and children Charlotte and Richard. He may be reached for comment here.

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This Year I Am Voting My Convictions

Jonathan Grubbs

I just finished reading an article entitled “Vote with convictions, not pocketbook, Jack Graham says” by Michael Foust in the February 17, 2004 edition of Baptist Press. I agree 100- with Pastor Graham’s statement, “I’m not talking about Republicans or Democrats—I’m talking about conservative Christian values as compared to either no values or the liberal values.” The article goes on to say that rather than “voting pocketbooks” or political parties, Christians should vote with their convictions. Our nation’s first president, George Washington, warned us of the danger of blindly following any one political party in his farewell speech, but it appears that most voters either never heard his warning or have ignored it.

Richard Land said, “I believe this election will be one of the most critical elections not just in my lifetime but in the lifetime of our republic,” adding that it might well be the “most critical election since 1860.” The 1860 election saw Abraham Lincoln, running as a third-party candidate, defeat Stephen Douglas in a race that reflected the nation’s bitter divide over slavery.

I used to be a very strong supporter of the Republican party, but over the years the GOP has abandoned the conservative principles it once held dear in efforts to reach out to the moderates and to appear to be a more “compassionate conservative” party. In doing this I feel they have compromised on too many conservative principles and have started to quickly drift towards the left. We have pro-choice Republicans, “Log Cabin” Republicans, Republicans who support big government, etc. Just as “moral relativism” has ruined the school system and worldview of so many Americans, so “conservative relativism” has ruined the Republican Party that started out as a small third-party in the 1850s.

There are many reasons why, as a Christian, I cannot vote for George W. Bush. Dr. Patrick Johnston has done a great job of outlining these reasons for the Christian community, with endnotes to prove that his information is based on facts and not just opinion. You can find Dr. Johnston’s reasons in his article, “Why Christians Should Not Vote for George W. Bush.” In my search for a candidate, I have found someone whom I can vote for who has, as Pastor Graham said, “conservative Christian values as compared to either no values or the liberal values.” I have found the Constitution Party and Michael Peroutka, and I would encourage everyone to check out Mr. Peroutka’s website. I believe that by voting for Michael Peroutka in November, the four to five million evangelical Christians who sat out the 2000 presidential election campaign because they didn’t know that there was a Christian candidate they could support can “vote their values” in 2004.

February 26, 2004

Jonathan Grubbs is married, has two pre-school aged sons, and works as a Internet Consultant in Central Florida. He may be reached for comment here.

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   restoring our biblical and constitutional foundations

This Presidential Election, Don’t Follow the Crowd!

 David Alan Black 

Scripture says, “Do not follow a multitude to do evil” (Exodus 23:3). The reason is simple. The crowd is usually headed in the wrong direction. As Jesus once noted, “Wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and many people go in by it” (Matthew 7:13).

The principle is obvious. When in doubt about which way to go, it is a pretty safe policy not to get caught up in the rush. To be sure, social movements are often most successful when they’re complemented by a supportive electoral force. But such a force has been mostly lacking the last two decades for true conservatives, as the Democratic and Republican parties have grown more similar. This has frustrated the efforts of constitutional activists and led many of us to begin considering third party candidates. The popularity of such websites as LewRockwell.com and Dixie Daily News shows that there clearly is a significant constituency for paleoconservative ideas in America. What have been missing are the candidates willing to run on them.

If you had asked me in 2000 whether I thought voting for a third party candidate could make a significant impact on the political scene, I would have said no. As an essayist once put it on LewRockwell.com, “The spectacle of elections grows more absurd every year. We are asked to cast ballots for people we do not know because they make promises they are under no obligation to keep. What’s even worse, the voting gesture is pointless on the margin. The chances that any one vote (meaning your vote) will actually have an impact are so infinitesimally small as to be meaningless.”

However, I would remind you of three facts. First, more voters turn out when an election is close: voters realize that their vote is more likely to count, and parties concentrate their election resources on reaching voters in marginal seats. Second, informed voters turn out more than uninformed ones. Finally, citizens are less likely to turn out when they see no difference between the main contenders. One perception is that this happens when voters are disaffected; it can also happen when they would be equally happy with either alternative.

So I haven’t given up on the idea of a viable third party candidacy in 2004. To be sure, the Democratic and Republican parties are so powerful that good candidates in small parties seldom have a chance of winning an election. The America First Party, the Reform Party, and the Libertarian Party each have a wide base of followers throughout the country, but the media doesn’t pay any attention to them and they can’t compete in terms of advertising with the two main parties. Because the chances of victory are so slim, voters who support a third party candidate may not bother to vote.

My sense is that millions of Americans deeply believe it is time to forge a new coalition. Voters are fed up with the two main parties. They are also much more independent-minded about the quality of life they want for themselves and their families. The time is ripe for real change. Jesse Ventura proved it when he upset two highly financed political machines in Minnesota. Whatever the reasons—fallout from years of abusing the Constitution, the hubris of our politicians, or the general unease brought on by America’s foreign policy—voters are suddenly open to new voices, new ideas, new leadership. And remember, only about one third of all eligible voters bothered to vote in the last election. All this leaves a huge number of people looking for a reason to vote.

It’s time to stop following the multitude to do evil—remembering, of course, that the multitude does not always endorse what is obviously evil. It may be far more dangerous when it espouses what is apparently good.

May 5, 2003

David Alan Black is the editor of www.daveblackonline.com.

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