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Christians React to ’12 Election Results

By November 9, 2012July 16th, 2014No Comments

Christians and conservatives in general found virtually nothing to cheer about in the elections of the past week, reports The Christian Post. Losses Tuesday included Floridians rejecting a ban on taxpayer-funded abortion and the legalization of marijuana in four states. Traditional marriage supporters also suffered a big blow after all four states—Maryland, Maine, Minnesota, and Washington State—that had ballot initiatives on same-sex marriage voted in favor of gay marriage. Previously, each time marriage was on the ballot, voters had chosen to protect the traditional definition of it. “On every level—presidential, congressional, social—it was a bruising day for our movement that no amount of spin can improve,” wrote Tony Perkins, president of Family Research Council, in an e-mail to supporters. “Americans had a choice, and they made it. Is the outcome what we want? Obviously not. This [Wednesday] was supposed to be the morning when Americans got up and shook off the nightmare of the last four years. Instead, they awakened to a new one: a profound drubbing of the Republican Party that is supposed to be the guardian of the conservative vision our nation so desperately needs.” Mat Staver of Liberty Counsel remarked, “The event we have just witnessed was far more than a general election—it was a referendum on the soul of America. Every patriotic, pro-moral American has reason to be deeply concerned and saddened by the outcome. Those of us who intensely prayed and worked for a different result are entitled to a time of grief for our beloved nation and what we have become. I tremble for our country because I fear the blessings of God that made America great are being withdrawn. For the first time in our history, a plurality of Americans voted for a party platform that intentionally omitted God and advanced many positions that the Bible specifically condemns. Some Christian observers called the Democratic Party platform for a ‘Romans Chapter 1 Platform,’ and they were right.” Influential pastor and blogger Brian Hudson stated, “Neither President Obama, nor any other pro-choice person or supporter of gay marriage, can prevent us from preaching the gospel, dealing with promiscuity (even among believers), helping women in crisis pregnancies choose life, helping people overcome homosexuality, or stop Christians from working in our states to keep marriage between a man and a woman (as we have done in Indiana). We should have more confidence in what God can do through us, than in politicians, who ultimately do very little on Biblical issues. We wasted too much of our time, money, energy, and even some of our prayers on politics. If we become too loyal to a political party, we may lose our prophetic edge and become co-opted by a lesser agenda.” Columnist David Goetsch observed in patriotupdate.com, “Romney won in those portions of our country inhabited by hardworking Americans who obey the law and pay their taxes—the type of people who made America great. Obama won in those large urban centers where a sizable portion of America’s welfare recipients, illegal immigrants, and low-income citizens reside. In other words, Romney won the ‘maker’ vote and Obama won the ‘taker’ vote.”

Other news:

  • The Rev. Franklin Graham, son of Billy Graham, stated that he believes America is on a “path of destruction” due to this November’s election results, reports The Christian Post. In an interview with CNN, Graham cited, among other things, the legalization of same-sex marriage. “If we are allowed to go down this road in the path that this president wants us to go down, I think it will be to our peril and to the destruction of this nation,” Graham said. After years of successes at the ballot box, supporters of marriage as defined between one man and one woman were handed four defeats in four states. The people of Maryland and Washington states voted in favor of legalizing same-sex marriage, reaffirming legislation passed earlier in each state. Voters in Minnesota stopped a constitutional amendment from being added to the state’s constitution; same-sex marriage does, however, remain illegal in the North Star State. And voters in Maine approved a referendum legalizing same-sex marriage, several years after a similar measure failed. During the election campaign season, the Grahams were heavily involved in socially conservative causes and the presidential race. The Rev. Billy Graham had endorsed Republican challenger Mitt Romney after meeting with the former Massachusetts governor. Graham also endorsed Minnesota’s marriage amendment. “As a former resident with strong personal and ministry ties to the North Star State, I pray that the good people of Minnesota will show their support for God’s definition of marriage, between a man and a woman,” said Billy Graham. In May, Graham released a statement in response to the president’s announcement in favor of same-sex marriage, declaring that Obama had “shaken his fist at the same God who had created and defined marriage. It grieves me that our president would now affirm same-sex marriage, though I believe it grieves God even more,” said Graham. In October, Graham said in an interview with Piers Morgan on CNN that Obama’s support for gay marriage was a “big problem.” “God instituted marriage. And for the president to now back something that is against God’s position and—is a big problem for him with not only evangelical churches, but African-American churches across this country who are very conservative,” said Franklin Graham. Ad campaigns by the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association caught the ire of many, including the North Carolina chapter of the NAACP.
  • The state of Israel will not capitulate before President Obama, whose “naive” leadership has hurt the U.S., stated Danny Danon, deputy speaker of Israel’s Knesset. Danon, a Knesset member from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s ruling Likud party, was reacting to the reelection of Obama, reports WorldNetDaily. Danon told KleinOnline, “Obama’s victory demonstrates that the state of Israel must take care of its own interests. We cannot rely on anyone but ourselves. Obama has hurt the United States by his naive leadership in foreign policy, which prefers the Arab world over the Western world, along with Israel. The state of Israel will not capitulate before Obama.” Earlier this week, KleinOnline quoted a senior Palestinian Authority negotiator claiming that if Obama secures another four years in office, he will use his second term to target Netanyahu as the main party to blame for the collapse of Mideast peace talks. The negotiator further claimed that Obama quietly pledged to the Palestinians a campaign at the United Nations to renew U.N. Security Council Resolution 242, which calls for a Palestinian state to be established in the West Bank, Gaza Strip, and eastern Jerusalem. The PA negotiator said the White House had asked the Palestinians to slow their drive for the unilateral declaration of a state at the U.N. General Assembly. The negotiator further said Obama had promised the PA that the establishment of a Palestinian state will be one of the main priorities for a second term. “We were told that the negotiations for a Palestinian state will be a main goal for Obama,” said the negotiator. “Netanyahu will be declared the main person responsible for the collapse of the peace process.”
  • Some analysts are saying that the reason Republicans lost was because so many of them, at least three million, didn’t vote, and why they didn’t is being studied. Some believe that a number didn’t vote because they didn’t want a Mormon in the White House. Or others believe they didn’t see enough of a conservative stand. Talk show host Rush Limbaugh commented, reports conservativebyte.com, “Could it be, ladies and gentlemen, that three million Republicans sat at home because they didn’t see enough of a conservative campaign? These are the things that have to be pondered while the party beats itself up over amnesty and single women and contraception. But I’m just gonna tell the Republican Party right now: If you think that the only reason you’re not winning presidential races is because you’re not for amnesty and ’cause you’re not for abortion . . . if you change to that, if you moderate or modify your positions, you’re gonna cease to exist because those who are with you are gonna abandon you. I’m not trying to sound threatening. I’m trying to be helpful. In fact, that’s my middle name. That’s all I ever try to do is help, anybody. I’m not saying that the Republicans couldn’t do a better job with some of these minority voters, but you better understand why they’re not voting for you. In terms of the Hispanic vote, it is not because of immigration policy. Hispanics are voting for Democrats because of the same reason any other people vote for Democrats. They’re the party of free stuff. They are the party of Santa Claus.”
  • Iowa voted Tuesday to retain Justice David Wiggins, the fourth Iowa Supreme Court judge to face a retention vote out of the original seven judges from the controversial Varnum v. Brien case of 2009, which legalized same-sex marriage, reports iowastatedaily.com. Greg Baker, political director of the Family Leader and executive director of Iowans for Freedom, said they have not officially discussed future plans, though they will continue to fight against “activist judges.” “We are definitely not going to stop here,” Baker said. The Family Leader plans to continue its efforts with the 2016 elections, where the final three judges from Varnum v. Brien will be up for retention. Before the results came in, Baker said, “Regardless of his retention, a lot of Iowans have clearly shown a lack of confidence in the Supreme Court.”
  • An attorney for a pro-life sidewalk counselor who gives women information about abortion alternatives outside abortion clinics shared inside information about the Obama administration’s campaign against pro-life people, reports lifenews.com. Pro-life attorney Rebecca Messall told CBN News about one case in particular, but said the Obama administration is attempting to put together cases on pro-life advocates even before allegedly finding they violated any laws. Messall, in addition to conducting her private law practice, has been CEO of the National Lawyers Association, a pro-life legal group, for the past two years and also served as board chair for Denver Catholic Charities. “What we learned later on was that there was a pre-commitment by the Justice Department in Washington in the Civil Rights Division to bring these cases even before they knew of the cases,” she said. In one of the cases she handled, U.S. District Judge Philip A. Brimmer ruled that the Attorney General would not be reasonably likely to prove at trial that longtime Denver area pro-life activist Ken Scott physically obstructed employees of the Planned Parenthood of the Rocky Mountains abortion facility in Denver. Scott was one of several targeted by the Obama Justice Department in its attempt to silence a pro-life activist who, for years, has been helping women outside abortion centers find positive alternatives.
  • China, reports Worthy News and Reuters, appears to be within two years of deploying submarine-launched nuclear weapons, adding a new leg to its nuclear arsenal that should lead to arms-reduction talks, a draft report by a congressionally mandated U.S. commission says. China in the meantime remains “the most threatening” power in cyberspace and presents the largest challenge to U.S. supply chain integrity, the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission said in a draft of its report to the U.S. Congress. China is alone among the original nuclear weapons states to be expanding its nuclear forces, the report said.
  • Arrested just before last Christmas, four Christian converts recently received a total of four years in prison at the Revolutionary Court in Ahwaz, Iran, according to Christian news agency, Mohabat News, reports worthynews.com. Under article 500 of the Islamic penal code, Judge Seyyed Mohammad Bagher Mousavi declared Pastor Farhad Sabokrouh and his wife, Shahnaz Jeizan, along with church ministers Naser Zamen Dezfuli and Davoud Alijani, guilty of “converting to Christianity, inviting Muslims to convert, as well as propagating against the Islamic regime through promoting Evangelical Christianity.”

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