Veritas Rex

Faith, Values and Voting

TPM Cafe has an excellent article by Bill Bishop about values and voting.  Without casting judgement on the various values discussed he makes some excellent generalizations about values and voting patterns. 

Russel Kirk, in his groundbreaking best-seller The Conservative Mind says that "political problems are, at bottom, religious and moral problems."  Bishop seems to help make this point as he draws a direct correlation between values and party affiliation. 

I've made the point many times before that, despite many of the left's (and our libertarian friends) protests, we can't simply declare our government and our society "values neutral." 

A demographer at the University of Michigan measured family formation patterns in the U.S. and noticed an interesting correlation. The states with the largest percentage of people who had cohabitated before marriage voted for John Kerry in '04. The higher the shacking rate, Ron Lestheghe found, the bluer the state.

We've had a lot of discussion this week about how lifestyle links up with political choice. We ought to explore what's behind this relationship.

So, we turn to Ronald Inglehart, who has been conducting his World Values Survey since the 1970s. Inglehart theorized that as people grew up in relative security, their social values -- what they wanted out of life -- changed. People who knew their basic needs were satisfied would have different values from those who grew up in scarcity. Those who lived in times of depression or joblessness esteemed economic growth. But those who grew up in "post-materialist" societies, Inglehart argued, would value the environment, self-expression and individual rights.

There would be a culture shift, a "silent revolution," Inglehart predicted three decades ago. Traditional religious denominations would lose members as "post materialists" rolled their own spiritual lives. People would reject centralized authority. Class politics would diminish. Traditional political institutions would decline as people found more individualistic ways to bring about political change. Material goods would lose cachet as people would seek to fill their lives with unique experiences. Hierarchical institutions were out, self-expression was in. And, people would lose trust in all institutions -- government, science, business, the church.

Oh, and post materialists would be prone to shack.

Missionary defends the faithful with gun

I expect that several people, both Christian and not, will have a lot to say about this gun-toting missionary.  From OneNewsNow.

A Christian missionary in South Africa has used a gun to save his life and the lives of others -- for a second time.

In July 1993, Charl van Wyk drew his handgun as terrorists began the St. James Massacre in Cape Town.  Van Wyk wounded one of the terrorists and eventually drove them all from the church. Police said hundreds could have been killed in the machine gun and hand grenade attack, but due to Wyk's response only 11 people died.

Now the Christian missionary has once again used his gun to protect fellow believers when three men tried to rob his group while at a conference in Mizpah. Larry Pratt, executive director of Gun Owners of America, describes what happened on June 1 when the robbers briefly turned their attention away from van Wyk. "They were distracted. He got his gun and, as he moved on them, he called out to the thugs and when they took...their eye off their victim...that's when he started shooting at them.  It was classic," he praises.

The shocked robbers fled and nearby residents later informed van Wyk that at least one of the criminals was wounded. Pratt says both attacks point out the need for the repeal of laws that prevent law-abiding citizens from being armed in so-called "gun free zones" like schools and churches.

Check out Fireproof

The church that made the widely successful movie "Facing the Giants" has just finished it's latest movie- Fireproof.  It will be in theaters on Sept. 26th.  I had the privilege, along with contributor Sue Swayze, of seeing a special screening of the movie.  Its message about marriage is powerful, as well as its message about faith in Jesus.   Mark your calendars and make it a date night!

Are Christian political activists too narrowly focused?

Joel Belz at World Magazine takes to defending conservative Christianity's political action in this month's issue.  His article is a great read and deserves a lot of attention from Christians and is worthy of some good discussion here at VR.

It's become an increasingly frequent reminder to us evangelical Christians not to let our cultural identity be framed by "single issues."

It was a reminder implicitly included in the "Evangelical Manifesto," a document whose basic content we at WORLD have applauded but whose political direction I questioned in our last issue. Why are the Manifesto's backers so ready to join the cultural left in suggesting a guilt trip for those evangelicals who have been preoccupied with the evils of abortion and same-sex marriage?

And if some argue that the rising generation of younger evangelicals is a bit embarrassed by what they think is an out-of-balance focus by their elders, and thinks it's time to get equally exercised over issues like racism, economic justice, and the environment—well, if that's the case with our twentysomethings and our teenagers, then maybe we need to go to work and do a better job of explaining to them why we've put the emphasis where we have for the last generation and why we believe that it's time not to lower our voices.

Evangelicals shouldn't be embarrassed to say boldly and clearly: Abortion and same-sex marriage are uniquely heinous sins. They rattle the foundations of a civilized society. They take a culture in a dreadful direction. We haven't been wrong to say so. We aren't fanatics.

Read the rest of his article here.

H/T Indy Christian

A Conversation between Left and Right Continues

This is the second installment of a conversation between left and right which began when Shaun Marshall (Left) emailed me (Right) earlier this year. His original email and post can be found in the archives of this site. More is to come.

Shaun: I cannot tell you how much your email touched me. It is so very good to hear from you. Your words are a great encouragement to me as I have, for the past months, walked in faith. God has increased my faith and led me to rely more and more on Him. Over the past year, I began to be engaged in a number of activities outside of my responsibilities at Young America's Foundation and the Reagan Ranch. And God had been working to shape and form me in new ways resulting from a wonderful relationship with a Christian mentor. Thanksgiving week of this past year, while on a walk in the early morning with my then two week old son Jackson, I asked myself: "what if I quit my job?" At that moment the Holy Spirit spoke into my heart: "I care for the birds of the air and the lilies of the field. If I am calling you into a new season in your life, you've got to know that I will take care of you. So focus on whether I am calling you into a new season and know that if I am, you're going to be taken care of."

Burton Op-Ed on Energy in Washington Times

US Congressman Dan Burton has an excellent Op-Ed in the Washington Times from last week about Energy.

With the current national average for a gallon of gasoline over $4, and creeping steadily toward $5, Americans are draining their pocketbooks at the gas pump while Congress continues to engage in the age-old pastime of political finger-pointing. We are in the midst of the gravest energy crisis this nation has seen since the oil embargos of the 1970s. Americans are increasingly looking to Washington for leadership. But there has been no leadership, no solution, and not even a constructive debate.

This must end now. Republicans and Democrats must cast aside prior grievances, extreme partisanship, and the scoring of cheap political points in favor of a nonpartisan energy solution for America. It took more than 30 years to get ourselves into this position, and the pain is not going to end overnight Yet an end to the energy crisis is at our fingertips, if Republicans and Democrats are willing to risk the wrath of special interest groups and grab hold of it.

Both Congressman Burton and Congressman Buyer have proposed their own Energy Bills this year.

Evangelicals Unswayed by Democratic Strategy?

There’s no doubt that values voters left Democrats smarting in 2004. (Bush took 78% of evangelical voters in 2004.) And because Democrats, like most Americans, want to be winners, a change was necessitated. And so it is that Democrats have smartly set out to change the landscape. Hence, Obama has been prone to speak on religion more often than even the Republican nominee.

It’s been a flop. A recent Washington Post poll shows Obama only garnering 22% of evangelical support. Today’s Wall Street Journal reports that evangelicals haven’t jumped ship. The article points out the general strategy of the Democratic Party: broaden the agenda to include Democratic-friendly topics including global warming and poverty. One way of dodging the abortion issue, I suppose. Problem is, it hasn’t worked. The article cites the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life, noting that while a majority of Americans continue to support stricter laws to protect the environment, only 54% of evangelicals do. In fact, evangelical support of regulation fell about 10 points in the past four years! And poverty is a tough sell to a group who tends to believe in the Constitutional version of limited government. It’s a good article, worth a thorough read.

There is, however, reason to doubt: while there is no shift in the polling, my demographic (20-somethings) have cell phones and are usually impossible to poll. Although an unreliable voting block, there’s a particular adrenaline in this cycle that may translate into an impact. This is the group most easily dissuaded from limited-government political principal (and therefore tending to support environmental regulation and federal welfare).

Abandoned homes

The Indianapolis Star editorialized this week about Mayor Ballard's new initiative to encourage the sale of abandoned homes.  The city unveiled has a new website at www.indylandbank.com to help buyers find properties.

This is a great idea and something the city should pursue vigorously.

But I suggest a vigorous campaign to not only sell those homes but tear down ones that can't be sold.  I don't know what the city's program is on this (they may be doing this aggressively already).

Mayor Wayne Seybold in Marion has initiated an effort to tear down abandoned and unsafe homes that has been received with wide acceptance there.  As of 2007 the city had torn down over 170 homes deemed unsafe or abandoned.  I attended college at Indiana Wesleyan University in Marion.  On my visits there recently, I have noticed the difference.

Mayor Seybold tells me that the decision to tear down these homes came because of a desire to reduce crime and to improve the quality of life for current residents.  I imagine that Indianapolis would benefit from both of those things.

And on the far left...

While Barack Obama is moving to the center in preparation for a tough general election, Indiana Democrat Jill Long-Thompson is moving to the left so she can fund her campaign.  Lifenews.com reports that Long-Thompson has racked up nearly $1/2 million from the radical pro-abortion group Emily's List.

A new report indicates Thompson raised $1.6 million for her campaign from April through June 30, just under the $1.83 million Daniels took in during the same time period.

Of those funds, much of it came from the pro-abortion group Emily's List, the top pro-abortion group in the country when it comes to bankrolling candidates.

The Washington based special interest group gave $200,000 to Thompson in the second quarter -- bringing the total money it has infused from out of state in the Thompson campaign to $400,000.

Commentary Overload

A Column by Mike Fichter

President, Indiana Right to Life

Lifeline Report, July 2008

On May 7 the Wall Street Journal unwittingly produced a snapshot of American culture with a front page that carried these three headlines: Myanmar Cyclone Also Batters a Reeling Global Food Supply; Some See Oil At $150 A Barrel This Year; Solid Disney Profit Bucks Woes of U.S.

What does it say about our culture when Disney theme park profits soar 22% while tens of thousands lay dead or starving in tragedies like the Myanmar cyclone and fuel prices force painful family budget decisions?

I am certain that an army of sociologists have keener insight than do I on such matters, but for the sake of discussion I submit that the rising Disney profits in the face of tough times reveal an American conscience that chooses fantasy over reality, or disengagement over inconvenience.  You might call it fiddling "When You Wish Upon A Star" while Rome burns to the ground.

When it comes to the political arena, I believe many conservatives are slumping into a form of disengagement that is much less identifiable but no less harmful.  I call it commentary overload.

The basic point is this:  it's easier to spend four hours every night watching the Fox News Channel than it is to spend one hour a month registering eligible pro-life adults to vote.  One of these activities raises voter turnout in your community.  One of these activities raises your blood pressure. Guess which one will matter on November 4th.

There is no denying that it's simpler to let the professional pundits tell us what matters than to analyze the data and arrive at our own conclusions.  At times it's downright entertaining to hear well-delivered analysis on political issues and strategies.  But just as we can overdo our leisure time, we can overdo our absorption of political talk until we no longer understand the larger, more substantial issues that impact our culture.

I cannot recall one time in the last six months when I have heard any of the top conservative talkers discuss what's at stake with life issues in this fall's elections.  Lost in the endless discussions over earmarks, primaries, and super delegates are the issues that will ultimately define who we are at the core of our collective American soul.

Will we expand taxpayer funding for the killing of unborn children?  Will we open the floodgates for human cloning and the killing of human embryos?  Will the Supreme Court be stacked with liberal justices for the next four decades?  Will speaking against abortion be labeled a hate crime?  Will pro-life crisis pregnancy centers be regulated out of existence?

We've got to wake up.  The results of this year's elections will not be determined by political pundits.  They will be determined by either our action or our inaction. 

When it's all said and done,taking a family trip to the Magic Kingdom will not result in the downfall of American culture.  Staying planted on the couch while every safeguard to human life crumbles to the ground most certainly will.