For a book-length treatment of this, I would encourage you to check out my book, Turn Neither to the Right nor to the Left: A Thinking Christian’s Guide to Politics and Public Policy.

But what I really wanted to add is that we should remember we are all brothers. To me, this means loving the person first. If you love them, you’ll begin to understand them. And, I think, if we understand them we can empathize even when their views are diametrically opposite. Paul, James, Mark and Peter had points of strong disagreement, but in the end they loved each other and Our Savior enough that they sometimes swallowed their pride.
I say this because I have been a part of two churches split by differences and pride. One of these churches I had attended as a child. It was there I first heard of Christ. It was over 100 years old. In disagreements taking place over two years, it was permanantley split apart. People who were friends became enemies. There were empty spaces where voices joining in harmony once sang,now with half the volume in separate buildings miles apart…

For me, it was sad. For regualar members, it was devastating. As for my answer to the question posed? Singing together solves more problems than bickering…in my opinion:-)

I agree that we all need to remember to take part in our government, so that the People, hopefully, will not make the same mistakes that the “unelect” few did then.

However, I do not think Assyrians can really be compared with NAZIs. Perhaps the atrocities they perpetrated were as bad, but they were living in a much more brutal world. Wheras the NAZI’s lived in a part of the world where Christ’s message had been prevalent for many centuries. Much of the best scholarship on Christianity was done by Germans. Most of the Nazis had probably attended Christian services!
To me, the Holocaust was and is the most frightening reminder to Christians in modern, if not all, history. Ever since I was a child watching Sound of Music, or more recently Schindler’s list, I have asked myself the question: Would I have stood up against the masses? With all my heart I want to say “yes!” I could never forgive myself if I didn’t, but … history speaks louder than my conscious. I think “yes,” but I pray to God I never have to make such a decision.

Sorry, I didn’t post you name. So…Great point about Christ being tortured for supposed crimes.

Believer,

Welcome to the church! I live 15 miles away, and I thought that was a long way! I agree…it is Adam’s responsibility as a pastor to keep us informed. As far as I know he has never demanded that we do or say anything. He respects our intelligence and faith as Christians’ enough to let us decide how we believe.

This is off subject, but is worth a comment.

I’m not sure your interpretation of ‘forgive us our sins as . . . ‘ is correct. Your interpretation is legalistic.

I’m wondering if it means something like this:

‘Because I am forgiven, I forgive’

Like ‘Because I am loved, I love.’

In otherwords, this part of the prayer must be interpreted in the context of everything else we do—that we CAN’T EARN God’s forgiveness—your interpretation says we MUST earn it and if that is so, we are all in trouble.

Every time Adam has asked for suggestions for a sermon series, I’ve asked for one on ‘The Lord’s Prayer’. I think there’s a lot more to it than we give it credit for. I’ve been working on it, trying not to just ‘recite’ it… but think about what Jesus meant…the pattern of prayer, what he said in context to the question, “Teach us to pray.”—’like you do’, they meant.

I hope Adam will take us through it sometime.

And ummmm:

Jesus a Republican or a Democrat? That’s nonsense, as I said in my first blog. It’s silly to say one or the other.

I’ll suggest again the book by JB Phillips, Your God is Too Small. You can’t put God in a political (or any other kind of) box.

If he had to choose, I think Jesus would be a Democrat. He would be more interested in feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, healing the sick, and forgiving the woman who had an abortion than in castigating her for having an abortion.