Who will cast the first stone?

In John 8 we find the story of the woman caught in adultery. The Pharisees and the teachers of the law brought her before Jesus and asked,

“The Law of Moses commanded us to stone such a woman. Now what do you say?” – John 8:5

I must confess my initial response to Pelosi and the Democrats passing socialized health care is similar to that of the Pharisees with the woman caught in adultery. “We have the proof we need, let them be condemned. “

But, by what standard am I measuring Pelosi and those of her party? Am I using the same standard to measure them as I use to measure the senators and congressmen I voted for? Jesus responded to the teachers of the law and the Pharisees this way,

“If any one of you is without sin let him be the first one to throw a stone at her.” John 8:7.

I am afraid if we miss this lesson November 2010 is going to bring more pain. Let’s put our stones away. If we don’t learn from our past, we could end up replacing the current group of collectivist democrats with a new group of collectivist republicans. Is that what we want?

The Health Care Bill has passed the House and the lawmakers that are supposed to have the closest connection to the voters are responsible for it. I don’t know about you but the conclusion I draw is our congressmen were simply doing what we wanted. The people wanted government to solve the health care crisis without regard to morals or law. We no longer expect our government to secure our unalienable rights.  We no longer believe there are consequences to ignoring the highest laws of our land. Our friends and neighbors have yet to understand the cause of the health care crisis . . . us and our support for government regulation. 

If we don’t care about law how can we complain about justice? But we don’t want justice; we want to live off the labor of our neighbor. That includes 60 million church going Americans who are not yet aware that using government force to take their neighbors property to provide them with health care, medicare, welfare, social security, unemployment, food stamps , FDIC insurance , home loan guarantees, bailouts, education or farm subsidies is immoral. It is not just Pelosi that supports these programs,  Bush,  Gingrich, (insert your favorite republican's name here) did as well.

Since government isn’t the source of health care, their requirement that health care be provided  imposes an obligation on another citizen to provide it. If we are created equal then how can one person force another to do so? Force is immoral. Our government is only authorized to use force to defend our unalienable rights. If, as the Declaration of Independence states, governments job is to secure our unalienable rights, why aren’t we holding it accountable to do so? Perhaps we don’t understand the highest laws of our land . . . Biblical or Constitutional.

Brothers and sisters, the 8th Commandment is higher law from our Creator. It is one of His "Top 10" laws for a just society. It is an absolute and can only be violated at our own peril In Exodus 20:15, God tells mankind that private property is sacred. It is not a "great suggestion", it is a commandment.   God is sovereign over all Creation and expects his laws to be followed in all jurisdictions, self government, family government, church government and civil government.

Are you angry or surprised at Pelosi and the Democratic Party? Did they run as Constitutional candidates? Did they do something George Bush, and the Republicans haven’t done (Bailouts, Patriot Act and 500B Prescription Drug Act, 250B Farm Subsidy Bill, failure to renew the Budget Enforcement Act of 1990)?  Which of us can point to one Republican who has kept his oath to uphold the U.S. Constitution? (If you can think of one please share with the rest of us.)

Is this what we want, government to fix things for us? Do we really want them to bring the same "successful" record of victory to bear on Health Care Reform as they have brought to bear on the “War on Drugs”, the “War on Poverty”, the “War on Terrorism” and the wars in Vietnam and Iraq? Our lawmakers are simply a reflection of what you and I are demanding, something for nothing. Hey, that describes me to a “T”.  For the past twenty eight years, that is how I've been voting. Please forgive me.

Our Democratic and Republican lawmakers are ignoring the highest laws of our land because we are, Biblically and Constitutionally. Let’s face it, most of us were STATE educated. That should explain some of the problem. The Democrats might be ignoring their lawful authority as enumerated in Article 1, Section 8 of the U.S. Constitution, but do you think the Republicans are any better? Don’t give the Republicans too much credit on this one, they don’t care about their oath to uphold the Constitution either. They are being motivated on this issue by what it will take to be reelected. Their votes wouldn’t have made a difference here.

Unfortunately, the Health Care Victory tonight belongs to you and I. Let’s face it, we bought it. Things will change when we begin to understand that we are the problem. I would guess that most of us have been voting for candidates who have no respect for the oath they took to uphold our Constitution. Actually to be fair to the lawmakers, they probably don’t understand the Constitution any better than we do. Many still believe it is a living document and “General Welfare” means doing whatever it takes to serve someones “specific welfare”.

Would you be willing to go to a church where the pastor kept interpreting the bible differently than how the apostles taught it? Why then do we accept unjust and immoral interpretations of the U.S. Constitution from our public servants?

Let me ask you four questions;

1. Whom did you vote for President, Senator and Congress in the last election?
2. Had they consistently upheld the U.S. Constitution prior to your vote?
3. When was the last time you read the U.S. Constitution?
4. What action have you taken to return your country to the principles that made us the most free and prosperous nation in the history?

We are the root that allows these branches to grow. We are still in control, we just need more education and these type of votes are finally waking us up.   We need to address the root issue, our education.

“If a nation expects to be ignorant and free, in a state of civilization, it expects what never was and never shall be.” - Thomas Jefferson

“The danger to America is not Barack Obama but a citizenry capable of entrusting a man like him with the presidency. It will be easier to limit and undo the follies of an Obama presidency than to restore the necessary common sense and good judgment to an electorate willing to have such a man for their president. The problem is much deeper and far more serious than Mr. Obama, who is a mere symptom of what ails us. Blaming the prince of the fools should not blind anyone to the vast confederacy of fools that made him their prince. The republic can survive a Barack Obama. It is less likely to survive a multitude of fools such as those who made him their president - Author Unknown

We have a crisis in health care and I want it fixed as much as you, but it will not be fixed by more government. Let’s put our stones away. Government is the problem, not the solution. The solution is free markets and limited government, something Americans gave up on in the 1930s. Anyone ready to try it again?

Eric holds other funny perspectives (i.e. the earth is round, the moon is made of cheese, dogs go to heaven but cats do not, chocolate isn’t bad for you it just makes your clothes shrink, the bodily resurrection of Christ , salvation by faith alone and he is already against the next war)

Jesus is Involved in Politics

In my last post I shared what I felt was “the root” problem of our nation’s demise – me, and my lack of education. I shared how my failure to apply biblical principles to the God ordained institution of civil government made me and others like me, culpable for much of the suffering and poverty we face today. Our lawmakers are merely “branches” and we are the “root” that allows them to grow. But enough about the problem, everyone can see a problem exists – what is the solution?

In this post, I share the critical role of the church and especially our pastors.
• The problem is best fixed by the church
• The battle can be won without having to convince a single non-Christian
• Jesus was involved in politics and therefore so must our pastors.

The Problem is best fixed by the church
While there are a number of moral people who are not Christian, our dilemma at its core is a spiritual one. Sin is not our problem. Our desire to create unjust laws and use politics to live off the labor of our neighbor is simply a product of our sinful nature. If I am correct in this assertion then only Christ and the church hold the solution. John Adams shared . . .


Government can only rule in the physical realm it cannot rule in the spiritual realm. Contrary to public opinion, government laws cannot change a man's heart, only Christ can rule there. We should pity the man or government who dare intrude in Christ’s jurisdiction. This has been the failure of governments throughout history when they attempt to replace Christ as head of the church (See King George III and the American Revolution).

“We have no government armed with power capable of contending with human passions unbridled by morality and religion…Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other.” - John Adams message to Officers of the First Brigade of the Massachusetts….

Only in Christ can man find victory over his sin nature and only in scripture do we find the guidelines and principles for how this entity, called “the state”, is to operate. Some of my friends will challenge me on this point stating that they do not need to be Christians to believe these truths. While I agree one doesn’t have to be a Christian to be moral, these truths find their origins in the scriptures and as such they carry Christ’s authority. To disconnect the King from his principles is to remove from them his authority. When we remove Christ as the source and authority of our view of civil government, our opinions are reduced to mere opinions.  They carry no more weight than that of the non-believer.

The battle can be won without having to convince a single non-Christian
We need not look outside the church to put our nation on back on track. My wife gave me a wonderful book this week, Jesus Is Involved in Politics by Neil Mammen. Mammen says,

“The battle for American can be won without ever having to convince a single non-Christian or non-Conservative about anything. The battle for America begins and ends with Christians and Conservatives.”

and . . .

“… There are more than 60 million evangelical Christians of voting age in America. Some 24 million of them are not even registered to vote. Of the 36 million who are registered to vote, not all do.” – David Barton

Christians are not participating in the political process. A football team with six of its twelve players stuck in the locker room cannot win on the field. While we are sitting on the sidelines, presidential and senate seats are being won and lost by a few hundred thousand votes, or as in Florida in 2000, by 200 votes. The battles for who leads our nation and writes our laws are being won and lost while our churches and pulpits are silent. Perhaps the suffering we face today is God’s judgment for “voting for the lesser of two evils”. Perhaps the suffering we face today is due to our failure to come out of the salt shaker properly influencing civil government for good. Many are saying that church and politics don’t mix. I say we should have nothing to do with the immoral practices of lawmaking, but everything to do with the activity of writing just laws and punishing evil.


Jesus was involved in politics and therefore so must our pastors
Many in the church today believe Jesus never got involved in politics. Mammen addresses this issue as well. Who were the politicians of Jesus day? Were they only those senators to the north in Rome? While the Empire was ruled from Rome and had its seat of government there, Rome gave a great deal of autonomy to Judah. Despite being an occupied territory, Judah enjoyed a greater level of self governance than most. Judeans in 33 A.D., had a fully functioning political system that included their own executive, legislative and judicial powers. They had their own police officers and public jails.


Was Jesus involved in interacting with the Roman Senate? No. He was not a Roman citizen and he was 1,422 miles away. He could not influence them any more than a citizen of occupied Iraq could influence our lawmakers in Washington. However, being a Jew and living in Judah, he could and did influence his own lawmakers, the Sanhedrin.


The Sanhedrin combined the legislative branch and judicial branch into one entity. But who were these guys? Do we ever read about them in the bible? Did Jesus ever talk about them or with them? Did he stay far removed from them and remain silent?


The lawmakers and politicians of Jesus day that made up the membership of the Sanhedrin were the Pharisees and Sadducees. Did Jesus interact with them? You bet he did. He warned them about corrupt laws and twisted interpretations of their original law. Jesus was so involved with his lawmakers one can’t speak about him without including his interaction with them.


One may complain, “The Sanhedrin was only in charge of religious laws.” Mammen says this is false. Jewish historian Reifmann tells us:

“All religious matters and all civil matters not claimed by Roman authority were within the Sanhedrin’s attributions; and the decisions issued by its judges were to be held inviolable.” – Reifmann, Sanhedrin, Heb. (Berdichef, 1888) xi 2-4.

Jesus talked with the various members of the Sanhedrin, trying to influence them, calling them to account, showing them that many of their laws, both civil and religious, were wrong and overly numerous. (See the unjust application of law as it applied to the woman caught in adultery). Jesus also used civil disobedience to show the injustice and bankruptcy of various laws when he and the Apostles picked and husked wheat on the Sabbath and later when they healed on the Sabbath.


Jesus even insulted his chief political leader by calling him a “fox”, Luke 13:31. He called his Senators “hypocrites” and “slimy snakes", Mathew 23:27, 33. He was confrontational. This is the negative side of politics that we must speak against.


Was Jesus only addressing their mistakes in theology? Although, he was concerned about their spiritual condition, he also cared about their physical condition. He demonstrated concern for such issues as oppression and social justice. Unjust laws and immoral politics have a negative effect on the innocent. Jesus addressed the legal basis for divorce and the legality of paying taxes to Caesar. These issues, coupled with the woman caught in adultery, were civil, not religious.

“Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You give a tenth of your spices – mint, dill and cumin. But you have neglected the most important matters of the law – justice, mercy and faithfulness.” - Mt 23:23.

Jesus cared about the suffering of the poor, widowed and orphaned. Politics is religious at its base because our laws come from our morals and morals come from religion. (Note: The atheist has a religion and morals as well) Does it seem reasonable to you that lawmakers such as Joseph or Nicodemus who respected Jesus's wisdom, when meeting with him, would not seek his opinion on the challenging issues of thier day? Do you think that Jesus was silent and unresponsive?


It just goes to show how far we have gotten off message. Our pastors are key.  If they will jump onto the field, the body will as well. What do you think?


I am gleaning a number of fresh, new insights from Mammen’s book, Jesus Is Involved in Politics. I encourage you to pick up two copies. Once for yourself, and one for your pastor or elder.

Jesus was Involved in Politics