Posted on 10/13/2007 9:53:21 AM PDT by wagglebee
There are many instances where pragmatism has its place. In its purest sense, pragmatism is simply engaging in conduct that emphasizes practicality. For example, if I decide to spend $60 for a pair of pants that will last me several years rather than spend $20 for a pair that may not make it past the first outing it could be said that my decision involved the exercise of pragmatism.
That may work for pants but it doesn’t work for principles. Pragmatism may work well in the fashion world but it has no place in the world of public policy. There are many well meaning, passionate, evangelical believers who have reached the conclusion that when it comes to the 2008 race for the White House it is better to vote for a candidate who can win than to vote for a candidate who can truly lead. It is this kind of misplaced pragmatism that has the potential to permanently remove the voice of evangelicals from the political arena. Our seat at the table of ideas should be more precious to us than the results of one election cycle.
Let me be clear…. I do not want to see Hillary Clinton become the President of the United States. I believe her brand of big government socialism combined with her moral sophistry would drastically change the face of American culture. From government sponsored health care to government censored Christian speech another Clinton presidency would lead us into a financial and spiritual bankruptcy that could require decades of recovery time.
If we select a genuine conservative as the Republican standard bearer and lose we will recover to fight for our principles another day. But if we run a pseudo conservative and lose we will find ourselves with no principles left to fight for. We will have sacrificed them on the altar of expediency. And if we run a pseudo conservative and win we will find ourselves with no principles left to live by for we will have sacrificed them on the altar of pragmatism.
For years the blue blood, country club Republicans have resented the fact that they have had to come to religious conservatives with political hat in hand in or order to get elected. The instant they believe they can win without us they will put their hats back on their heads and give us the back of their hand. Rudy Giuliani’s current lead in the national polls gives the blue blood their best hope to regain control of the party from what is in their minds, the “great unwashed religious right.” Even if Republicans lose the White House in 2008 if Giuliani is the party’s standard bearer the establishment Republicans will have won a great victory. They will have successfully relegated religious conservatives to nothing more than a vocal irritant to be tolerated but not taken seriously.
When you examine the biblical story of Jacob, Esau, and Isaac (Genesis 25-27) the parallels to the current political climate in the Republican Party are startling. First, Esau comes home from working in the field to find Jacob slaving over a hot pot of stew. Esau is desperate for a meal and begs Jacob for some of the stew but Jacob sees an opportunity in Esau’s desperation to take something precious from him. Jacob says, “Sell me your birthright as of this day.” Esau reasons that his birthright, which was given to him by God, will not do him any good if he dies of hunger so he pragmatically agrees trading what was given to him by God for what was provided for him by man. Rather than stopping to think there might be another way to find a meal Esau, out of pure desperation, exchanges the eternal for the temporal. Perhaps he believed that as long as he would receive the blessing reserved for the first born he could afford to part with his birthright. But later, Jacob dressed up like Esau right down to gluing goat hair on his hands and the back of his neck so that Isaac (who by this time was blind) was deceived into giving away the primary blessing of God.
In the first part of the story Christians who settle for a pro-abortion, pro-homosexual rights candidate as the standard bearer for the Republican Party are like Esau, so desperate for the provision of the momentary relief of our grievance that we are willing to sacrifice the security of holding onto our principles for the future. In the second part of the story the Christian right resembles Isaac, who was blindly tricked into giving away God’s blessings by one who had the appearance of the real thing. And what was the end result for Esau? He lost both his birthright and his blessing; one because of the boldness of Jacob who took advantage of Esau’s desperation and the other because of the blindness of Isaac who had lost his ability to see past mere outward appearances.
May God protect us as believers from trading the birthright of America and the blessings of God for a bowl of political porridge and a bill of pseudo-conservative goods.
I addressed you in exactly the same fashion you choose to post at me. If you don’t like what it got you, don’t start it next time.
“I addressed you in exactly the same fashion you choose to post at me.”
We both know that you were trying to make Rudytheliberal look better than he is by the comparison. You are better than that.
I hope.
Maybe you should be asking those questions of the people you vote for, Johnnie.
I would gather that them abandoning the sanctity of life is based upon ego.
What if Republicans suddenly became in favor of raising taxes. Or what if they suddenly wanted to form a gang of 14.
Or what if they wanted to take guns away from law abiding citizens.
What if they wanted to engage in doubling or tripling pork.
There is no ego involved with following Christ. In fact, The white Christian is scoffed, humiliated, etc.
ego?
Yeah— us Christians are all about ego- but Mitt, Rudy, McCain, and Fred are all about humility, humbleness, and virtue.
It is us Christians who are in it for personal gain....
nice logic there.
It depends I guess on what your goals are, Johnnie.
My goal is not to worship a party. My life is based on standing up for what is right.....
Some people claim that integrity is who you are when no one is looking.....I disagree....that is the definition of someone’s true character....
Integrity is standing up for what is right.....even if it means standing alone.
As I recall- Jesus displayed this very trait- even in the face of crucifiction. By your reasoning, he should have denounced the Truth in order to stick around and give more sermons, or perform more healings......
so now, not only am I a petulant, whining child- but I am also a narcasist? an ego maniac?
and those that are humble and virtuous are Rudy and Company?
amazing what can happen to someone’s logic when an elephant becomes the symbol of saving our country instead of the cross.......
That is an assumption on your part. I am hoping I do not have to make that choice. We don't have a nominee yet even though it seems a large segment of the Conservative movement is waving the white flag for Rudy all ready. What I asked, and you still have not answers, is this.
Is it "standing on principal" when by doing so you actually harm the principals you are suppose to be standing on?
I would gather that them abandoning the sanctity of life is based upon ego
I guess I missed that. I did not hear they were pulling all the pro Life planks out of the party platform and adopting the Democrats pro Death platform. In that case you are right.
What if Republicans suddenly became in favor of raising taxes. Or what if they suddenly wanted to form a gang of 14. Or what if they wanted to take guns away from law abiding citizens.What if they wanted to engage in doubling or tripling pork.
In which case I would also agree with you that it is time to find a new party Except for that last one about pork, they all ready have DONE that.
There is no ego involved with following Christ
No but there is ego in assuming one's personal political opinions and God's will are one and the same. If Fred or Rudy or Mitt or McCain or Ron Paul is the nominee, despite my personal opinions and efforts, is that God's will?
Which has more integrity? The one who keeps fighting when all looks blackest or is it integrity to throw up your hands and say "these guys aren't my guy so a pox on everything and everyone in that party"?
Stand on principle and back Duncan Hunter now, and you won’t have to vote for the lesser of two evils.
Wait and see what the party throws us, and we will get 2 evils, one with an R and one with a D.
“Face it, you will have to win without their vote. Good luck”
If they insist on pushing a RINO, it is the end of their party. Guess they’re hedging their bets, though, and probably reworking their resumes- one with D credentials and one with R credentials.
I’d suggest they toss the one with the R credentials, though. It won’t be worth much if we refuse to sell our souls for a proabortion, pro-sodomite marriage, pro-Chinese enslavement puppet.
“There are millions of us who will not compromise.”
Unfotunately, because the blubloods do not live by principles, they do not believe us. They still think they can scare us into one voting for one devil to avoid getting the other devil.
JUDGES, not the President, will overturn Roe v Wade. It was Judges that imposed it, it will be Judges who overturn it.
Personally I think Bush is a terrible president, but I voted for him twice for ONE REASON, Judges. And on that single issue he did not disappoint. I will most likely vote for the GOP nominee on that one issue again.
I’ve seen threads on FR where they are saying the Christian Right needs to compromise if they want to be on the winning team. But if salt loses its saltiness it has no value and is to be thrown out into the driveway as gravel. Our only value is in our adherence to the faith.
And we are also being urged to accept a candidate as one of us because he has fur glued to his arm.
Neither option is acceptable.
EXCELLENT ARTICLE.
It isn’t much use arguing principle with a Rooty toot. There is nothing conservative about Rooty, never has been. He has a history of liberalism. He has appointed liberal judges and has even said Ruth Bader Ginsberg is a strict Constitutionalist judge.
I won’t vote for him or Hillary. The people that push Rooty can push all they like but the one thing that cannot do is force anyone to vote for Rooty.
Thery are welcome to vote for him if they like, but they will have to win by counting on all those budding leftists they think they can get to vote for him.
I won’t be a part of it. If they can win that way, so be it.
This time around, if we are willing to put our money where our principles are, we have a real conservative in the race-DUNCAN HUNTER.
www.gohunter08.com
The MSM/RINO strategy is to ignore him becuase, if they do, and nobody knows about him, he won’t get enough money, and will have to go away.
We do not have to settle for evil IF we act now.
And not rather, (as we be slanderously reported, and as some affirm that we say,) Let us do evil, that good may come? whose damnation is just. -- Roman 3:8
Perhaps you point would be made if you didn't include Christian in your synopsis. As I read this passage, Christians are not to support evil hoping that one day in the future something good perhaps might happen. As I read this passage I see that our actions will be slanderously reported and our actions of supporting evil will be JUSTLY called out by those people. Our "DAMNATION is Just" is not just a little smack on the hand, or little idle threat to most Christians.
If you can't understand this, I understand that also. But a Christian worth his/her salt (that has not lost it season) takes these things in consideration.
What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound? 2God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein? Romans 6:1-2
"Why do you help wicked people and love those who hate the LORD? The LORD's anger is directed toward you because you have done this. 2 Chronicles 19:2
Romans 12:9 NIV .. Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good.
"Pure Childish arrogance" is your term for those like me who will not vote for those that spit on our faith, But perhaps you do not take into consideration the same things I do.
"Hypocrites," Jesus said, "why, even of yourselves, do you not judge what is right?" (Luke 12:56-57)
I totally agree. Rooty is the extension of what we already have, and have become wary of. Rooty is Bush on steroids and I believe he is the sock puppet of global elitists.
He is even worse than Bush could be. He has very liberal views.
I will never understand how someone could let the empty glass win instead of taking a chance on the half full glass when the half full glass is the only one who can beat the empty glass. Just stupid!
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