"Listen that is all well and good in a nation-state, however in religions even an elected leader can be liberal/socialist." ~ AKSurprise
### "Elected" is the key word.
If the one "elected" by "we the people" to "represent" us turns out to be a disappointment, "we the people" have the option of throwing the bum out of the office.
Any time you see a government set up in such a way as to prevent "we the people" from being allowed to choose those who will govern us -- I don't care if it's in our church denominations or in our secular governments -- you have a top-down, unbiblical, elitist/dictatorial form of government where "we the people" are the mere pawns of those who claim to know what's best for us.
"Just look at what has happened in the Episcopalian church, its about to split over Gays in the clergy and Women clergy. It's just as easy to get a bad elected leader as it is to get a chosen leader.# ~ AKSurprise
### So the answer is not "we the people" engaging in free elections, but "we the people" having our leader(s) chosen FOR us by elites??? Puhleeeeeze.
"Besides Catholics believe the College of Cardinals are divinely inspired by the Holy Spirit when choosing a Pope." ~ AKSurprise
### The Framers deliberately blocked elites (they called them, "the hiarchy of men") from imposing their conscience (personal BELIEFS) on "we the people" when they set the Constitution in place to GUARD absolute (self-evident) moral truth.
"It's in the Lord's hands, not ours." ~ AKSurprise
### Isn't everything?
Does that mean we shouldn't have tried to help Terri Schiavo's parents block the tyrannical judge in Clearwater, Fl?
Does that mean we shouldn't make every effort to see to it that Bush's judicial nominees are allowed to come up for A VOTE in Congress?
Puhleeeeze.