Hmmm, since you asked, well - YES - they are. At least in THIS world. No matter how deep one's faith in the world to come, we must take care of the business in this world FIRST.
As was once said:
"Render unto Caeser what is Caeser's, and unto God what is God's."
As long as I have to live in this world (unto death, I presume?), my interests on earth are preserving the country and what it has traditionally stood for.
I intend to support the Republican nominee, be it Rudy, Thompson, or anyone else. The alternative is beyond unacceptable.
- John
No matter how deep one’s faith in the world to come, we must take care of the business in this world FIRST. As was once said: “Render unto Caeser what is Caeser’s, and unto God what is God’s.”
***Actually, you kinda got that backwards. Jesus was saying that his audience needed to render unto God what belonged to Him, as much as the converse — actually MORE than the converse. And, keeping in mind that Jesus Christ was put to death for claiming to be God, you need to render to Him what is His due.
Here’s an analogy to work with. Take a small box and fill it with some rocks. Then add some rice, filling it to the top. Now take all the same stuff, but in a different order. Put in the rice first, then add the rocks. What you’ll find is that if you put in the big stuff first, the small stuff will fit around it. But if you put in the small stuff first, the big stuff won’t have room. The republican tent is the box. The Big issues are the socon issues, to be put in first. The little issues are things that can be accommodated around the bigger stuff. A candidate who tries to focus on the smaller issues first and leave out the bigger issues has no way of getting all of us into the tent. He splits the party. The candidate who gets the big stuff right and as much of the little stuff that will fit, he can fit more into the tent. We’re often amazed at how much rice can keep fitting in. Rudy Giuliani flunks some of the big issues, and on some of the little issues it looks to me like anyone else’s rice would do just as well. All that remains for us to agree on is which are the bedrock principles and which are not. Why would there be so much invective aimed at rudy from the right? Because there are some bedrock principles that he is leaving out. Bad move. I see rudybot postings all the time saying that they would vote for Hunter, and I see socon postings that say they would not vote for rudy. That’s a BIG indicator of a few bedrock principles that are being left outside the tent in order to let in some rice.
That same analogy works with God as the rocks in the box, and the rest of our lives & details as the rice. We fit God into our lives, and let the rest fill in where they can fit. THAT is rendering unto God properly and Caesar properly. Doing it in reverse leaves out the most important part.