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Didn't you say that God chose Jimmy Carter?

Indeed he did. Undoubtedly he was not happy with the USA at that point. It appears that he cursed us with Carter so that we would repent and vote for Reagan.

Personally, I believe that God doesn't get involved in human politics.

Then I guess you either 1) have not read the Bible, or 2) don't believe the Bible. That's not unusual.

That's why we much act on our own faith and values and vote accordingly — if God's plan is not put in place on this Earth, it's our fault, not His.

I sense you are a Deist. I also sense that you believe that God does not know the future, that he has no control over his own plans, and that he is as surprised by current events as we are. That, IMO, is pretty a frightening theological worldview. If God is not intervening is politics and controlling the destiny of the earth, then quite frankly it would appear that we are doomed.

full disclosure, I am Catholic

Is this verse in the Catholic bible?

The king's heart is in the hand of the LORD, as the rivers of water: he turneth it whithersoever he will. (Proverbs 21:1 KJV)

God is in control.

Thank God.

^{Opinions expressed above are those of the poster and do not necessarily represent the opinions of Free Republic, the Religion Moderator, the poster's church, or God.}

Undoubtedly he was not happy with the USA at that point.

Either that or the electorate was not happy with the Republicans. It might have something to do with that Nixon guy resigning in disgrace. But what do I know? I can't claim a lack of doubt when it comes to what is in the mind of God.

Tell, me P-Marlowe, does the candidate you vote for always win? Did you vote for Clinton? Because God "obviously" wanted him in office for eight years. How come you and millions of other Christians were so far removed from God's will that you didn't see that?

I sense you are a Deist. I also sense that you believe that God does not know the future, that he has no control over his own plans, and that he is as surprised by current events as we are. That, IMO, is pretty a frightening theological worldview. If God is not intervening is politics and controlling the destiny of the earth, then quite frankly it would appear that we are doomed.

Then we're doomed.

I can see why you might think I was a Deist, but I'm not. I'm a Catholic who believes in free will. Without free will there is no sin, and without sin, no one needs to read the Bible. If God knows what we're going to do, why does He bother giving us advice?

I don't know whether or not our decisions, including who we vote for, are "surprises" to God; I am not arrogant enough to claim knowledge of the mind of God beyond what He reveals.

The king's heart is in the hand of the LORD, as the rivers of water: he turneth it whithersoever he will. (Proverbs 21:1 KJV)

You accused me of not reading the Bible. This is what it says in the Bible:

פלגי־מים לב־מלך ביד־יהוה על־כל־אשר יחפץ יטנו

(I know if may come as a shock to you that King James didn't write the Bible and it wasn't originally in English.) In this sentence, the verb "to be" is implied. The clear implication of this construction is that were talking about a hypothetical state of being, i.e. if the King places his heart in the hands of God, then God can take control of it. The rest of the chapter goes on in further detail about the folly of not following what you know to be God's will in your heart. In other words, you are responsible for applying God's will to the best of your ability. If you vote Adolph Hitler into office, then that's your failure to search your heart for God's Truth, not God's decision that Hitler should be in power (seriously, would God have put Hitler in power?! Give our Lord a little credit here!).