Tuesday, February 05, 2008

Christians Urged to Vote Their Values

From "Land, others, urge Christians to vote their values in elections" by Daniel W. Guido, posted 9/25/08 at bpnews.net

Richard Land is the president of the Southern Baptist Convention’s Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission. He and several other spoke at the "Values Voter Summit" Sept. 21-23.

Land told the audience that God is involved in the moral issues that currently confront Americans.

“God is pro-life, pro-heterosexual and anti-pornography. But He is not Democrat or Republican," Land said.

Land’s comments came during a panel discussion on “The Role of Churches in Political Issues.” Appearing with him was Herb Lusk, pastor of Greater Exodus Baptist Church in Philadelphia; John Guest, pastor of Christ Church at Grove Farm in Sewickley, Pa.; and Kenyn Cureton, vice president for convention relations for the SBC's Executive Committee. Cureton served as moderator.

Land said he would caution churches to refrain from endorsing specific candidates and instead work to educate their parishioners on where the candidates stand on the issues.

“Churches can be engaged, getting involved in voter registration, for instance, as long as it is done blind,” Land said. “Pastors have an obligation to speak prophetically about the issues of the day. And we all have an obligation to preach about unborn life. Every Christian should be registered to vote. It is a sin not to vote.”

Lusk agreed, telling the audience that voting and “standing for the truth requires courage, but we must do it.” He said “Christians must get out there and live what we believe," and he warned that like the days of Nehemiah, “our walls are down and our cities are in disarray. We must cry out to God for His protection and deliverance.”

Read the entire article.