Making sense of Syria
Syria Explained – the New Politics
or
Mixing Politics and Prayer
To Separate or Not to Separate, Church and State?
While Presidents and lawmakers have no power or right to impose a specific religion or set of beliefs on our nation (try as they might, as Obama is presently doing with secularism and with socialism), individual citizens would be remiss if they failed to consult their code of ethics before voting or before supporting a particular political candidate or policy. And that code of ethics is, in all probability, derived from their religion.
Hence, in a democratic republic composed of 80% Christians, the law will be, and the law ought to be, based on Judeo-Christian principles. Not by decree, but democratic determination. Also by choice of the Founders, who unquestionably founded this nation on Christian principles.
Christian Morality Undermined
Recent attempts to undermine this foundation by those who argue separation of Church and State have been misguided. Separation of Church and State is not defined as prohibition of public discussion of what is right and wrong, but is defined as refraining from imposing a forced set of beliefs on citizens – whether those be Lutheran, Catholic, Muslim, or atheist beliefs. Our determination not to jail a person for not sharing our Christian beliefs is not to be confused with our right to legislate ‘thou shalt not kill’ and ‘thou shalt not steal’ by a majority vote, and to encode these values into our laws. And when citizens do encode their Christian values into law, as in the case of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), it is not for politically motivated, unelected, appointed “judges” to reverse the will of the electorate by decree. To allow a minority to dictate the lives of the majority is foolhardy, and represents a misguided definition of tolerance.
Grass Roots Reclaim Morality
Now, as a nation, we are suffering the results of our previous misguided “tolerance” of things we know to be wrong – of lying, of killing, of abuse of power by the elite. And now, the people of the United States are beginning to take matters back into their own hands. They are getting more involved, and they are participating in the democratic process with renewed vigor. They are not afraid to demand ethical solutions to pressing problems. Examples can be seen in recent successes of the Pro-Life movement, the Tea Party movement and in the 2 Million Biker ride taking place in Washington DC today. Despite attempts by those in power to steer our nation in a less democratic and less Christian direction, ordinary citizens are waking up and are taking charge.
Religious Leaders Call the World to Public Prayer
This awakening and new-found activism, in addition to including political action, also includes prayer. In the United States, 80% of people pray, and say that their prayers are answered. So it would be logical to pray about the the things that are important. Catholics have been participating in organized prayer efforts for religious freedom frequently during the past year. Catholics are centrally organized and thus may be more visible, but they are not alone. Americans of all faiths have been praying and have been becoming more active in politics. The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) has become more outspoken, and the Pope has become more outspoken.
The USCCB has called for numerous Freedom of Religion rallies across the United States, and Catholics have gathered to pray for the restoration of religious freedom which was violated by the HHS Mandate.
Catholics in Madison, WI, started praying the rosary en masse every week on the Wisconsin State Capitol Steps in 2012.
For the first time in history, Pope Francis called for a Global Adoration effort, in which millions of Catholics participated on June 2, 2013.
Syria
Now, in the face of the Syria crisis, Pope Francis called for a Global day of Prayer and Fasting for peace on Saturday night, September 7th. He wrote a letter to Putin calling on G20 leaders to seek Syria peace talks, and tweeted against a US military strike in Syria. Millions participated in the global vigil, with 100,000 people gathering for 5 hours of vigil and prayer with Pope Francis in St. Peter’s Square. The rosary was prayed.
.
.
So, Are We Surprised?
Within two days of the global vigil involving millions of people, we went
FROM:
Obama pushing military strikes, Syria vowing retaliation on Israel, Iran vowing revenge and threatening
to rape and kill Obama’s daughter, US Senators saying we could be nuked if we don’t play this right, and Russia announcing that she would shield Syria from US attack,
TO:
a gaffe made by Secretary of State John Kerry (aka “Lurch”), picked up by Putin, who took advantage of Kerry’s blunder to demand that Syria surrender chemical weapons, to Assad agreeing to surrender chemical weapons, to Congress, including the Democrat-contolled Senate backing off approval of Obama’s proposed military strikes, to Obama speaking to the nation and announcing that everything is on hold.
No military action, no political plan, no battle, no delegation needed. Most surprising, with the most unlikely players.
.
From the brink of World War III involving the U.S., Syria, Iran, Israel, and Russia, to a defused situation and Vlad (Putin), the knight in shining armor, moralizing at Americans in the New York Times.
The hand of God in human events is most obvious in those events which defy the laws of probability, in those events which accomplish far-reaching, perhaps even global results, where human effort seems to play little or small part in accomplishing the result, and in those events where politicians and battles play no significant role. Nobody anticipates the result, everyone is surprised by the result, the result is truly remarkable, and no fingerprints are left behind.
That is God’s style and His trademark.
…………………………………..-from The Missing Link- Redefining How We Approach Politics
This week’s events in Syria illustrate one clear case of God’s such involvement in human history.
When we pray and work against all odds, God helps.
And He usually does it in an unexpected way and with a great sense of humor-
Putin, the peacemaker, to the rescue, calling on the Nobel Peace Prize President Obama not to trigger World War III.
No Rose Colored Glasses
Make no mistake, the story is not over.
The idea of trusting Syria or Russia, and numerous other complexities and hurdles still have to be considered.
But the bottom line is that three days ago we were almost bombing Syria against the will of the people of the United States, and now Barack Obama has called for a pause.
I, for one, have certainly breathed a sigh of relief.
Thanks be to God!
Future Plan
Quoting from The Missing Link – Redefining How We Approach Politics, in which this new approach to politics, politics from an educated religious perspective, was outlined:
Future DirectionsThe answers are pretty simple, and are available to anyone. View all of life, including American politics, from a educated religious perspective, and thus refuse to separate Church and State. Quote from the Liturgy of the Hours, a set of daily prayers based on Holy Scripture and available to all: If the Lord had not been on our side…. It’s very simple: stick strictly to God’s law, pray, and wait. |
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The Missing Link – Redefining How We Approach Politics
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