I find it very disconcerting that a firestorm of controversy could be ignited by the truth that was spoken on the topic of Christianity recently in a predominantly Christian nation.
The controversy began when pastor Robert Jeffress took to the stage at the annual gathering of evangelical Christians on October 7th to introduce Rick Perry. The Texas pastor said: “Rick Perry’s a Christian. He’s an evangelical Christian, a genuine follower of Jesus Christ…Mitt Romney’s a good moral person, but he’s not a Christian. Mormonism is not Christianity. It has always been considered a cult by the mainstream of Christianity.”
It’s disconcerting to me because our nation was founded on Christianity. Therefore, it should not be shocking that Christianity surfaces at a public event regarding those we are considering for the highest office in the nation!
I believe that God gave tremendous grace to our nation in its infancy, and America’s founders recognized God’s guidance throughout every aspect of the nation’s formation.
William Bradford, Governor of the Plymouth Colony in 1647 said, “Last and not least, they cherished a great hope and inward zeal of laying good foundations, or at least making some ways toward it, for the propagation and advance of the gospel of the kingdom of Christ in the remote parts of the world, even though they should be but stepping stones to others in the performance of so great a work.”
The first five U.S. Presidents were devout Christians, not ashamed or dissuaded from truthfully discussing Jesus Christ in public.
Notice how our nation grew from nothing into the most powerful on the planet while our leaders placed God in the exhalted perspective He deserves. As we took our eyes off of God, we began to fall (just look at how far we’ve fallen over the past few years alone).
I’ve read many statements that were made after the ‘Jeffress incident’ that indicate we shouldn’t be focused on how Christian a presidential candidate is; instead how well he will do the job. I believe this sort of attitude is highly offensive toward God. Lack of consideration of Christianity in any decision, let alone one as important as the choice of a Presidential candidate, is a death wish. Unfortunately, this is indicative of a trend that continues to minimalize Christianity.
Ronald Reagan said, “Without God there is no virtue because there is no prompting of the conscience…without God there is a coarsening of the societey; without God democracy will not and cannot long endure…If we ever forget that we are One Nation Under God, then we will be a nation gone under.”
