n e w c h u r c h l i f e : j u ly / au g u s t 2 0 1 6
nations, peoples and tongues? Didn’t He say that if people will not hear Moses
and the prophets neither will they attend even if one were to come back from
the dead?
I believe that when we try to “fit in” we actually deny the Lord before
the crowing of the cock. Are we just being prudent as we seek to swell our
membership through temporal appeals, or are we being fearful of rejection or
even of persecution? Is our mission really to “help other people to grow closer
to the Lord,” or is it actually to spread the gospel and so enable the Lord to
grow closer to them? Are we to grow the Church, or are we to annunciate the
Church?
Martin Klein
Boynton Beach, Florida
Religion and Politics
To The Editors:
An editorial in the May-June 2016 issue of New Church Life on “The Election,”
quoted Apocalypse Explained 852:
In people who love the truth because it is true, theological issues dwell on the
highest levels of the mind; moral issues are located on the middle level, below
theological issues; and political issues dwell on the lowest levels, below moral issues.
Yes, but all three are essential and work together. None of these acts alone.
Our religion – or lack of religion – determines our morals and politics.
Although our own prudence is like a few specks of dust, we can know that
our governors should be wise and God-fearing because God has told us so.
It seems to me that it only takes a tiny bit of the brain power we have to see
that some beliefs are insane, not wise.
Obviously those who want to ban God, the Ten Commandments and the
Bible from public schools, the public square and the military are not Godfearing.
But we do have some good and God-fearing governors and politicians.
Only God can judge motives. But we can and should judge words and deeds.
If we love our country as God says we should, we should strive diligently
to determine the character of those running for office before we vote.
Of course, our country will never do well if we don’t turn back to the Lord
Almighty. Without God and the Ten Commandments nothing works.
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Charis P. Cole
Bryn Athyn, Pennsylvania