The Reverend Billy Graham's daughter was the keynote speaker at the Ohio Prayer Breakfast here in Columbus, Ohio in observation of the National Day of Prayer.
She made some excellent points and, I think, framed the whole "faith and politics" situation in a great way. She stated that "the gospel of Jesus Christ is above [political] issues." Amen to that.
I also liked her points that God expects Christians to love one another and that it is God's job to convict and judge - not ours. Christians' work here on earth is to love one another as Christ loved us. Period.
Here's the link
http://shop.dispatch.com/newsarchive/ArchiveDisplay.asp?DBLIST=cd05&DOCNUM=19614&TERMV=10586
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I also sent a letter to the editor about it (to The Columbus Dishrag - we'll see if it gets published):
My LTE:
The Reverend Billy Graham's daughter gave voice to
what I, as a Christian, have long believed. Graham was the keynote speaker at the May 5 Ohio Prayer Breakfast. ("Religion above all issues," 5/6/05). Graham states that the gospel of Christ is above political issues, that "God expects us to love," and that it is God's job to convict and judge.
As a Christian, I trust God to deal with individuals for what they have done. I believe that doing God's work here on earth means following John 13:34 "Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another." If you are focused on loving your fellow humans, you are not, for example, working to discriminate against homosexuals or punish those who have had abortions.
Secretary of State Blackwell's remarks at the Prayer Breakfast, that Christians are "obliged to engage the forces of evil and darkness," reduce Christianity to the level of an action videogame. When Blackwell says that Christians are called to do God's work, he has obviously forgotten John 13:35 "By this all men will
know that you are my disciples, if you love one
another."
Let me know if I goofed on creating this diary - it's only my second one and I'm not very skilled at it. Thanks.