Churches Timid in Elections

I have been very disappointed during this election season by the churches of Denver because of their unwillingness to address the Christian issues on the ballots. Their lack of support for things that are clearly designed to protect and advance Christian ethics and morals in our society is a shame to them and to the Christian people of our state.

Somehow, the pastors and the elder boards of the churches think that it is against the law for them to speak out on Christian issues and even Christian principles. They think that they will lose their coveted tax exemptions if they speak out on anything that comes up on the ballot. Nothing could be further from the truth. In fact, there is nothing in the law that would prohibit them from actively advocating for issues in an election that concern our faith. The following link from the Alliance Defense Fund, a Christian legal organization, describes what can and what cannot be proclaimed from the pulpit during an election season: http://bit.ly/9O13mh.

I think that part of the problem with churches and pastors is ignorance of the issues. I spoke to one pastor who had already voted in Colorado. He told me that he was surprised to find the Personhood Amendment on the ballot when he got to the polling place. This issue, which would define the beginning of human life at the point of conception, is clearly a Christian issue of life. The pastor had not taken the time to inform himself of the issues on the ballot. (He did take the time, however, to deny me the privilege of informing his church on this issue.) In these days, ballots are so very complicated that one cannot decide intelligently on most of the issues by simply going to the polling place and seeing what one might vote on. One has to inform oneself of the issues long before going to vote.

This appalling situation would not have obtained during the early days of America. Preachers and churches were not afraid to proclaim the truth from the pulpits of pre-revolutionary America. Every one of the 27 reasons for revolution elucidated in the Declaration of Independence was clearly presented to the American people by the preachers of America in the 10 years before the revolution. Without the leadership of our churches, the American Revolution might not have ever happened. What a difference from the situation today when the churches are afraid to even mention Christian issues from the pulpit! GOD HELP US ALL!!