Please ask. I would very much appreciate if you would submit questions in comments to this post, or via email to user account “eddie” at my static domain. Anonymity at your request.
It occurs to me some of the things I have written in previous posts may have provoked some questions. Or, perhaps you simply have some rude personal query of me. Then again, maybe you just wish to poke fun at me. No matter; I delete very little here, and even less for something like this. Here’s your chance. If nothing happens, I probably won’t try it again.
Issues requiring a full article length answer will warrant another post. Anything less will appear as an edit to this post below…
Voting in elections
There is nothing wrong with civic participation. It’s no different from helping my neighbor with something like a tree blown down by the storms, or chatting playfully with their children. Getting involved in any community activity is most certainly the best way to promote the message of the gospel, and Christian Mysticism is no excuse for hiding out and playing hermit.
But when I see something unjust, it’s not always possible to fix the problem. It’s not always possible to even declare the thing unjust. Sometimes the best you can do is keep your distance. In the US in particular, the election system has long been a sham. I’ve studied it up close, seen the mechanism and talked to folks involved. Everything about it is broken, not at all consistent with the stated goals and purposes. It’s not what those who promote it claim it is. They are lying. Voting as it now exists cannot possibly achieve the stated ends of representing the will of the people.
That I don’t believe the will of the people can bring justice in the first place is actually a separate issue. Condemning democracy as a form of participatory government is a prophetic statement about changing our understanding of God’s Laws and civilization itself. So long as there is a vast system already in place which violates fundamentally violates God’s justice, we have to seek the level of justice available. Voting is not evil; it’s ineffective at best when it comes to delivering justice. Our problem is it’s not working at all. The entire political system is hopeless corrupt. That’s the natural result of a poor design, but I would be willing to play along in order to be involved in the community, if it actually accomplished even that lesser goal.
My own pastor claims to be for gun ownership, but when asked about carrying concealed in church he used a verse from Psalms about trusing not in chariots but in the name of the Lord to defend his stance against it. Could you generally speak to when self-defense makes sense and when it doesn’t, and whether being in a church building has a bearing on that? I find myself less reliant on Doctors and the medical system compared to my pastor (trusting rather in God). But when it comes to personal self defense, I see that as part of providing shelter for my family and not as a lack of faith in God. Plus I think using the verse he does is applying it out of context. Also, in the same vein of discussion, can you explain Jesus reasoning behind telling his disciples to buy swords?
The issue with guns and defense requires a separate response.
Do you vote in government elections? or do you abstain on the principle of ignoring the system?
I do not vote. It’s not so much to ignore the system as my firm belief it makes no difference. The issue is not a spiritual doctrine of otherworldliness, but a matter of justice under God’s Laws. The system is so corrupt, it’s a sham to be involved.