So What's This All About?

In case you didn't know, I'm in the multi-year-long process of posting a Christian devotional at the TAWG Blog. The TAWG Blog is, and always will be, mostly apolitical. For the most part, Bible-believing Christians will find little to disagree with there. But I also firmly believe that God's word can--and should--inform everything in life, and this should include politics and popular culture. How should we vote? How should we respond to hot topics such as abortion, capital punishment, taxes, and other issues? Which party, if either, is closer to the Biblical ideal? Tony Campolo and Ron Sider, Evangelicals whose political leanings are on the Left, have made the case in several of their writings that God wants his followers to vote politically on the Left more than on the Right. At times, some of them have gone so far as to equate voting on the Left with obedience to Christ, either subtly or not-so-subtly contending that the converse is true as well: If you vote Republican, you're sinning against the Savior.
I don't agree. I think that to the degree they actually resort to the Bible, they're misinterpreting it. With a whole bunch of caveats, I think politically conservative positions are a lot more compatible with the Scriptures than the Leftist positions.
Just to clarify, I would never accuse people who disagree with me--especially siblings in Christ--of what they accuse me of. I don't judge my own heart, much less anyone else's, and I don't equate political disagreement with theological fidelity to God. I have no reason to doubt their love for the Lord and "for the least of these," but I believe that they're sincerely wrong.
So there are two main purposes for this blog. One is to make a case for my political beliefs based on Scripture. The other is a bit more vague, basically to work out my political beliefs and figure out what's based on Scripture and what's based on my own biases. I certainly don't have all the answers. Some of this stuff I'm still figuring out. And I'm certainly open to correction. As long as you make your case civilly and based on Scripture, feel free to make a comment, and I promise I'll post it and consider your arguments thoughtfully and prayerfully. Who knows? Maybe we'll learn a little something from each other.
May God bless our common striving together towards both the "little t" truth and "Big T" Truth. Our watchword here is a line from C. S. Lewis's The Last Battle: "Further up and further in!"

P.S. -- Below on the left is "Topics I've Covered" which lists everything I've posted topically. It's come to my attention that some people would like to see everything just listed for them. If that's you, you can get it here. Thanks to my friend Stephen Young for the tip!

Wednesday, February 24, 2016

Old Man Eloquent and the Amistad

From Bill Bennett's American Patriot's Almanac:

“I am too old! ” protested John Quincy Adams, congressman and former president of the United States, when admirers asked him to argue a case before the U.S. Supreme Court.

The situation was this. In 1839 the Spanish schooner Amistad left Havana, Cuba, for another Cuban port, carrying fifty-three African slaves. Under the leadership of an African named Cinque, the captives revolted, killed the captain, and seized the ship. They demanded to be taken back to Africa, but the Amistad’s navigator tricked them and sailed toward Long Island, New York. A U.S. Navy vessel took the ship into custody and brought it to Connecticut.

Spain demanded that the U.S. return the Amistad and its human cargo as the property of Spain. The administration of President Martin van Buren agreed. But Cinque and his comrades—supported by American abolitionists—insisted that they were not “property” at all, but human beings who had been kidnapped in Africa.

Now the dispute was going to the U.S. Supreme Court, and the abolitionists wanted John Quincy Adams, known as “Old Man Eloquent,” to help argue their case. Adams worried he was too rusty. He had not been in a courtroom in decades. But he finally agreed.

On February 24, 1841, a nervous Adams began presenting his argument to the justices. His voice faltered at first, but his cause brought him confidence. He pointed to a framed document on the wall. “The moment you come to the Declaration of Independence, that every man has a right to life and liberty, as an inalienable right, this case is decided. I ask nothing more on behalf of these unfortunate men than this Declaration.”

The Court ruled that since the transatlantic slave trade had been banned, the Africans were free men. Old Man Eloquent won his case. For payment, he received a handsomely bound Bible from the Africans—and profound satisfaction at having struck a blow for liberty.

Every day, Bill Bennett provides via email--for free--a reading from his American Patriot's Almanac. You’ll read about heroes, their achievements, and key events that took place “On This Day” in American history." Click here to subscribe.

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