Thursday, September 30, 2010

Christine O'Donnell's Evangelical Problem

As a Christian, I know that forgiveness is something we have to grant here on earth if we want to get to heaven, but in politics, asking forgiveness has become a political ploy.
In the Gospels, Jesus Christ states clearly in two places that one thing won't be forgiven:
Amen, I say to you, all sins and all blasphemies that people utter will be forgiven them. But whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will never have forgiveness, but is guilty of an everlasting sin. (Mark 3:28-29)
Therefore, I say to you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven people, but blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven. And whoever speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven; but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven, either in this age or in the age to come. (Matthew 12:31-32)
Christine O'Donnell may have a bigger problem than this Senate race.

Is hanging out on Satanic altars an affront to the Holy Spirit? Is subsequently making jokes about it while cashing in? (One can only assume that Bill Maher pays his guests on his dog-and-pony show. Plus, Christine was paid in the media attention she got out of talking to Bill Maher.)

Has Christine O'Donnell recanted her experimental time playing with the occult?

Surely 99.44 percent of the time no one would care about what this woman believes and when she believed it. However, when someone is setting themselves up as a moral vanguard, these questions are legitimate.
No one can look into the eye of God and know what the Almighty will do with this situation at the end of her days. Those in Delaware just have the days that sit in front of them now to make a call.

Delaware is a fairly diverse state for its size. It may only have three counties, but it has substantial urban areas of Wilmington and Dover, lots of farmland, and ocean playgrounds. Think of a more relaxed New Jersey. And there is a substantial number of Evangelicals in the Diamond State. Are these revelations going to cause cognitive dissonance as they go to the polls to vote?

I have used the quotations from Paul's Letter to Titus on numerous occasions:
For a bishop as God's steward must be blameless, not arrogant, not irritable, not a drunkard, not aggressive, not greedy for sordid gain, but hospitable, a lover of goodness, temperate, just, holy, and self-controlled, holding fast to the true message as taught so that he will be able both to exhort with sound doctrine and to refute opponents. (Titus 1:7-9)
Christine O'Donnell is asking to be a bishop of our country. As someone actively courting the Evangelical vote, how does she fit into this mold of leadership?
Are Paul's words about leadership still applicable today?
Will Evangelical voters be able to forgive Satanic ritual and make Ms. O'Donnell a bishop of their secular fold?

Is Chris Coons, the opponent in this race, legitimate in playing this card if the race gets tight? After all, the man has a Master's in Ethics from Yale Divinity School. Evangelicals may be tempted to look seriously at a Democrat that has a serious background and grounding in things theological. Coons can attack O'Donnell legitimately at her base. Court this vote, and I think he could reach it. He would have a shot at getting 90 percent of the vote.

That, more than anything, could derail a tea-party express.

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