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NASB | Matthew 5:44 "But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, |
AMPLIFIED 2015 | Matthew 5:44 "But I say to you, love [that is, unselfishly seek the best or higher good for] your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, [Prov 25:21, 22] |
Subject: Denounce militant Islam? |
Bible Note: "Wait one minute there is a great distance between exercising liberty by casting a vote and campaigning either positively or negatively for a person. In one your fulfilling your obligation as a citizen the other you getting actively involved in the campaign process which may or may not be edifying for a Christian." So you feel that voting is alright, but campaigning is not. Do you feel that running for office to effect political change is acceptable? Paul's use of the "political process" (namely judicail system) to carry his message is certainly noteworthy, but I fail to see the connection to our discussion. This is merely one aspect of the benefits of government - less anarchy! Christians today have frequently used the judicial process to further the good news, but did not prevail in every instance. Did they stop evangelizing? Methods may have been modified in order to prove "cautious as a serpent, yet innocent as doves," but obedience to God's command to preach was heeded. Like, Jesus' cousin John, Christians do not hold back from exposing sin, even when it involves high officials. They spoke out against Hitler as well as other countries' leaders in spite of the harsh consequences. None of this required voting. Rather their neutral stance gave them freedom of speech. |