From: will_be_deleted@hotmail.com   
      
   Friends,   
      
      
   I wrote the following in an attempt to inspire Christians to vote for   
   President Bush. So that it could potentially be used as a letter to the   
   editor of any given newspaper, I attempted to balance political   
   correctness with Christian theology. If you agree with it, feel free to   
   claim it as your own, edit it as you wish, and share it with your   
   friends or local newspaper.   
      
      
   Our ancestors endured much suffering to secure our right to vote.   
   Therefore, all eligible persons should vote to help direct the course of   
   our nation according to their values. We should first, however,   
   carefully consider if our values are what they ought to be as there is   
   the possibility that one's culture, religion, other life experiences,   
   and general stubbornness could have produced tainted values. Determining   
   what one's values ought to be requires diligent study and prayer about   
   huge questions that essentially determine who we believe is in charge of   
   our life and the universe. Such questions include: Is there a living God   
   who is revealed to humankind through nature and accurately transmitted   
   inspired writings?  Has God established moral absolutes and described   
   how to be properly related to him? And, will individual and collective   
   obedience result in personal or national blessings?   
      
      
   Everyone owes it to themselves, their children, and their nation to   
   honestly seek answers to these questions. Lots of hard honest study,   
   prayer, and some supernatural intervention are needed to believe the   
   right answers to such questions. If the answer to any is yes, we ought   
   to first achieve a right relationship with our Creator and then attempt   
   to conform our values to any explicit commands and implied ideals given   
   to us.   
      
      
   Relatively minor questions such as would George Bush or John Kerry best   
   lead our country in the next four years hinge on such larger questions.   
   Questions about the economy, the justification of preventative wars, and   
   the debates on abortion, stem-cell research, and same-sex marriage   
   should also hinge on any underlying truths and not simply on our   
   unchecked gut feelings. One should also favor strong leaders who strive   
   to direct our nation according to proper values regardless of what the   
   majority position is. Don't forget we live in a Constitutional Republic   
   and that our laws and actions should be aligned with the Constitution,   
   but ideally filtered by the above large questions. Also consider if   
   you=3Fd want your leaders elected by the churched or the un-churched, and   
   perhaps just as importantly, if you=3Fd want judges appointed by churched   
   or un-churched politicians. Assuming you chose the churched, encourage   
   your religious leaders to help members understand how proper values   
   should guide our opinions regarding issues in the news, but let the   
   members decide which candidate is the better good or lesser evil.   
      
      
   Thanks to God's grace, I intend to vote for the candidate whose past   
   record most closely reflects conservative Christian values. To help   
   understand what those are, read the Gospels and popular books such as   
   More Than A Carpenter by Josh McDowell or The Case For Christ by Lee   
   Strobel. Irrespective if you have time to read the above, at least pray   
   about the issues and your relationship with Christ, be sure you are   
   registered, and then vote your values.   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)