Tuesday, December 08, 2015

Final straw?



Anything that hilarious usually has a grain of truth to it.

Donald Trump called Monday for a "total and complete shutdown" of the entry of Muslims to the United States "until our country's representatives can figure out what is going on."

In a statement released by his campaign Monday afternoon, Trump included recent poll findings that he says show that a sizable segment of the Muslim population has "great hatred towards Americans."

"Without looking at the various polling data, it is obvious to anybody the hatred is beyond comprehension," Trump is quoted as saying in the statement. "Where this hatred comes from and why we will have to determine. Until we are able to determine and understand this problem and the dangerous threat it poses, our country cannot be the victims of horrendous attacks by people that believe only in Jihad, and have no sense of reason or respect for human life."

Since social conservatives have taken a beating in the culture war (specifically on the gay marriage issue) the past 5-10 years, the focus over the past year has started to shift towards religious liberty, an issue that is absolutely winnable for the political right. Leave it to the candidate who leads in the polls for the GOP nomination to throw a proverbial monkey wrench into that movement.

Dr. Russell Moore, who is President of the Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission, lays it out.

Make no mistake. A government that can shut down mosques simply because they are mosques can shut down Bible studies because they are Bible studies. A government that can close the borders to all Muslims simply on the basis of their religious belief can do the same thing for evangelical Christians.

A government that issues ID badges for Muslims simply because they are Muslims can, in the fullness of time, demand the same for Christians because we are Christians.

We are in a time of war, and we should respond as those in a time of war. But we must never lose in a time of war precious freedoms purchased through the blood of patriots in years past. We must have security, and we must have order. But we must not trade soul freedom for an illusion of winning.

As a Republican, I want a GOP victory in the 2016 race for the White House as much as any right-of-center politico. But I am, first and foremost, a Christian and my ability (along with my inalienable right) to worship freely supersedes politics. That is why I would not think twice about forgoing a vote for President if indeed it comes down to a choice between Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump next year.

Final thought: I've never totally bought in to the conspiracy that Trump is sabotaging the Republican primary process in an effort to get his pal Hillary elected President. However, if Trump were indeed implementing that strategy, would it look dramatically different from what he is doing now?

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