Voting Your Genes?
Posted by: K.D. Hastings on July 16, 2008 Hot Issues •
Whether you vote or stay home on Election Day is at least in part a function of your genetic makeup. That’s the upshot of a study out of the University of California at San Diego.
According to a report in Scientific American and elsewhere, scientists are suggesting “the desire to vote or abstain from politics might largely be hardwired into our biology.”
Factors such as age, gender, race, education and income, among other socioeconomic indices, had only a tiny impact on the likelihood that person would vote, the investigators said in the review of behavior of identical and fraternal twins.
James Fowler of the California school said this genetic predisposition to interact socially is so strong that even when an individual knows their vote won’t matter, they still vote: “It’s almost like voters are programmed to keep voting, even when their common sense tells them it is probably useless.”
But even if researchers are able to prove that hereditary directs one’s level of political involvement, that doesn’t excuse qualified Americans from exercising their civic responsibilities. It can’t be an excuse or a person permission to say, “I couldn’t vote if I wanted to do. I can’t bring myself to pull that lever.”
The scientists in this study admitted that even if there was a biological connection, environment (one’s surroundings and upbringing, not the climate) plays a key role in one’s voting habits.
Americans seem to concoct enough reasons not to vote without taking their genome into consideration. We have a civic and spiritual obligation to not only vote, but to inject our biblically influenced convictions into the political and public policy process. We need to be focused on voting our God’s values, not our genes.
The study was originally detailed in American Political Science Review.
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The New America: A Melting Pot of Faiths
Posted by: Kaylan Christopher on July 9, 2008 Biblical Values •
What do you get when you add a little bit of this belief and a dash of that religion and sprinkle some of your own understanding on top? You get a combined recipe for spiritual disaster in America.
I can’t begin to tell you how many people I’ve known throughout the duration of my life who have come to the conclusion that there is more than one path to spiritual enlightenment, God, and eternity in heaven. Some have recognized the path that took them there. Others are still clueless.
Our culture is rapidly becoming a melting pot of various faiths and beliefs. I recently read this article about it in USA Today:
“There is so much spiritual diversity and so much exposure to so many different ideas, that if people are searching for something meaningful spiritually, they often end up creating a religion of their own preferences that mixes and mingles spiritual ideas from a variety of sources. To them, the idea that there can be only one right way and only one path to one God is ludicrous. Religion today in the USA is a salad bar where people heap on upbeat beliefs they like and often leave the veggies—like strict doctrines—behind. There are so many ways of seeing God, public policy expert Barry Kosmin says that ‘the highest authority is now the lowest common denominator.’ And the wide-ranging ways people construct their spiritual lives could make the so-called religious vote unpredictable in the 2008 elections.”
The article goes on to quote statistics from a recent Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life’s U.S. Religious Landscape Survey of 35,000 Americans saying: “The survey finds U.S. adults believe overwhelmingly (92%) in God, and 58% say they pray at least once a day. But the study’s authors say there’s a “stunning” lack of alignment between people’s beliefs or practices and their professed faiths.”
This proves to be all the more reason why we need to KNOW what we believe and why we believe it so we can defend our faith and truth in our society. It is critical in the upcoming election that we know what each candidate stands for and how that lines up with God’s Word.
Is the Bible truth for you—through and through? Do you stand by it as the authority on what is true and what is false? Or do you find yourself siding with the majority of Americans who have tossed together a “mixed salad” of beliefs?
At this point, we as believers can’t afford to go along with the crowd for popularity’s sake. We must stand firm on biblical standards regardless of what the rest of the world may consider as being the latest and greatest trends.
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A Message of Hope and Change?
Posted by: Kaylan Christopher on July 8, 2008 Hot Issues •
All the media outlets are calling it “Obama’s Message of Hope & Change.” I’ve heard about it, but I still don’t know exactly what its supposed to look like.
What’s the message this presidential hopeful is trying to convey? And why is it attracting so many people across America—especially young people?
I say this because I’ve heard a similar message of change before from previous candidates. So is this completely different? Is Obama merely marketing himself to the American people with a catchy slogan? Or is he for real?
There’s no doubt, most of his speeches leave people “feeling good.” But is that all they’re good for? Or are Americans just so ready for a new president, they’ll stand behind the first smooth-talker that comes along?
I’m interested in finding out more of why young Americans are so drawn to this candidate. True, most teens and young 20-somethings have only ever known two names—Clinton and Bush—to assume the position of “most powerful leader of the free world.” So maybe we can find some sense in this: perhaps they’re ready to take a chance on a new name.
Sure, times have changed. This generation is not like each of the three before it. Nor will the next be like today’s generation. Ideas and views will change as each new election rolls around. And, in the future, new issues will arise and trump the priority of those that haunt us today.
But there’s one thing that won’t change or disappear—God’s Word. It stands firm, consistent, proved, and most importantly, it clearly spells out the one true message for hope and change only found in Jesus Christ.
Will our country ever finally realize that all the answers to these seemingly complicated issues lie in the Word of God? Will this generation and the next and the last ever come to fully understand that the fresh change and hope they’ve been waiting and searching for is found in Jesus?
Let’s hope so. I pray so.
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Independence Day Reflection
Posted by: Kaylan Christopher on July 7, 2008 Biblical Values •
Some people may assume our country took a turn down the moral spiral in just recent years. But the fact is, we must remember that sin has been around since Adam and Eve. Escaping persecution, our founding fathers risked their lives to fight for our freedom and lay the groundwork for a nation built upon the principles of the living God.
Just this past weekend, our nation celebrated its 232nd birthday. On July 4, 1776, the Declaration of Independence was approved. Of the 56 signers, 17 lost their fortunes, 12 had their homes destroyed, 5 became prisoners of war, and 9 died during the war.
When Samuel Adams signed the Declaration, he said: “We have this day restored the Sovereign to whom all men ought to be obedient. He reigns in heaven and from the rising to the setting of the sun, let His kingdom come.”
And John Adams said: “I am apt to believe that it will be celebrated by succeeding generations as the great anniversary Festival. It ought to be commemorated, as the Day of Deliverance, by solemn acts of devotion to God Almighty. … I am well aware of the toil and blood and treasure that it will cost to maintain this Declaration. … Yet through all the gloom I can see the rays of ravishing light and glory.”
Maybe not all did, but those noted gave their allegiance and obedience to Creator God alone when they fought for a free land in which to worship and live. Sin existed then as it does today, but many of us have forgotten the rich history that came before us—a history that is founded upon God’s Word.
God says to us, “If My people who are called by My name humble themselves, pray and seek My face, and turn from their evil ways, then I will hear from heaven, forgive their sin, and heal their land” (2 Chronicles 7:14).
It seems so simple. Yet our country refuses to give honor and glory to anyone but ourselves. It’s time we initiate the “change” in our country by obeying God’s commands.
Take time to seek God, stand firm on the truth of His Word, and daily pray for our upcoming election, the candidates, and our government, military, education system, media, businesses, churches, and families.
Source: www.americanminute.com
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Independence Day Reflection
Posted by: Kaylan Christopher on July 7, 2008 Biblical Values •
Some people may assume our country took a turn down the moral spiral in just recent years. But the fact is, we must remember that sin has been around since Adam and Eve. Escaping persecution, our founding fathers risked their lives to fight for our freedom and lay the groundwork for a nation built upon the principles of the living God.
Just this past weekend, our nation celebrated its 232nd birthday. On July 4, 1776, the Declaration of Independence was approved. Of the 56 signers, 17 lost their fortunes, 12 had their homes destroyed, 5 became prisoners of war, and 9 died during the war.
When Samuel Adams signed the Declaration, he said: “We have this day restored the Sovereign to whom all men ought to be obedient. He reigns in heaven and from the rising to the setting of the sun, let His kingdom come.”
And John Adams said: “I am apt to believe that it will be celebrated by succeeding generations as the great anniversary Festival. It ought to be commemorated, as the Day of Deliverance, by solemn acts of devotion to God Almighty. … I am well aware of the toil and blood and treasure that it will cost to maintain this Declaration. … Yet through all the gloom I can see the rays of ravishing light and glory.”
Maybe not all did, but those noted gave their allegiance and obedience to Creator God alone when they fought for a free land in which to worship and live. Sin existed then as it does today, but many of us have forgotten the rich history that came before us—a history that is founded upon God’s Word.
God says to us, “If My people who are called by My name humble themselves, pray and seek My face, and turn from their evil ways, then I will hear from heaven, forgive their sin, and heal their land” (2 Chronicles 7:14).
It seems so simple. Yet our country refuses to give honor and glory to anyone but ourselves. It’s time we initiate the “change” in our country by obeying God’s commands.
Take time to seek God, stand firm on the truth of His Word, and daily pray for our upcoming election, the candidates, and our government, military, education system, media, businesses, churches, and families.
Source: www.americanminute.com
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