This blog is for the whole Body of Christ – an important reminder with the election being over, about our influence that goes well beyond politics…

What we have seen since election night, on Facebook, Twitter, emails, etc., from Christians is disturbing. The hate, or at least accusatory hateful attitude, is rampant. Accusations, rage, baseless claims, conspiracy theories and bitterness abound. As Christians, we cannot allow this and we are responsible for the people that this kind of attitude turns away from Christ, from the true message of love of the Gospel. No matter how much you disagree with the President, with CDA, with the platform, turning others off to Christianity because of political beliefs is…well, here’s what Jesus said:

“Matthew 18:6
[ Causing to Stumble ] “If anyone causes one of these little ones—those who believe in me—to stumble, it would be better for them to have a large millstone hung around their neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea.”

Turning others away is what the Pharisees did, and Jesus gave this group the harshest, most “Hell fire and brimstone” message of any other group or topic in his sermons. He never spoke to “sinners” this way – only the religious community that was becoming a stumbling block to others.

We are not, as Christian Democrats (we of course can’t speak for all our community, but from those we know and in our own organization)  going over to the GOP pages rubbing in our victory – we are not calling Romney names or insulting him and his followers. Romney gave a a gracious acceptance speech, we wish him the best in his future. John Boehener spoke yesterday about being willing to cooperate with the President, and the tone of the speech was more in cooperation than we’ve heard for a long time – we are hoping and praying he means it and the GOP and Democrats can work together in this Congress and with the President. We disagreed vehemently with Romney and GOP candidates, and various policies and the platform of the GOP, but that does not mean we hate the man, hate Republicans, or accuse that those who claim to be Christians are not. No one knows the heart of a person but God, and according to scripture, we condemn ourselves to harsh judgment when we judge another in this way and attempt to speak for God. And we hope and pray that the entire country and the entire Body of Christ can come together to solve the problems we have instead of making wild and hateful accusations.

God bless all you Republicans who have been gracious; who are, although disappointed, keeping to having a right spirit and showing forth the character of Christ. We applaud you, and agree with you in Spirit that we will show this world what being a Christian really means through loving each other and our mutual respect, despite disagreement.

A member of our Facebook community put it well:

“For all my Republican Christian friends who are so upset, angry and despairing about the election results. Please take a step back, breathe and then be very careful about what you say or post about it. What does it tell your nonchristian friends when someone who says they’ve put their trust in Jesus spews nastiness, self-righteousness or hopelessness about the election results?
Your attitude when you lose says more about your faith than the person you voted for.
And yes, I’d say the same thing to my Democratic Christian friends if Romney had been elected. (They do exist. I have plenty of them.)” – Paulino Guevarra Boado

– Christina Forrester, CDA Founder and CDA Team