'Values Voters' Bring Home the Bacon on Election Day

by Jody Brown and Allie Martin
November 4, 2004

(AgapePress) - The hierarchy in the mainstream media and the Democratic Party seem to be falling all over themselves in trying to explain how, on Election Day, "moral values" trumped traditionally important issues like the economy and the war in Iraq. Pro-family and religious leaders could justifiably offer the following response to those surprised by the phenomenon: "We told you so."

According to an Associated Press report, three-fourths of white voters who describe themselves as born-again Christians or evangelicals say they supported President Bush on November 2. That according to exit polls conducted among more than 13,000 voters for AP and the television networks. Those white evangelicals -- a crucial voting bloc for the president -- represented about one-fifth of all voters nationwide, and their top issue was moral values. Exit polls found that voters who rarely attend church overwhelmingly supported John Kerry.

So what was the top "moral issue" on Election Day? The founder of the American Family Association says the debate over marriage was the key to President Bush's victory. Voters in 11 states approved constitutional amendments protecting traditional marriage. AFA's Dr. Don Wildmon says the overwhelming margin of victory in all of those states is proof that average Americans are not ready to embrace the radical homosexual agenda.

"The marriage amendments passed [in all eleven states] because of the 'values voters' -- and this is only the beginning," Wildmon says. "We're not going to stop, we're not going to let up. There will be others [voting on similar amendments] two years from now. The momentum is there, and we're going to go for it."

Oregon was the only state in which the vote on the marriage amendment was somewhat close (57%-43%), as homosexual activist groups poured much of their resources into that state's ballot measure in hopes of pulling off at least one victory on Election Day.

 
Dr. Don Wildmon
In another state -- Ohio -- the measure passed overwhelmingly (62%-38%). The Buckeye State turned out to be a decisive state in the victory for President Bush. In fact, Wildmon says Ohio's marriage amendment played a critical role in the president's re-election.

"Had it not been for the marriage amendment being on the ballot in the state of Ohio, George Bush would not be president-elect again," he emphasizes. "That's how important, how critical [the values voter was] -- and even secular, liberal news sources are saying that. That is the truth, and the values voter can no longer be ignored by those in charge of either party."

Roberta Combs, president of the Christian Coalition of America, agrees that the marriage issue was of genuine benefit to President Bush. "There is no doubt that because four radical, left-wing Massachusetts judges ruled [in November 2003] that homosexual 'marriages' are constitutional...there was a conservative backlash which played a major role in the election outcome [on Tuesday]," she says in a press release. "Christian evangelicals made the major difference once again this year."

And Bob Knight of the Culture and Family Institute is convinced the support for traditional marriage was the driving force behind Bush's victory. He says the assault on the institution of marriage was the "signature issue" that drove many voters to the polls -- even those who were not necessarily Bush supporters. That bloc of voters, Knight says, "correctly saw [John] Kerry as the defender of sexual anarchy and appeasement" he says has taken hold in the Democratic Party over the past several years.

"By embracing the homosexual lobby, and accusing his fellow Americans of 'hatred' and 'bigotry' for defending marriage, Kerry didn't need to tell us any more about his 'values,'" Knight writes for WorldNetDaily.

The Future for Values
So how should President Bush respond to an electorate's obvious willingness to beat a path to the polls when moral issues are at stake? Dr. D. James Kennedy encourages the chief executive to take his cue from Tuesday's election and make moral issues a focal point in the next four years.

Kennedy, founder of the Center for Reclaiming America in Fort Lauderdale, says Bush's successful re-election bid is proof that the United States is not ready for the radical, liberal agenda -- and that there are "a great many people" in America who are concerned about moral issues.

"From all of the surveys that I have read, the number of evangelical Christians in this country has been growing at about one percent per year, up to about 46 percent," Kennedy offers. "That doesn't mean every evangelical Christian is going to vote the way I think they should, but it does mean there's going to be a growing, ever-greater number of people who are going to be concerned for moral issues and for [their] spiritual views."

And Kennedy disputes the charge heard throughout the election that the Bush administration takes for granted the values voters. "We have a number of Christians who have been appointed to significant positions in the government," he says. But he says he understands the criticism.

"I think it's probably always going to be true that evangelical Christians tend as a whole to focus on a few moral, spiritual issues -- whereas a president has a lot of other things and other constituents that he's trying to take care of and please of as well. So there's always a likelihood of feeling that way," he says.

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(My Note:  Thank You JESUS!!)

Election Results: GOP the Victors; Dems, 'Media Elite' the Vanquished

by Allie Martin and Jody Brown
November 5, 2004

(AgapePress) - The president of the public policy arm of the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) says President George W. Bush and the Republican Party now have the opportunity to easily approve the president's judicial nominations. And a media watchdog has a surprise: John Kerry was not the only big loser on Election Day.

During the past four years, many of President Bush's judicial nominees were rejected after filibusters led by Democratic senators. One of those leading the charge against the nominees was South Dakota Senator Tom Dashle, whose re-election bid was turned away on Tuesday. Dr. Richard Land, president of the SBC's Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission, says gains by Republicans in the U.S. Senate -- combined with Dashle's defeat -- has changed the process.

 
Dr. Richard Land
"It's impossible to overestimate the significance of the defeat of 'Puff the Magic Daschle' in South Dakota," Land says. "He was the chief obstructionist in the United States Senate." And in Land's opinion, the incumbent's absence in Senate chambers constitutes more than just a loss. "The obstructionists have lost their leader; they have lost their commanding general. And with a 55-vote majority in the Senate, the Republicans ... have the votes to change the rules."

Land says the GOP can now change the rules to allow a judicial nominee to be approved with a simple majority, as opposed to the current two-thirds vote now required by the Senate. The SBC spokesman recommends the president start lining up conservative, Bible-believing judicial nominees.

Secular Media's Loss of Credibility
Meanwhile, Land says even though the Democratic Party failed in its bid for the White House and lost ground in both houses of Congress, the big loser on Tuesday was the secular national media. He points out that throughout the presidential campaign, the mainstream media made little or no effort to hide their bias.

"They put aside all pretense of objectivity and neutrality, and shamelessly campaigned for John Kerry," he offers. "They lost credibility, and their candidate lost."

Land is not alone in his indictment of the media during Election 2004. The Media Research Center, a media watchdog group based just outside the nation's capital, has documented what it calls "the ten worst media distortions of Campaign 2004."

MRC president Brent Bozell says the liberal news media was one of the bigger issues in the campaign. "It is a fact," he says. "The media chose sides early and have acted as extensions of the Democratic National Committee and the Kerry-Edwards campaign."

As evidence of that charge, Bozell's group includes on its list of "media distortions" the following:

"Dan Rather's Forgery Fiasco" -- MRC calls this a "hatchet job on President Bush."
"The Attack on the Swift Boat Veterans" -- The media, according to MRC, first ignored this group then "turned on these honorable men with a vengeance."
"The Networks' Convention Double-Standard" -- After touting speakers at the Democratic National Convention, "journalists turned sour" when covering the GOP's nominating convention, says MRC.
According to Bozell, the MRC report "proves beyond all doubt that the elite media are not objective or fair or balanced." He says in their effort to defeat George W. Bush, the "liberal partisans" in the media sacrificed their credibility.

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PJI Defends Sacramento Church Against City's Harassment

by Mary Rettig
November 5, 2004

(AgapePress) - A group of Russian immigrants in California are fighting their local government's hostile effort to keep them from filling their church pews.

The immigrants who make up the congregation of the Independent Baptist Church of Sacramento fled Russia to escape communist oppression. But now, they have had to seek legal assistance from the Pacific Justice Institute (PJI) in order to avoid what many see as another kind of oppression -- the tyranny of municipal bureaucracy.

Brad Dacus of PJI is representing the Independent Baptist Church. He says the church's building can hold 500 people, but the city of Sacramento will only allow the congregation to have 120 -- the capacity of the church parking lot.

"The church came back and said, 'Well, fine -- we'll go ahead and expand our parking spaces,'" Dacus says. However, the city was unwilling to give the church a permit for that. So, he goes on to explain, the church responded very reasonably, saying, "OK fine; we'll use a shuttle system and shuttle people in."

However, the attorney explains, the City of Sacramento said no once again, telling the church members, "We're not going to let you do that." Dacus is outraged by the way the city has strung this Christian body along and asks, "Is America no longer the land of religious freedom these immigrants thought they were coming to?

According to the lawyer, the city's actions are a clear violation of religious land use laws and an infringement on Independent Baptist's First Amendment rights. He says the Independent Baptist Church case is not the first of its kind, but is in fact a classic example of California's almost open hostility to churches.

"In an attempt to meet the City's requirements," Dacus notes, "this church has literally been torn in two. Two separate congregations must meet in different locations with different pastors. Those members who are unable to worship in the church building have been forced to cram together into a small garage, and many smaller children must stay home altogether and not worship with their parents."

But the church's legal spokesman says despite this unfair treatment, the members refused to back down. After meeting with PJI's attorneys, he says the Independent Baptist Church commendably chose not to go "underground," as they might have done in Russia, but instead to fight for their rights by filing a federal lawsuit challenging the City of Sacramento's decision.

Pacific Justice Institute is determined to see that the constitutional and legal rights of the church members are protected. Dacus says PJI welcomes this opportunity to set a valuable precedent for other churches facing similar struggles over land use issues.


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Initially Snubbed, FGBMI Sees 1,100+ Salvations at AZ State Fair

by Jim Brown
November 5, 2004

(AgapePress) - A Phoenix-based pro-family law firm says a recent First Amendment victory has helped further the spread of the gospel.

Arizona State Fair officials had refused to rent exhibitor space to the Full Gospel Business Men's Fellowship International, claiming that too many people had found their speech "personally offensive" at the previous year's fair. At the same time, the fair granted space to other groups that even included profanity and blatant sexual references in their messages.

But as Alliance Defense Fund attorney Elizabeth Murray points out, officials with the fair reversed their decision after being accused of suppressing free speech. "The Alliance Defense Fund was able to send a letter to State Fair officials, arguing that the First Amendment does not allow them to discriminate based on the content of the speech," the attorney explains.

After officials were informed they were acting unconstitutionally, the Fellowship was permitted to rent a booth at this year's fair. Murray says the turnaround yielded positive results. "The Lord has really blessed the dedication of the Business Men's Fellowship," she says, "and over a thousand people accepted Christ as their Savior at the Arizona State Fair this year."

In fact, a spokesman for the Southern Arizona chapter of the Fellowship reports 1,130 individuals indicated their desire to become a Christian as a result of the group's presence at the fair this year.

The ADF attorney says the case should remind Christians that "perseverance does really pay off -- especially when the law's on your side." And Murray adds that judging by the number of people who stopped by the group's booth demonstrates that the charge of the Christian message being offensive was baseless.

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Brother Stephen,

We enjoy having you with us. Our fellowship in Jesus is definitely a joy we all yearn for.

So, here's a warm WELCOME! from me.

Love In Christ,
Tom

WELCOME WORDWARRIOR!

We have quite a few Pastors using the forum, and I give thanks for them. There are pros and cons to the Internet and to forums, but the Internet is a wonderful way to share the Gospel of God's Grace. We have many sweet Christians here, and I honestly think that Christians Unite stands as a beacon of Light for a lost and dying world.

I certainly give thanks for many beautiful messages here that will help the lost and strengthen God's children.

Brother, I look forward to reading your posts.

Love In Christ,
Tom

WELCOME!  Pheonix28,

I'm one of the resident grandpas, but please don't worry - we have a growing number of young adults on the forum.  

Love In Christ,
Tom

WELCOME!! Jamesmic36,

James, I'm sure there are many challenges in such a large family, but I know of many large families with great joy, especially those in Jesus.

I sincerely hope you enjoy Christians Unite.

Love In Christ,
Tom

[Thanks be unto God for His unspeakable GIFT, Jesus Christ, our Lord and Saviour Forever!]

WELCOME TRIBSAINT!!

I define Christian the same way - Faith Alone in Christ Alone.

Our faith in Jesus Christ brings joy and peace.

Thanks be unto God for His unspeakable GIFT, Jesus Christ, our Lord and Saviour Forever!

I sincerely hope you enjoy the forum.

Love In Christ,
Tom

Oklahoma Howdy to Lynn!!

Welcome to CU. Sister, you sound like a very sweet Christian. We have many sweet Christians here, and I sincerely hope you enjoy the fellowship here.

I look forward to reading your posts.

Love In Christ,
Tom

[Thanks be unto God for His unspeakable GIFT, Jesus Christ, our Lord and Saviour Forever!]

I object to using the Law of God as a Drocules Sword hanging above our heads.

And you are right.....The Law of God (the 10 commandments) is the standard by which God wants everyone to reach for, as it is, the very foundation of what LOVE is !

WRONG!!

The Law is the curse of sin and death.

Faith in Jesus Christ sets us free from the curse of sin and death.

We look to JESUS - not the Law. JESUS saved us - not the law. JESUS gave us life - Law gave us death.

Jesus Christ died on the Cross for us. Jesus Loves us, wants us to Love HIM, and wants us to accept HIM as Lord and Saviour.

Thanks be unto God for His unspeakable GIFT, Jesus Christ, our Lord and Saviour Forever!

[Thanks be unto God for His unspeakable GIFT, Jesus Christ, our Lord and Saviour Forever!]

God gave us every day to rest in Jesus and worship HIM.

Thanks be unto God for His unspeakable GIFT, Jesus Christ, our Lord and Saviour Forever!

[RICH IN JESUS!]

I hope that it's ok to add another of these Walking in the Old Paths.

AMEN SISTER!!!

PLEASE! - Post all of them. I also enjoyed the midi piano music. "THE BIBLE STANDS" - MOST DEFINITELY!!!

The children of God may be poor by the world's standards, but we are RICH IN JESUS!

Love In Christ,
Tom

[CHARGE!!!]

       - ROFL - Y'all are killin' me.

If I was Elmer Fudd, I would put on my Viking outfit, find my stick horse, and:

CHARGE!!!

[AMEN!!!]

AMEN!!!

Thinking about this world is depressing.

Thinking about Jesus makes me:

HAPPY!!!

Love In Christ,
Tom