American Politics—The American elections are soon upon us. All agree that this political campaign is more than ever conservatism against liberalism, ideology versus pragmatism, pro-life against pro-choice.

The Christian must ask the question “Which political position best represents Christian thought, the teachings of the Bible?” “Which party will vouchsafe spiritual opportunity to the Church?” “Which candidate seems the most disposed to talk about God, faith, prayer, salvation in Christ, the individual made in the image of God?” Remember, America will elect in November not only a President but the leader of the free world. Freedom is not free. It must be defended, asserted, prayed for and constantly nourished. This month, the Church would do well to lift many a prayer for the survival of Christian civilization which is now greatly threatened.

E-mail from a Soldier: […]“As I head off to Baghdad for the final weeks of my stay in Iraq, I wanted to say thanks to all of you who did not believe the media. They have done a very poor job of covering everything that has happened.[…]

You can rest at night knowing something is happening in Iraq that is noteworthy. This is the list of things that has happened in Iraq recently (Please share it with your friends.):

• Over 4.5 million people have clean drinking water for the first time ever.[…]
• Over 400,000 kids have up-to-date immunizations.
• Over 1500 schools have been renovated and ridded of the weapons that were stored there.[…]
• The port of Uhm Qasar was renovated so grain can be off-loaded from ships faster.
• School attendance is up 80% from levels before the war.
• The country had its first two billion barrel export of oil in August.
• The country now receives two times the electrical power it did before the war.
• 100% of the hospitals are open and fully staffed, compared to 35% before the war.
• Elections are taking place in every major city, and city councils are in place.
• Sewer and water lines are installed in every major city.
• Over 60,000 police are patrolling the streets.
• Over 100,000 Iraqi civil defense police are securing the country.
• Over 80,000 Iraqi soldiers are patrolling the streets side by side with U.S. soldiers.
• Over 400,000 people have telephones for the first time ever.
• Students are taught field sanitation and hand washing techniques to prevent the spread of germs.
• An interim constitution has been signed.
• Girls are allowed to attend school for the first time ever in Iraq.
• Textbooks that don’t mention Saddam are in schools for the first time in 30 years.

Don’t believe for one second that these people do not want us there. I have met many, many people from Iraq that want us there and in a bad way. They say they will never see the freedoms we talk about, but they hope their children will. We are doing a good job in Iraq, and I challenge anyone, anywhere to dispute me on these facts.”[…]

“Time for Congress to Act: […]What we have in Massachusetts is the imposition of same-sex marriage on the unwilling citizenry by a narrow majority of the Judicial Supreme Court acting outside their constitutional authority.[…] The Governor and the state legislature have bent the knee and allowed the court to inaugurate a social revolution that will affect not just Massachusetts, but the nation.”[…] Dr. D. James Kennedy, Coral Ridge Ministries

“Anticipating wider interest in the new Europe, especially among Americans of European descent, the Center for Transatlantic Relations in Washington recently launched a new bimonthly magazine called TransAtlantic: Europe, America and the World [published by Daniel Hamilton]. It is designed primarily for the non-specialist reader.[…]

[Mr. Hamilton] argues that Europe and the United States are so intertwined that there is ‘a quasi-domestic’ relationship between them, and that the resulting frictions ‘affect such fundamental domestic issues as the ways Americans and Europeans are taxed, how our societies are governed, and how our economies are regulated.’”

As we observe the nations of our present world, we can note qualities which, it is often suggested, produce prosperity and even greatness in present nations and those of an earlier time. These include large populations, natural resources, cooperative climate, high intelligence, clever economics and many other things. All of these qualities are certainly to be considered as one would search for the seeds of greatness in the life of a nation. In the midst of this searching, however, we must not forget the first, the paramount principle that, according to the Bible, produces the fate of a nation. This quality, stated in the Word of God, says, “Righteousness exalts a nation: but sin is a reproach to any people” (Prov. 14:34). The quality which is of the greatest importance in determining the fate of a nation is, therefore, national righteousness.