“Unfortunately sometimes one can’t do what one thinks is right without making someone else unhappy.” (W.Somerset Maugham) I can’t recall a voting day like today. There’re going to be some very, very, unhappy people whatever the outcome. TV commentators will explain it. Twitter will be opinionated. “Que, sera, sera” is a way to look at it. How about saying, “It’s the will of God?” Or, is it simply the will of the electorate? What do you think?” ;-) Jack
FROM IKE AT THE MIC: I think that we should only screen potential candidates on their talents, mission,honesty, mental health,term limits & not their sex lives.====JACK: This election, more than any other, seems to be driven by the internet and social media. Even the debates are more of a TV presentation than an informed discussion of substantial issues.
FROM HAWKEYE GEORGE: God is in control regardless the outcome. It gives me confidence no matter who wins. But.....====JACK: You have a big but...however, bigger than that is your faith and reliance on God. Good!
FROM JT IN MINNESOTA: Scared. I hope too that our country will survive it's integrity if Trump gets elected. He scares me.====JACK: The biggest selling Halloween masks this year were Trump and Hillary. Which was the scariest depended which candidate you liked the least. Instead of voting for the best candidate this year, it seems to be a choice of the least scariest.
FROM SBP IN FLORIDA: Well, God gave us free will. So , if that's the case, we can use that privilege to choose the direction we prefer. So, for good or ill, we make the choice.====JACK: I'm using my free will to vote on party principle rather than on TV's presentation of the candidates.
FROM ST PAUL IN ST PAUL: how about this? if Hillary wins, its the will of God. If not, it has to be somebody else's will😀====JACK: I think that in the Lord's Prayer we pray, "The will (not my will) be done....on earth." In an election, we're simply expressing our opinion.
FROM TARMART REV: Looks like the "the will of half the folks, anyway one would look at it?!
There was a time Israel had God as their all-encompassing Leader, until they noticed other countries having their own king and desired one for themselves. Their was a time we as nation openly stood for "One Nation Under God" until we noticed others desiring and demanding a pluralistic nation with many gods. Here is one example today of such a harvest of thought! I find the God our Bibles turning a nation, a family and an individual over to their own demise at times until they are made aware of such an error. Joshua's words comes to me often: “But if serving the Lord seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your ancestors served beyond the Euphrates, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord” (Joshua 24:15).====JACK: Many of the founding fathers were Unitarians, so God to them was not necessarily the concept of a Christian God. Since many of the new immigrants were fleeing religious persecution, the founders wished to emphasize that the new nation would not be a nation of a particular religion which might persecute people based of their religious beliefs. BTW, the Joshua story is one of my favorites.
FROM RS IN TEXAS: In my opinion, the more I look at the electoral vote method of electing a President, the less I like it. A candidate could win the popular vote by a landslide, but if they lost the biggest 11 states by just a few votes, would win the election. That does not seem to reflect the will of the majority. I also would change the time frame that someone can serve on the Supreme Court. Lifetime is, again in my opinion, not good. Perhaps 6-8 years - tops. The same with Congress - maximum two terms. That way they might work full time instead of spending half their time running for re-election. One thing for sure, we have to find a way to come together as a country (and a world) if we are going to survive.====JACK: Yes, it seem reasonable that the President should be elected by popular vote, but if I remember my Civics class correctly...Our country was founded as the union of 13 states...the United States. Each state was to have a vote as to who should be President of this country. The will of the people was expressed by allotting to each state votes based on their population, the electoral college. So, in a way, it was a compromise. State Rights, as a subject, has been argued about since the beginning.i.e. Civil War (War between the States). If the election were simply a popular vote, the candidates would simply spend the energy in the biggest population centers, and the areas of small population would be ignored and those people would feel left out. Yes, there is a possibility that the choice of a president by the electoral college would be different than the popular choice. I think that the founding fathers knew that and opted for the states plan. We've survived 240 years, so something must be working.====REV: Let me add, I am very grateful for those Unitarian founding fathers who chose to use the Judeo/Christian Bible as the source of many if not most of our governing laws and notional celebrations. Even having them posted on the walls of many of our government office building and schools. We were truly blessed by them as a nation.
FROM DAZ IN COLORADO: We will survive. The world will not end. We are very adaptable. ====JACK: Look at the Church and it's factions....====DAZ: Along that line, Kathy and I found a Great Course in our library called the History of Christianity in the Reformation. They are lectures on DVD. 36 half hour lectures WE thought it fit with the 500 Reformation Anniversary too. Only heard 3 so far but a good start. Its by Prof Brad S Gregory from Stanford.====JACK: Sounds like a good way to "appreciate" the Reformation.
FROM MY LAWYER: God wouldn't have done this to us!!!====JACK: That's what the friends of Job said in the Bible....and Job responded, "Though he slay me, yet will I trust him."
FROM PR JM: Oh, my word! Don't even suggest that the will of the electorate, jaded though we all may be, is "the will of God"!! Even the choice of candidates at their several conventions is not the will of God, but only of the people represented there.====JACK: Who has known the mind of the Lord? He's found a use for you and me. What might he have in mind for America?====JM: The Lord has also given us free will, which we do not always use with prudence. And, that means, to me, that the Lord also watches and waits to see how we'll use our free will and does not pre-determine the outcome. After all, according to Genesis, we're already on Plan X (for Christ).====JACK: Doesn't "free" mean that we can use it however we choose to use it?
FROM RI IN BOSTON: I believe some things are the result of the will of people, but only because God allows the people's will to be done. Scripture tells us of people who disregarded God's instructions, choosing to go their own way, and the results were disastrous. Sometimes God apparently decides to let us learn things the hard way. That old phrase still pertains..."Be careful what you want because you may get it."====JACK: That last sentence is a good one. I'm reminded of what was said to me when, as a child, I seemed to have all of the answers...."You think you're so smart!" I didn't have all of the answers, nor do the politicians or the voters. Trust the process! ====RI: That comment, "You think you're so smart!", got a lot of use at our house...something my older sister was telling me regularly.===JACK: "Smart Alec" is another term you don't hear much anymore. I was called that once or twice.
FROM BLAZING OAKS: The President-elect will surely have her/his hands full, trying to pull this nation back together; I think we're in for a very bumpy ride for months (maybe years) ahead, as the gov't. bodies are so lacking in a will to compromise on ANYTHING! The main focus seems to be making the President miserable and blocking any progress anywhere that requires cooperation! Yes, we are going to have very, very unhappy people. So sad! I like the quote today, as it is so often true! ====JACK: Maybe this is "purgatory" for our country.
FROM ANNE IN WATERFORD: The electorate has spoken. God bless America. There is a reason. ====JACK: Do you think God cares one way or the other about elections...even the election of a Pope?
1 comment:
Well, God gave us free will. So , if that's the case, we can use that privilege to choose the direction we prefer. So, for good or ill, we make the choice.
Post a Comment