Build the church, build the nation

By Tom Quiner

Donald Trump won’t turn the culture around.

This was the sentiment expressed by Catholic talk show host, Al Kresta. He was commenting on how Trump won the Catholic and Evangelical Christian vote. But if you voted for Trump in the hope of cultural transformation, get ready to have your heart broken.

Kresta has said on many occasions how to fix the culture: “build the church and you build the nation.” The question is: how?

Secular forces are ravaging organized religion, evidenced by declining church attendance. And yet faith in God is vital to a democracy according to one of our nation’s Founders, John Adams:

“Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other.”

George Washington agreed:

“Religion and morality are the essential pillars of civil society.”

A flawed vehicle like Donald Trump can make a cultural difference if he vigorously opposes human abortion.

Cultural erosion is partially, but significantly, driven by the scourge of moms and dads denying their children their fundamental right to life by aborting them.

It is driven by boyfriends who don’t want the responsibility of a kid and pressure their girlfriend to abort.

It is driven by potential grandparents who pressure their daughters to abort because they didn’t want their family name besmirched by an out-of-wedlock grandchild. (The notion of a stigma attached to illegitimacy seems quaint these days, doesn’t it?)

But the elixir of death, known as human abortion, corrodes our society from top to bottom. Our democracy was formed on a foundation of fundamental rights, beginning with Life. Human abortion shatters that foundation.

The very notion of abortion does more: it corrodes our collective souls, separating us from the very Creator in whose image we were made.

Can Donald Trump fix the culture? No … but he can help by following through on his campaign promise to oppose the scourge of the killing of inconvenient life. He can do it by the judges he appoints, by the way the Executive Branch spends money, and by the pro life legislation he signs.

The churches need to do their part by stepping up their vocal support of the dignity of human life from conception to natural death. We would not have abortion in this country if the faithful didn’t allow it.

The culture can’t be fixed as long as we live under state-sanctioned human abortion.

4 Comments

  1. d. knapp on November 18, 2016 at 6:45 pm

    My own church has amended its membership rules. We have always been a conservative, traditional church, but we made it a point to make our beliefs on marriage, the alternate lifestyles of many, and the changing of ones gender surgically or otherwise part of the rules for membership. We saw how some folks get into the church and then begin changing the church’s culture to be more palatable for themselves. We decided to circumvent that before it could happen. As w/ all Christians, we invite all in to hear the true word and worship, but membership has responsibilities and rights. We do not want folks joining and then voting to effect the culture of the church. We bring all in we can and love on them as much as we can, while maintaining the rules we believe we’re called to live by. Members vote on the pastor when needed and the deacons. We don’t want those living apart from the truth to have a say in the leadership. We must stop allowing those who despise The Word to have access to effect the preaching of it. The true word is glorious to those who know it and love it. It’s transforming to those seeking its wisdom & mercy. It’s unpalatable and painful to those who have chosen a wicked life. We must keep the word pure and free of new age interpretations for those who want and need it. A watered down medicine will not cure an infection, and neither will a watered down Bible heal a lost and weak soul. may the outcome of the recent election give courage to our faith communities to stand for and with The Bible (as written) instead of making nice w/ the secular world. Lets require practice of the true faith rather than tolerating the unfulfilling new age version. Those wishing to change the church are not at all interested in worshiping God. So let them do what it is they want in their lives w/o interfering in the spread of the true gospel to those who need it. If one does not despise the word, it brings profound change and joy. For those who do,there should be no tolerance for the desire to make The Word impotent. Trump will not save the country, but he may give us courage to it ourselves. Long live revival! Lets take this chance to fix 20 years (more) of extreme effort to destroy our faith communities. We may only get 4 years. GET BUSY! Praise God, Amen.



    • quinersdiner on November 18, 2016 at 7:10 pm

      Thanks for weighing in on this vitally important subject. Faith in God is the backbone of this democracy.



  2. doctorjohnblog.com on November 18, 2016 at 9:18 pm

    I’m with you all the way on this and am so happy to see our outsider (Trump) getting true Christian conservatives to the polls. The IRS’s Johnson Amendment needs to be repealed too so politics can be discussed from the pulpit. But then repealing the 16th Anwndment ending income tax will make the Johnson Amendment null and void anyway and I do think Trump is the President to get that accomplished.



    • quinersdiner on November 19, 2016 at 8:33 am

      Tell me more about your thoughts on the Johnson Amendment. What’s wrong with it?