Epiphany

I wasn't going to do anymore non-halloween post this month but I had an epiphany and wanted to get this out. In an earlier post I talked about separation of church and state and the myth of a Christian nation. I realize I was wrong, the founding fathers did intend for this to be a Christian nation. The problem I see now is that they weren't explicit enough; they were too broad in their use of religion. I've also become inspired by current President Bush and Vice-Presidential candidate Sarah Palin. This truly is a country where anyone can become President. With all that in mind I've decided to throw my hat in the ring and run for President. I know it's too late to run for this election but if you'd like to write my name in feel free to, and I think you'll want to after reading my platform.
Officially this is my kickoff for the 2012 Presidential Race. Since making this decision, my mind has been racing with new laws to enact based on biblical principles, but while trying to create a draft of my foreign policy position based on the book of Revelation, I realized I needed to slow down, simplify, concentrate on a few major policies. So for this, my first position paper of my 2012 election bid, I will focus on 3 major areas (Economics, Health Care, and Education) plus a constitutional amendment that needs to be passed.

ECONOMIC POLICY - Money, as Americans we love money, we love making it, love spending it, some even love saving it. But money can be a problem - 1 Timothy 6:6-10
"6But godliness with contentment is great gain. 7For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it. 8But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that. 9People who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge men into ruin and destruction. 10For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many grief's." Next to love, money and possessions is probably the most covered subject in the Bible. I've always found it strange and hypocritical that we want the government to enact and pass laws enforcing biblical morality on individuals except for greed. When it comes to the government using our money to help the poor then it's all of sudden a personal decision not the governments. Sorry, but if it's alright to impose morality based on the Bible for the good of society and to more align our nation with God's teachings then it has to be alright to pass laws to help us use our money in a more Godly way. Under my new improved Christian Nation we will do just that, (Help people avoid the dangers of having too much money and follow God's commands to provide for the poor). How can any true Christian be against that? The cornerstone of my new economic policy will be:
The National Salary Cap - It's not really a salary cap but I liked the way it sounded.
90% of anything earned over $125,000 would have to be donated to charity, your choice no government interference as long as it's a legal charity. The other 10% is yours free and clear, no taxes.

Really is there any reason that anyone needs more than that to adequately take care of themselves or their family? I actually think the earning limits are too high but in a concession to our years of greed I'm willing to start slowly. This would be trickle down economics that really worked.


Jubilee Year - I thought I'd like to incorporate something from the only earthly government that God actually wrote the rules for. Will have to study Leviticus a little more to figure out the details. It's basically a reset button, Land goes back to original owners, and debts are forgiven. Sounds like redistribution of wealth but if it was God's idea it must me alright.

HEALTH CARE - We are an overweight and out of shape nation. 63% of Americans are overweight with a Body Mass Index (BMI) in excess of 25.0. 31% are obese with a BMI in excess of 30. There are over 400,000 people who weigh over 400 pounds. Why are we like this? Gluttony and Sloth, two of the so- called 7 deadly sins. Once again, if we are truly going to be a Christian Nation, isn't it our moral duty to protect people from
these sins. Every American will be given an individualized exercise and nutrition plan. There would be twice yearly mandatory weigh-ins and physical fitness test. Failure to maintain an adequate level of fitness would be met with increasing amounts of punishment ultimately leading to imprisonment in a fitness prison until appropriate goals were reached.

EDUCATION - It is time to put God back in the schools, not in some namby-pamby way, like people living their lives in such a way that God is seen in their actions wherever they are, but in a legal and government endorsed way.

Prayer - No longer will you be forced to pray silently or go into your closet to talk to God. Prayers before sporting events will be legally protected. In addition to the Pledge of Allegiance the Lord's Prayer will be recited each morning in all public schools. There's nothing quite like compelled ritualistic prayer to increase spirituality.

Bible Classes - Religious teaching will be brought back to school, mandatory bible classes will be taught from kindergarten thru 12th grade. There is a problem with finding qualified teachers and setting up the curriculum. With so many different churches and beliefs how do we guarantee a consistent learning experience? I thought about having teachers from different religious groups rotate teaching duties. As a member of the church of Christ would I want my kid being taught to speak in tongues or what if the teacher believed in snake handling? I even thought of just having agnostics or atheist as the Bible teachers. Finally, I think I came up with the solution. We need a unified interpretation of the Bible so it can be taught in the public schools. If elected I will add a new cabinet post (Department of Christianity) and convene a special panel to draft the Official United States of America Bible Interpretation. This document will be used to create all bible class curriculums. And hopefully at some point all churches will adopt this as well.

28TH AMENDMENT
That brings us to the last item. We will need to add a new amendment to the Constitution making Christianity the Official Religion of the United State.
Because of the lack of foresight by the founding fathers liberal judges have been able to chip away at many of our fundamental Christian rights. Without this amendment they will continue to do so and most of the new laws that I propose (especially my education platform) will not be able to be enacted. It is imperative that we start working on getting this passed as soon as possible. To get the ball rolling I will be sending a petition to all churches asking them to sign in support of this amendment.


So there you have it, a small portion of my platform for a new Christian Nation. I didn't have time to discuss some of my other ideas (national cuss jars, gossip police, etc). But I believe you can now see the endless possibilities if I'm elected.