Comments for Ryan Sprague

Comment on Biblical Politics? by Ryan

Ryan — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 18:54:08 +0000

I appreciate you joining the conversation, Isaac. I can understand where you’re coming from. Just to be clear, I’m not against consequences. Ultimately I fall back on the hope of redemption. I believe the better course of action is incarceration, but I also believe the penal system needs a radical overhaul. I won’t go into to those ideas here because it’s not the place. Like I said, I see where you’re coming from, and I don’t believe I’m “right” per se, it’s just my inferred interpretation at this season in my life. Thanks again for commenting, and please continue to be involved.

Comment on Biblical Politics? by Carlos and Tricia Pipitone-Ramirez

Carlos and Tricia Pipitone-Ramirez — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 09:59:31 +0000

We are Ron Paul supporters and just came across a great video series on The Bible and Ron Paul/A Biblical view of government
http://www.dailypaul.com/197841/the-bible-and-ron-paul-video-series-13-parts

Comment on Biblical Politics? by Isaac Melcher

Isaac Melcher — Sun, 29 Jan 2012 21:23:32 +0000

First, both authors of those articles are clearly Ron Paul supporters who chose to single out Evangelical Christians for the booing that occurred. There were some pretty heavy handed generalizations and stereotyping going on in both of those articles. Never have I heard in church “Kill ‘em all”, or “yeah, bomb ‘em”, and I’m pretty sure most other Christians haven’t either. I did agree with some of their assertions, but they take their stereotyping too far to be considered legitimate. About war- let me break it down to a level that hits closer to home. If you see your neighbor beating his wife and kids with a baseball bat, is it more loving to forcefully stop him, or allow him to continue? There are times when I personally have been doing things to hurt those around me (not physically!) and it is absolutely right for someone to step in and correct my path or remove me from the situation. As Romans 13:3-4 says, “for rulers are not a cause of fear for the good behavior, but for evil… But if you do evil, be afraid; for it does not bear the sword for nothing; for it is a minister of God, an avenger who brings wrath on the one who practices evil.” In this context, it is clear that “it” refers to the government. Do I therefore believe that we should go out and “kill ‘em all and let God sort ‘em out”? No, it doesn’t mean that, but I think it does mean that God does use governments to further his will, and that he is ultimately the one who put those rulers in place. It is asinine to say that Evangelical Christians as a whole are cheer leading the war effort and believe that there should be more war. Just because I think something should be done doesn’t mean that I crave blood, or want some stupid crusade to kill the Muslims. It means that if I see my neighbor beating his wife and kids with a baseball bat, I’m coming to the party with a gun to make sure it stops. If he chooses to continue then he has chosen to end his life. Remember, Saddam had plenty of opportunity to change the course of affairs, but he stubbornly refused to even allow UN inspectors to prove that there weren’t any WMD. It takes two to tango.

Comment on Biblical Politics? by Isaac Melcher

Isaac Melcher — Sun, 29 Jan 2012 20:39:14 +0000

The reason that the death penalty is a part of the Criminal Justice system has plenty to do with the bible. Many of Americas laws were established using the bible as their basis. God specifically outlines reasons for applying the death penalty in Exodus 21-22, Leviticus 20-21,24, Numbers 35, etc. Unless you are willing to forget the OT, then I find it pretty clear that there are many instances when the death penalty is clearly spelled out. Just because innocent people have been given the death penalty does not automatically make it wrong. Does it suck that they died? Yeah. Should we allow some heinous killer like Jeffrey Dahmer to live out his full years in a prison to prevent that? Not in my opinion. I’m sure that people spend their entire life in prison, but are innocent, should we stop punishment all together and just go on our merry way? No, emphatically! I fall back on what you said about God being in control. God isn’t suddenly surprised when an “innocent” person gets the death penalty, for whatever reason, He has seen fit to allow it to happen. I mean, let’s face it, we should all be spending our time thanking God that he hasn’t just wiped us off the face of the Earth-none of us are innocent. I digress, back to the death penalty and pro-life- I personally believe that every person should be given a chance to live their life, which is why I hate abortion, but once said person chooses to step outside the law, there should be consequences, and depending on the severity, I believe some have forfeited their right to life.

Comment on Biblical Politics? by Ryan

Ryan — Sun, 29 Jan 2012 05:21:07 +0000

This might sound combative, but I’m simply attempting to make sure I fully comprehend your thought pattern, would you demand the death penalty for a woman who uses an abortifacient pill, which most if not all of them are? I’d also wonder if you have Biblical support for your view. Many hold the pro-death penalty view because the death penalty is part of the US Criminal Justice system. Finally, what is your response to the reality of innocent people having been issued the death penalty?

Comment on Biblical Politics? by Politics of Hypocrisy or Hypocrisy of Politics « Our Not So Expert Opinions

Politics of Hypocrisy or Hypocrisy of Politics « Our Not So Expert Opinions — Sun, 29 Jan 2012 02:37:07 +0000

[...] Yesterday, I had the good fortune to be a part of two comment-filled discussions on a post by one of my Facebook friends. I like the posts he had because they were both thought-provoking, and my fellow commenters made me stand by my view while giving theirs, and I think we are all better off for it. There was even a post from a blog I follow (the post, I believe, was a coincidence in being published the same day as the Facebook discussions) that brought up politics from a biblical perspective. [...]

Comment on Biblical Politics? by Amanda

Amanda — Sat, 28 Jan 2012 22:49:44 +0000

I wrestled with this issue for quite a while. I am a Christian, Prolife, Constitutional Conservative. After much research, prayer and thought; I did side with being pro-life and pro-death penalty. My logic being that God is in control from conception to final breath. If you mess with that, there should be a consequence, death.

Comment on Biblical Politics? by Carlos and Tricia Pipitone-Ramirez

Carlos and Tricia Pipitone-Ramirez — Sat, 28 Jan 2012 16:39:15 +0000

We can’t understand how many who claim to be pro-life are pro-war.
Here are two great articles addressing the pro-war crowd.
Booing the Golden Rule
http://www.downsizedc.org/blog/booing-the-golden-rule
Are Evangelical Christians Warmongers?
http://chuckbaldwinlive.com/home/?p=3971

Comment on Biblical Politics? by Tommy

Tommy — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 22:08:39 +0000

You’re right, and the reverse tends to be true for a majority of Democrats.

Comment on Biblical Politics? by Ryan

Ryan — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 22:03:17 +0000

To me it does. I’m pro-life from conception to our final breath. This is an example of how party affiliation makes things difficult – Republicans are generally pro-life and pro-death penalty. I think those views are inconsistent. I’m in the minority.