Vote the right way...or God gets mad. Did you know that?

Is there is anything more condesending to read than the MSM writing about Christians, especially evangelical Christians? (of which I am not one, but I know many) In this ABC news article this is the very first "Christian" quote:

"I believe Our Lord elected our president and I believe he put him in office and it is my prayer that he will sustain him in office," said one woman at the Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.

The ABC article goes on to say this about those Christians:

"They believe that if their agenda is not implemented quickly — if their concerns are not addressed in a timely fashion — God will be angry."

We do??? Notice he didn't say "many Christians" or "some Christians." He used the word "They" to imply all Christians.

Then the ABC reporter asked the pastor of Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church about the millions of Americans who are not Christian, or have a different interpretation of Christianity, Kennedy said with another laugh: "I couldn't care less. It's true."

I wonder how long it took this reporter to find a church where he could make sure the pastor and the parishioner sounded kooky enough. One woman, not even named, speaks for all evangelicals I suppose. And of course the Pastor HAS to sound intolerant and dismiss what others think by saying " I couldn't care less."
How many pastors do you know that would say something like that? I grew up in the deep south, raised in the Methodist and Baptist Church. Why is it that I never heard this kind of "I speak for God" talk?

I have about had it with this kind of smug reporting. Do Christians ( and other religions for that matter) believe that God listens to prayers and moves to answer prayers? Yes. Are those prayers always answered in the way we want them to be? No. They are answered in the way God wants them to be.

I don't think many Christians believe that God elected Bush. The people of America elected Bush. Did prayer sustain Bush during the election? Did prayer move people to vote? Did prayer change people's hearts? I'm sure it did. Prayer is powerful, believe me, I know. But I also believe that God does not care about politics. He cares about us.

The media likes to portray Christians in this backwoods church kind of way because that is the way most of them see us. My entire family from cousins to Aunts to Grandparents are all college educated, many with post graduate degrees, doctors, teachers, and lawyers, and they are all Christians as well.
What the media does not understand is that faith is the foundation of our lives therefore it does affect the way we vote, but it does not prevent us from reasoning and deciding certain issues in an intellectual way.

Finally the reporter ends the story with this:

"Evangelicals say Kennedy may seem intolerant, but there's no greater love than upholding the will of God."

Evangelicals say that? As a group? Is that written some where? No greater love than upholding the will of God? WHAT???? I've been a Christian for 30 yrs and I have never heard that one.
Imagine this reporter writing something where he speaks for all blacks, or all Jews, or even all Texans??? These blanket statements are not only unfair, but untrue.

The media doesn't have to be a Christian to understand our concerns. It doesn't have to agree with those concerns. But a little respect might be nice.


One interesting side note: I noticed in the ABC article mentioned above it says:

"By one measure, conservative Christians comprised 12 percent of the electorate this year — the same as four years ago."

Yet in a related ABC article , ( from Rueters, but it is from the same ABC news page) it says this:

"Unprecedented turnout by evangelical Christians was a key factor in ensuring Bush's narrow victory over Democrat John Kerry in the election."

So which is it? Was it an unprecedented turnout or the same as four years ago? Someone want to call ABC and check? Because it seems that whichever spin fits the story is the one they go with.