One of my professors sent this Post-Election Quiz around today. I’m not sure who wrote it, but it’s timely for Christians who are struggling with the results of last night’s election.
- True/False: The day after the election, regardless of who wins, Jesus will still be King.
- True/False: The day after the election, regardless of who wins, our responsibilities as Christians will not have changed one iota.
- True/False: The day after the election, regardless of who wins, the greatest agent for social change in America will still be winning the hearts and minds of men and women through the gospel, not legislation.
- True/False: The day after the election, regardless of who wins, my primary citizenship will still be in this order – (1) the Kingdom of God, (2) America, not vice-versa.
- True/False: The day after the election, regardless of who wins, the tomb will still be empty.
- True/False: The day after the election, regardless of who wins, the cross, not the government, will still be our salvation.
- True/False: The day after the election, regardless of who wins, our children will still be more concerned with whether or not we spend time with them than with who is President.
- True/False: The day after the election, regardless of who wins, my neighbor will still be my neighbor, and loving him/her will still be the second greatest commandment. (Do you know the first?)
- True/False: The day after the election, regardless of who wins, the only way to see abortion ultimately overturned will still be winning men and women to a high view of life through the gospel of Christ.
- True/False: The day after the election, regardless of who wins, the only way to see gay marriage ultimately defeated will still be winning men and women to a biblical view of marriage through the gospel of Jesus Christ.
- True/False: The day after the election, regardless of who wins, my retirement will still not match my treasure in Heaven.
- True/False: The day after the election, regardless of who wins, “Jesus Is Lord” will still be the greatest truth in the Universe.
- True/False: The day after the election, regardless of who wins, we will still know that God is in control.
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| Jesus Christ, Icon, Eastern Orthodox Altar, Church of the Holy Sepulchre, Jerusalem |
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| Christ the King, Świebodzin, Poland (2010) |
Put not your trust in princes, in a son of man, in whom there is no help. When his breath departs he returns to his earth; on that very day his plans perish. Happy is he whose help is the God of Jacob, whose hope is in the LORD his God, who made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them; who keeps faith for ever; who executes justice for the oppressed; who gives food to the hungry. The LORD sets the prisoners free; the LORD opens the eyes of the blind. The LORD lifts up those who are bowed down; the LORD loves the righteous. The LORD watches over the sojourners, he upholds the widow and the fatherless; but the way of the wicked he brings to ruin. The LORD will reign for ever, thy God, O Zion, to all generations. Praise the LORD!
As a country, we’re very much at a crossroads, and we should implore God’s help and His guidance, and pray for our president and elected officials often. Let this election chasten us, but not cause us to despair. The solution to this crisis will ultimately come, not through a politician, but in the One who has already won the victory.
Let nothing disturb thee;
Let nothing dismay thee:
All thing pass;
God never changes.
Patience attains
All that it strives for.
He who has God
Finds he lacks nothing:
God alone suffices.
Teresa of Avila
Then he asked them, “Why are you terrified? Do you not yet have faith?” MK 4:40
Happy Year of Faith everyone!
this is more along the lines of web design advice than anything else.
Megabyte images are bad for your page. They slow loading times, and annoy my roomates if they’re playing Team Fortress 2 on the same connection that’s loading six or seven megs of images that you’ve posted in 200×300 pixel-sized boxes. Not to mention, there are people who have to pay their ISPs for every meg or gig of bandwidth they use.
Instead of using html to resize them with the img tag, open them up in some sort of graphics processing software, such as the Gnu Image Manipulation Program (see gimp.org), resize them, and save a copy that’s the size you want to post, in a suitable format. That can cut the file size from a 1.8MB to, say, 100k. And that will make me, and those readers whose bandwidth is limited, metered, or both, much less annoyed by visiting your page.
Can’t promise I’ll always do that (time constraints and whatnot), but that’s good to know. Thanks!
You perhaps go too far in stating that American Catholics have a duty to vote. Surely we jave a duty to political participation, but to vote? It has been argued that American Catholics have a duty to abstain from voting. Dorothy Day said “Don’t vote. It only encourages them.” There is something to be said for such a position.
Nicholas,
I understand where both you and Dorothy Day are coming from, but the Catechism is pretty clear on this point. Citing Romans 13:7, CCC 2240 says that “Submission to authority and co-responsibility for the common good make it morally obligatory to pay taxes, to exercise the right to vote, and to defend one’s country.”
I.X.,
Joe
…as well as Papal teaching:
http://restlesspilgrim.net/blog/2012/11/06/pius-voting/
10. True/False: The day after the election, regardless of who wins, “Jesus Is Lord” will still be the greatest truth in the Universe. — St John the Beloved Disciple would say that “God is Love” is the most important truth in the Universe. (cf 1 John 4:8 and 1 John 4:16)
Magnificent, thank you
Being obligated to exercise the right to vote isn’t the same thing as being obligated to vote. We are obligated to do what we can to create a just society, and that may or may not include voting. Seems obvious that the Church can’t make it a moral obligation for us to vote, since we aren’t even required to believe that democracy is the “best” political setup.