I think one of the reasons I have taken the contrarian view is because of a lot of my fellow believers. It is my opinion that many Christians believe the government and the right politician can change our culture. Its just a pipe dream for Christians to make a goal to have "heaven on earth" , that somehow we are going to be immune to a world that is broken. I could go deeper on this point but the only thing I will say is we should be more concerned about the Gospel and less concerned about who is on the Supreme Court. Guys, I am looking at the man in the mirror.
Mike, sorry it's taken me so long to respond to your post as it was late in the day and I didn't get a chance to get back with you.
My take is that America is in a current state of cultural rot, brought about by our declining devotion to God as a nation. I've been saying on here for years now that, in my opinion, America's main problem is not so much economic or political, it's a spiritual problem. We've strayed away from our worship of God Almighty and replaced that with our worship of other gods--whatever that may be to an individual.
Although I agree with your premise that neither government nor the right politician can change our culture, I do think it's still possible that a Godly leader could still play a major role in turning us back in the right direction by example.
A good example of this was King Hezekiah. Hezekiah was one of the few
kings of Judahwho was constantly aware of God’s acts in the past and His involvement in the events of every day. The Bible describes Hezekiah as a king who had a close relationship with God, one who did “what was good and right and faithful before the LORD his God” (
2 Chronicles 31:20).
Hezekiah, a son of the wicked King Ahaz, reigned over the southern kingdom of Judah for twenty-nine years, from c. 726 to 697 BC. He began his reign at age 25 (
2 Kings 18:2). He was more zealous for the Lord than any of his predecessors (
2 Kings 18:5). During his reign, the prophets
Isaiahand
Micahministered in Judah.
After Ahaz’s wicked reign, there was much work to do, and Hezekiah boldly cleaned house. Pagan altars, idols, and temples were destroyed. The
bronze serpentthat Moses had made in the desert (
Numbers 21:9) was also destroyed, because the people had made it an idol (
2 Kings 18:4). The
templein Jerusalem, whose doors had been nailed shut by Hezekiah’s own father, was cleaned out and reopened. The Levitical priesthood was reinstated (
2 Chronicles 29:5), and the Passover was reinstituted as a national holiday (
2 Chronicles 30:1). Under Hezekiah’s reforms, revival came to Judah.
Because King Hezekiah put God first in everything he did, God prospered him. Hezekiah “held fast to the Lord and did not stop following him; he kept the commands the Lord had given Moses. And the Lord was with him; he was successful in whatever he undertook” (
2 Kings 18:6–7).
Hezekiah’s life is, for the most part, a model of faithfulness and trust in the Lord. His faith was more than superficial, as his bold reforms show. Hezekiah’s trust in the Lord was rewarded with answered prayer, successful endeavors, and miraculous victory over his enemies. When faced with an impossible situation, surrounded by the dreadful and determined Assyrian army, Hezekiah did exactly the right thing—he prayed. And God answered.
Could a Godly man such as Ted Cruz help turn America back in the right direction? Perhaps. It would certainly be a step in the right direction and present a bold contrast to the evil, Godless, Obama administration.