As a Christian, Why the GOP Doesn't Speak for Me

By Jeff Fulmer

A collection of posts selected from the Hometown Prophet Blog that dares to mix politics and religion from a progressive point of view. The articles follow my own journey over the last year, explaining how my Christian beliefs have led to a political change of heart.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Jeff Fulmer
• Release date: May 31, 2012
• ISBN: 9781476215310

Jeff Fulmer

I grew up and live in Franklin Tennessee, just outside of Nashville. Hometown Prophet is about a reluctant prophet who must face the challenges that come with being a modern day spokesman for God.

Book preview

AS A CHRISTIAN, WHY THE GOP DOESN’T SPEAK FOR ME

(and Other Reasons My Conscience Compels Me To Vote Democrat)

By Jeff Fulmer

Copyright 2012 by Robert Jeffrey Fulmer

Smashwords Edition

ISBN #9781476215310

This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the work of this author.

Table of Contents

Introduction

As a Christian, Why the GOP Doesn’t Speak for Me

Would Jesus Raise Taxes?

God’s Response to Rick Perry

Goats or Sheep?

The Challenge of Loving our Enemies

The Real Christian Candidate

Bearing False Witness in the Age of E-Mail

What Churches Can Learn from Occupy Wall Street

Saving the Corporate Soul

How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love my Neighbor

2012: The End of the World

The Bully Pulpit

The Radical Atheistic Agenda of Ayn Rand

O’ Brother, Where Art Thou?

You Say You Want a Christian in the White House

How to Become a Modern Day Prophet

Thank You!

Introduction

In 2011, I wrote a book, Hometown Prophet. The story follows a reluctant prophet who begins to dream about future events. While the divine messages aren’t always well-received by his church and community, they do point to a God who wants us to treat all of His creation with respect. In other words, the more we’re drawn to God, the more we will want to reach out to others. This can be manifested in a variety of ways, such as charitable work and volunteerism. I believe it can also be applied to how we treat people through public assistance.

I reject the currently popular notion that everything coming out of Washington is inherently evil and should be attacked. Governments can be a force for good or bad, and it’s our responsibility to make it as positive as possible for as many people as possible, particularly those who need help the most. Now I know mixing politics and religion can be dangerous ground, but Christianity is the basis for my value system, and that includes issues of public policy. And while politics is a brutal business, it affects millions of peoples’ lives. That alone makes it worthwhile.

When I started the Hometown Prophet Blog, it was an opportunity to apply my beliefs to what was going on in the news. An ongoing theme has been the discrepancy of wealth, especially in light of Christ’s warning about money and His command to take care of ‘the least of these.’ Admittedly, this blog has been a way to vent my frustration at some of the more blatant forms of hypocrisy, and I take a few shots at those who always side with the rich and powerful. Not too surprising, there are also a couple of articles that deal with the challenge of loving my enemies.

My purpose is not to upset people who disagree with me; however, I do want to push back at the way religion has been twisted around for political gain. While I might be idealistic; I hope people will be open to reconsidering what Jesus expected from his followers and what that would look like in this day and age. Christianity often gets a bad rap because we allow ourselves to become divided over manmade issues. If we rallied around the core teachings of Christ, we would instantly change the culture in Washington and truly be a light unto the world.

As a Christian, Why the GOP Doesn’t Speak for Me

7/20/2011

For most of my life, I considered myself a Republican and a Christian, not necessarily in that order, but they weren’t mutually exclusive either. The two ideologies happily went hand-in-hand like Adam and Eve, before you-know-who showed up and crashed the party. In my genesis story, I have to credit George W. Bush with tempting me to question my longstanding, intertwining beliefs. While I munched on the fruit from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil, the rose-colored Republican scales fell from my eyes.

The Iraq War (Part 2) was a big problem for me. Don’t get me wrong,