By Mildred Robertson
I am a lifelong churchgoer. I joined Log Providence Missionary Baptist Church when I was 8 years old, although I was 15 when I actually accepted Christ as my personal savior. So, it is safe to say that religion has informed many of my decisions throughout my life. To those who have known me since childhood, I acknowledge that I did not always heed the religious doctrine I was raised in. But as I look back over my life, I see those are the times when things did not go well.
For that reason, I believe each of us should seek a higher power in making our personal life decisions. For me, that is the role religion should play in politics...each individual's personal decision. So it is painful as I watch people purporting to embrace God's calling on us to live an upright life to weaponize His Word for their own personal gain.
Case in point, North Carolina gubernatorial candidate Mark Robinson who identifies as an evangelical Christian and has preached at congregations including Trinity Baptist Church in Mooresville, North Carolina. This self-designated born-again Christian has a history of anti-black, antisemitic, anti-women statements prominently posted on Facebook throughout the years. In fact, most of the public positions he holds are anti-humanitarian. During a June 30 speech at White Lake church in the small town of White Lake North Carolina he said,
"Some folks need killing! It’s time for somebody to say it. It’s not a matter of vengeance. It’s not a matter of being mean or spiteful. It’s a matter of necessity! When you have wicked people doing wicked things, torturing and murdering and raping. It’s time to call out, uh, those guys in green and go have them handled. Or those boys in blue and have them go handle it.…"
This is just a small sample of the hateful, vile statements made by this MAGA gubernatorial candidate who runs neck-and-neck with his Democratic opponent, current North Carolina Attorney General Josh Stein. He and other MAGA acolytes continuously call on the name of God, while spewing ungodly hatred and promoting ungodly violence. It is this kind of religious fervor that gave birth to the murderous Crusades, the Salem Witch Hunts, and many other horrors perpetrated in the name of God. I am sure God himself is horrified.
The King James Version of the Bible, 2 Chronicles 7:14, tells us that God said: "If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land." Read full chapter
I have struggled as I watched the broadcast news, which I now tend to turn off after about 15 minutes of dispiriting commentary, bad news, and handwringing. It has become clear to me that there is only one way America will be all right after November 5th. That is if EACH of us turns down the volume on all the noise about age, mental capacity or criminality, gas prices, guns, border wars, women's rights, and equal rights...all important and relevant issues for the upcoming election. But as we turn down the volume on all these weighty issues that none of us can handle on our own, we must TURN UP the volume on our communication with our own personal Higher Power. We must hear that still quiet voice that will give us direction if we only listen.
When you go in the voting booth on November 5th, (and please go, no matter how disheartening the seeming outcome) TURN UP THE VOLUME on your personal guide. Listen to your heart...that is where He speaks. Because religion is not a NATIONAL process. It is a personal one. If we really ARE God's people, he will speak to us...he will guide us, and if we follow his direction, He will heal our land.
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