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Election Issue
A Letter Of Note …
"If slavery is not wrong, nothing is wrong!" — President Abraham Lincoln
"Three years into the American Civil War, U.S. President Abraham Lincoln wrote the following letter in order to summarise on paper some points [ including his failures ] he had previously made regarding the recruitment of slaves as Union soldiers and, ultimately, their freeing from the institution of slavery itself. Come the end of the war, all slaves in the U.S. had been freed and, after the adoption of the Thirteenth Amendment in December of 1865, slavery was abolished." 1
"If God now wills the removal of a great wrong, and wills also that we of the North as well as you of the South, shall pay fairly for our complicity in that wrong, impartial history will find therein new cause to attest and revere the justice and goodness of God." 2 — Yours truly, President Abraham Lincoln, signed Monday, April 4th, 1864.
Open Letter To Christian Voters
"Always vote for principle, though you may vote alone, you may cherish the sweetest reflection that your vote is never lost." 3 — President John Quincy Adams
In this letter President Abraham Lincoln summarizes a conversation he had with three (3) Kentuckians: Governor Thomas E. Bramlette, Albert G. Hodges and Archibald Dixon. Hodges was the editor of the Frankfort Commonwealth and Dixon served in the U.S. Senate from 1852 to 1855. Governor Bramlette had protested the recruiting of Black regiments in Kentucky. 4
Lincoln's letter gives us an extraordinary glimpse into his heart and mind as he faced the challenges of his constitutional responsibility as President of the United States of America and why he changed his inaugural position of non-interference with slavery to one of immediate emancipation. Please note that President Lincoln closed his letter to Hodges with a reference to slavery that reflects back on his inaugural address of 1865. In the end President Lincoln writes: "If God now wills the removal of a great wrong, and wills also that we of the North as well as you of the South, shall pay fairly for our complicity in that wrong, impartial history will find therein new cause to attest and revere the justice and goodness of God." 5
In my opinion, President Lincoln had come to the point in his development as a child of God that many Christians must likewise reach today, before we cast our vote for the next President of our country tomorrow.
If Abortion Is Not Wrong, Nothing Is Wrong!
Election Day Tomorrow Is The Most Important Election since 1860.
Without question, the biological product of a human male and a human female is a human life, with a human nature. Without argument, abortion on demand sheds the blood and takes the life of an innocent human being. As members of the Body of Christ, let us therefore be transparent with each other and confess, without debate, that legalized abortion on demand is incontestably evil.
Brothers and Sisters In Christ …
Tomorrow we vote.
With this in mind and in the same spirit of President Abraham Lincoln's letter to Albert G. Hodges dated Monday, April 4th, 1864, here is my letter to you on the eve of our 2012 Presidential election.
My message is simple.
If a Christian voting for political candidates that support an industry that has killed more babies in the last forty-four (44) years than the population of our seventy-two (72) largest U.S. cities 6 is not wrong, then nothing is wrong.
If a Christian voting for political candidates that support abortion which hurts women, and kills more than 3,000 babies each day 7 is not wrong, then nothing is wrong.
If a Christian voting for political candidates that support late-term abortions, even during the 9th month 8 is not wrong, then nothing is wrong.
If a Christian voting for political candidates that support abortion on demand based on the size, level of development, environment and degree of dependency of the baby 9 is not wrong, then nothing is wrong.
If a Christian voting for political candidates that support abortion on demand based on the sins of the father 10 is not wrong, then nothing is wrong.
If a Christian voting for political candidates that support legislation that forces us to pay for abortion with our tax dollars, including secret abortions on thirteen (13) year old girls without their parents consent 11 is not wrong, then nothing is wrong.
If a Christian voting for political candidates that support legislation that requires states to provide free sterilizations to fifteen (15) year-old girls even if their parents do not consent to the procedure 12 is not wrong, then nothing is wrong.
If a Christian voting for political candidates that support legislation that requires insurers to provide free (cancer-causing) birth control pills and Depo Provera birth control 13 is not wrong, then nothing is wrong.
If a Christian voting for political candidates that would vote against legislation stopping the killing of children in the wombs of their mothers based on race and gender 24 is not wrong, then nothing is wrong.
If a Christian voting for political candidates that support an industry that targets communities of color by installing 79% of its surgical abortion facilities within walking distance of Black American and/or Hispanic|Latino neighborhoods 14 is not wrong, then nothing is wrong.
If a Christian voting for political candidates that support an industry that kills more Black babies in less than four (4) days than Black lives lynched by the Ku Klux Klan in eighty-six (86) years 15 is not wrong, then nothing is wrong.
If a Christian voting for political candidates that support an industry that kills over 1,400 Black babies for every 1,000 Black babies born alive in New York City 16 is not wrong, then nothing is wrong.
If a Christian voting for political candidates that support an industry whose business results in Black American women having triple the risk of early preterm birth (EPB), defined as delivery at less than 32.0 weeks gestation, and quadruple the risk of extremely preterm birth (XPB), defined as delivery at less than 28.0 weeks gestation, compared with non-Black American women (1.39% in Blacks vs. 0.35% in Whites) 17 is not wrong, then nothing is wrong.
If a Christian voting for political candidates that endorse and promote unlimited abortions and undermine biblically defined marriage 18 is not wrong, then nothing is wrong.
If a Christian voting for political candidates that attack the Church and her freedom 19 is not wrong, then nothing is wrong.
If a Christian voting for political candidates that serve the interests of a party that struggles with including the word "God" and "Jerusalem" in its platform 20 is not wrong, then nothing is wrong.
If a Christian voting for political candidates that support an industry that has killed more babies in the last forty-four (44) years than all the American battle deaths in all U.S. wars since 1776 21 is not wrong, then nothing is wrong.
If a Christian voting for political candidates that support an industry that has killed more babies in the last forty-four (44) years than all Americans of all ages and races murdered daily by handguns 22 is not wrong, then nothing is wrong.
If a Christian voting for political candidates that would rather shut down the entire U.S. government than stop funding abortion on demand with tax-payer dollars 23 is not wrong, then nothing is wrong.
If a Christian voting for political candidates that support an industry whose business contributes to the Black American fertility rate dropping to 1.9 (well below the population replacement rate of 2.1) in 2003 25 is not wrong, then nothing is wrong.
If a Christian voting for political candidates that support an industry that boasts a 1.3% a year reduction rate in abortions, a rate that would take fifty-three (53) years to reduce the number of babies killed in the wombs of their mothers by fifty percent (50%) 26 is not wrong, then nothing is wrong.
If a Christian voting for political candidates that support an industry whose business is biologically linked to increased breast cancer risk 27 is not wrong, then nothing is wrong.
If nothing is wrong, "if in this life only we have hope in Christ," then perhaps the Apostle Paul was right when he said: "we are of all men most miserable" 28 having served Christ in vain.
In Closing
"In telling this tale I attempt no compliment to my own sagacity. I claim not to have controlled events, but confess plainly that events have controlled me. Now, at the end of three years struggle the nation's condition is not what either party, or any man devised, or expected. God alone can claim it. 29 — President Abraham Lincoln, Monday, April 4th, 1864.
 How we as Christians vote tomorrow will either signal a renewal of our hearts and minds toward Christ or reflect the depth of the depravity in our souls. Voting is a blood bought and thereby precious privilege we inherited from those who died for our freedom before us. John Jay, a leading opponent of slavery, was an American Statesman, Patriot, Diplomat, a Founding Father of our country, and when nominated by George Washington became the first (1st) Chief Justice of the United States of America. 30 Chief Justice Jay believed that the most effective way of ensuring world peace was through propagation of the Christian gospel. Perhaps Jay, in a letter addressed to Pennsylvania House of Representatives member John Murray, dated Saturday, October 12th, 1816, said it best:
"Real Christians will abstain from violating the rights of others, and therefore will not provoke war. Almost all nations have peace or war at the will and pleasure of rulers whom they do not elect, and who are not always wise or virtuous. Providence has given to our people the choice of their rulers, and it is the duty, as well as the privilege and interest, of our Christian nation to select and prefer Christians for their rulers." 31
Amen.
This election, let us vote our values vertically.
Brothers, we really need to talk.
Reference(s):
01. Abraham Lincoln, This letter is a summary of a conversation which President Abraham Lincoln had with three Kentuckians: Governor Thomas E. Bramlette, Albert G Hodges and Archibald Dixon. Hodges was the editor of the Frankfort Commonwealth and Dixon served in the U.S. Senate from 1852 to 1855. Bramlette had protested the recruiting of black regiments in Kentucky (http://bit.ly/3SFonW).
02. Ibid., A quote from the last paragraph of Lincoln's Monday, April 4th, 1864 letter to Albert G Hodges.
03. John Quincy Adams, As quoted in Pocket Patriot : Quotes From American Heroes (2005) edited by Kelly Nickell (http://bit.ly/WokCD2).
04. Abraham Lincoln Online, "Letter to Albert G. Hodges" (http://bit.ly/3KKhyi).
05. Abraham Lincoln, op. cit. (http://bit.ly/3SFonW).
06. Dennis M. Howard, "The Abortion Index" The Movement for a Better America, Inc. (http://bit.ly/9FPAN1).
07. Eduardo Verastegui, 60 Second TV Spot (http://bit.ly/SEbVjI).
08. Ibid.
09. Scott Klusendorf, "How to Defend Your Pro-Life Views in 5 Minutes or Less" (http://bit.ly/aZ6Dkn).
10. Karen Dudek, "Piercing the darkness on the Piers Morgan Show" (http://bit.ly/SrHmPt).
11. Eduardo Verastegui, op. cit. (http://bit.ly/SEbVjI).
12. Sabrina Gladstone, "Obamacare Mandate: Sterilize 15-Year-Old Girls for Free--Without Parental Consent" (http://bit.ly/MnAY9p).
13. Karen Malec, "We Are Woman Rally, ObamaCare Mandate Represent War on Women’s Health" (http://bit.ly/VsPPn4).
14. Protecting Black Life, "Planned Parenthood Targets Minority Neighborhoods" (http://bit.ly/RBoWLk).
15. Lynching in the United States, Wikipedia (http://bit.ly/3hpsk5).
16. NYC41Percent.com is a project of the Chiaroscuro Foundation (http://bit.ly/eyWdsf).
17. Brent Rooney, M.Sc., "Does Induced Abortion Account for Racial Disparity in Preterm Births, and Violate the Nuremberg Code?" (http://bit.ly/aLzL4h).
18. Eduardo Verastegui's, Urgent Message For Latinos (http://bit.ly/UppeBP).
19. Ibid.
20. ABC News, "Dems Quickly Switch to Include "God," "Jerusalem" (http://abcn.ws/TjKltz).
21. Dennis M. Howard, op. cit. (http://bit.ly/9FPAN1).
22. Ibid.
23. CNN Wire Staff, "Shutdown Looms," Cable News Network (CNN), April 8th, 2011 at 10:54 A.M. (EDT) (http://bit.ly/HBlr4p).
24. HR 3541, "Prenatal Nondiscrimination Act (PRENDA) of 2012" (http://bit.ly/SHC0OH).
25. U.S. Census Bureau, Statistical Abstract of the United States: 2011, "Table 83. Total Fertility Rate by Race and Hispanic Origin: 1980 to 2007" (http://bit.ly/Xddvwr).
26. Guttmacher Institute, "Facts on Induced Abortion in the United States", August 2011 (http://bit.ly/99dVdw).
27. Coalition on Abortion/Breast Cancer, "The Abortion Breast Cancer (ABC)Summary" (http://bit.ly/Vt1KBl).
28. 1 Corinthians 15:19, (http://bit.ly/VNgpmD).
29. Abraham Lincoln, op. cit. (http://bit.ly/3SFonW).
30. John Jay, Wikipedia (http://bit.ly/3FWlux).
31. Ibid.
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