The election, ballots and outrage - 2020 edition

 Earlier this week I saw a post headline saying “Ballots found thrown outside and they all were for Trump” (the latter part in all caps, deemphasized by me here). So, I wanted to get to the real facts here as the link to the supposed official statement in the article, from a less than reputable outlet, didn’t work.  But I went ahead and went to the US Attorney Middle Penn District site, and found the real release, which provides better details and debunks the “all were for Trump” moniker:  https://www.justice.gov/usao-mdpa/pr/letter-luzerne-county-bureau-elections.

I have seen, and I am certain I will see and hear and so forth, numerous articles and reports of issues with mail, or ballot processing, or what not over the coming weeks and months as it relates to the election that is underway (another this morning from Wisconsin).  And with the president of the USA saying he “has to see” about whether there’ll be a peaceful transition of power after the election, as he believes there are “issues with the ballots,” there is certain to be outrage, anxiousness, and fear mongering to ensue.  So I want to post here something to set things straight, in context and in respect to the realities.  Succinctly, save your outrage folks about fraud and irregularities, because you really need to get a grip and we need to get our head around what is and is not happening.

Here’s my point, first, no one claimed anyone was lily white innocent of voter tampering or of making a mistake or of committing fraud.  No one is be-knighted a saint.  Let me state what is a clairvoyant fact:  humans, by definition, are not perfect.  This is why election boards have at least two parties as observers to keep each other honest.  Fraud and mistakes and procedural errors happen, there’s no question of that reality.  Whether any of this, however, is a significant problem, is what matters.

So second, the fact that this case was caught (or as you’ll read in many present and future cases, it was caught) as in nearly every case, and addressed promptly (within the week, here, often within the day), demonstrates that there is not a significant problem when it comes to our election, because, you just can’t get away with it over 99% of the time.  Is it bad that 6 ballots (in this particular case in Penn.) are not going to be counted?  Yes, our goal is that every vote counts.  Is it so bad that the election (or any election) will turn on it?  That is highly, highly, doubtful.  And if these do become the 6 critical votes, then there are remedies to resolve the issue that are proven, fair, and effective.  Is this a sign of widespread systematic fraud?  Most likely not.  More importantly, is it widespread systematic fraud that will be effective or have a significant effect on the outcome of the election?  Most certainly not.  Because it is almost always caught and it almost always is resolved to address the core issues of ensuring votes count and the votes cast are legitimate.

Further, the only way fraud could potentially work is if:

a) there was enough fraudulent ballots to have a significant effect on the race, 

b) the candidate actually won the race, and 

c) it wasn’t caught in any way (whether legally or through investigative journalism or an audit or through the many other means that it is likely to be).  

The level of effort required would be pretty unparalleled at this point, but is it possible?  Yes, it is.  But it would have to be coordinated, I don’t see how it couldn’t be, and I’d say it’d probably be harder than just running a campaign in the first place.  The moment there would be a whiff of any fraud at play, however, the game would be up and it would be roundly resolved, not in the favor of the cabal who attempted it.  It’s just not worth it and it’s just not likely, especially at the national (too many wrinkles) or local level (too expensive and too known).  Where there’s been more marked cases has been for state offices, and NY has been a poster child for this in the past (even up through the 1980s), but so has the southeastern US and other places.  It’s a dying art, and that is why it’s probably getting so much attention (aside from 45’s false hyperbole and cult following), in that its rare enough to make you think it’s not possible or worth trying, yet cases persist, even as they are almost always caught.

So, please, you and others who are outraged, nervous, or plain unhinged, keep posting about cases where folks, left, right and center, try voter fraud, have errors, make mistakes, and so forth, where they are caught and the election is proven to be well secured.  There will be many, this isn’t really new.  All it does is show that the problem isn’t with the ballots or the system for absentee/mail in voting, because it corrects itself amazingly well, especially with the heightened awareness you and yours are putting on it (hence why it seems that there is “so much more of it”, yet it’s just a symptom of the fact that we can get information (good or bad) faster and with more volume than ever before).  What is proven here, and in the numerous posts and articles and reports to come, is people take voting seriously and holding people to account; that isn’t a problem, that is a very good thing.  There’s not a “problem with the ballots”.  Quite the contrary.  The focus is on them and it will be watched ever more carefully, making sure we have a free and fair election, to the best of our human capacities, imperfect as they are.  To that end, hold your outrage for how people, who are entrusted with offices of public trust, behave when they receive the results.  Let us pray they act in accordance with our highest principles not our lowest, carnal responses, and we make no excuse or quarter for the latter.

Proposed Amendment to the Constitution - Congressional Districting

I’ve talked about it several times, but it’s time I finally get a version written so that folks can refer back to it.  I’ll provide commentary and support for the following at a later point.

Proposed Amendment to the Constitution - Congressional Districting

Section 1.  

The geographic districts from which Representatives are to be drawn from within each of the several States shall be determined by the legislatures thereof, and must demonstrate a good faith effort to provide substantially equal representation among the various districts for Representatives within that State, except as otherwise provided in this article or the Constitution.

Section 2.

The geographic boundaries of the district for any Representative shall be aligned with the boundaries of the immediate contiguous sub-jurisdictions of the State in which the district lies, either individually or in combination, such that no district for a Representative results in a division of an immediate contiguous sub-jurisdiction of the State, excepting that if a sufficient proportion of the population of said sub-jurisdiction is sufficient to warrant one or more Representatives on its own in order to provide substantially equal representation among the various districts for Representatives within that State.  A contiguous sub-jurisdiction having such ample population, in relation to the other districts for Representatives for that State, that multiple Representatives are warranted, may then be divided in such a manner as the State legislature of the State in which the district lies may direct.  Under no circumstances may a district for Representatives be comprised of a portion of one immediate contiguous sub-jurisdiction of a State in combination with another whole or portion of another immediate contiguous sub-jurisdiction of that State.

Section 3

No State may modify or amend the geographic boundaries of it’s immediate contiguous sub-jurisdictions without approval of Congress.  Congress shall determine the whole number of Representatives to to be apportioned among the several States by a 2/3 majority of both the Senate and the House of Representatives.

Section 4

The Congress shall have power to enforce, by appropriate legislation, the provisions of this article.

“Believe in the Bible” and how that is not Christian

 

Amidst COVID 19, there are still times that we have the opportunity to witness to the reality we have been shown in Christ Jesus.  Of late I have been asked too many times, “do you believe in the Bible?”  Such a question is rife with problems, and it is high time I make a confessional statement to this question.

Let me start with that I don’t believe in the Bible.  I believe in God revealed to us through the Holy Spirit shown in Christ Jesus.  The Bible is the scripture through which we get a glimpse at the totality of the living God who can never be incarcerated within the bounds of black and white texts, even those that were penned, redacted, edited, and recalled by those who were chosen to have the Holy Scriptures revealed to: prophets, servants, and evangelists.  I read those scriptures often and with the greatest respect, can quote them in numerous places, but also understand their context, historical connections, and their cultural applicability.  Which is why I reject the idea that any one political party or another is for or against God’s will.  In Matthew’s gospel, Christ in speaking to the disciples, made it clear to “render unto Caesar what is Caesar’s, and to God what is God’s”.  This was not just about taxes, it was about what God’s business is in and with the world, and about His Kingdom.  His Kingdom doesn’t tread in petty politics, but rises above.  He didn’t endorse the Romans over the Jews or say the Sadducees were any better than the Pharisees.  Therefore no political party is going to ever be God’s party over another, because, as I preached a couple weeks ago, God doesn’t get on our side, we are to get on God’s side.  We are all rank with sin (“all sin and fall short of the glory of God”), but Christ made it clear that “woe to those that carry these little ones into their sin”.  Be careful, therefore, that you are not following the false gods of wealth and power and personality, and being lead astray.

Succinctly, the Bible is not God.  Nor also is it all of God’s word; Christ is the Word.  Christians don’t “believe in” the Bible, they “believe in” God.  We believe what is revealed about God in the Bible is true (in other words we believe the Bible is true), but we don’t “believe in” a book.  As Luther said, the Bible is the manger in which we find Christ, but it is not Christ Himself.  We are warned in scripture to not worship/believe in "the Scripture", but worship/believe in its ultimate author.  That was Christ’s specific criticism of the Pharisees. They, the Pharisees, believed in the law and worshiped the law forgetting that it wasn’t the law/what is written that saves, but Jehovah.  I read scripture diligently and believe in the Word, but don’t make the mistake of making an idol out of scripture, which is what “believing in the Bible” can lead to.  I know many use “believing in the Bible” as short hand for “I believe that the witness of scripture is true about God and his relationship with all creation.”  I too. Often, however, it goes further to become worship of the holy writ itself, hence my very careful assertion and avoiding the euphemism.  I absolutely believe in God’s Word, but I also know that the Bible isn’t all of it and that it’s scribes were mere humans that were no more or less saints and sinners as the rest of us, trying to describe the Almighty in their own poor feeble way.  We just know that the Bible is the most true and most reliable view we have of God; it is our norm for faith.  God isn’t the Bible, however, he is much, much, much bigger and greater and powerful than can ever be put into all of the pages ever written.

Thus in conclusion, it is never ever enough to “believe in the Bible” as that is fleeting and much short of the glory of Christ on the cross.  Rather we are to believe in God, Jehovah, YHWH, the very creator of all that is and will be.  “Believing in the Bible” is a very weak substitute for what we are called to witness to.  As such, don’t “believe in the Bible” I implore you; rather believe in Christ and him crucified, raised from the dead, and ascended to heaven.  Amen.