Turn to the word of God for direction and wisdom, read James 1:5-8 and follow accordingly. Also, consider Colossians 2:2-4. God did not leave us helpless when sent his son Jesus to save us from death. Praying and fasting will indeed give us results if we pray and fast with a pure heart and godly intentions.

Isaiah 58 is a good starting point to learn how to fast.

Jesus also taught us how to pray in the gospels. Or is the word of God, which is Jesus (Jesus is the word), too much orthodoxy for today's society? Remember, Jesus is the same yesterday, today, and forever.

And as far as being either “with them or against them” Jesus' message of salvation was “take it or leave it”. A house divided against itself will not stand. If you are not for Jesus you are against Jesus.

Turn to the word of God for direction and wisdom, read James 1:5-8 and follow accordingly. Also, consider Colossians 2:2-4. God did not leave us helpless when sent his son Jesus to save us from death. Praying and fasting will indeed give us results if we pray and fast with a pure heart and godly intentions.

Isaiah 58 is a good starting point to learn how to fast.

Jesus also taught us how to pray in the gospels. Or is the word of God, which is Jesus (Jesus is the word), too much orthodoxy for today's society? Remember, Jesus is the same yesterday, today, and forever.

And as far as being either “with them or against them” Jesus' message of salvation was “take it or leave it”. A house divided against itself will not stand. If you are not for Jesus you are against Jesus.

Note that I restricted my libertarianism to economics. While I am growing a bit more liberal on social issues, my template for that is the Republican platform.

Another way in which its “won't care” attitude seems problematic for a Christian is the idea of eliminating all laws restricting “consensual” behavior. So prostitution should be legal, there should be no regulation of drug usage (recreational or medical), abortion should be permitted. While I don't think that all religious prohibitions should be enshrined in law, all of these are highly destructive activities that I think the state is right to prohibit.

Essentially, I defaulted to libertarianism because I understand its basic tenets. And I don't see any other template to start poking holes in – Democrats and Republicans seem to only use ad-hoc solutions without any solid theory behind them.

“Libertarianism won't care”–that's exactly my point. It denies any role in caring for the rest of society (local, national, or international): sink or swim. That's what I mean by calling it individualistic. While I'm not an advocate for the cradle-to-grave welfare society, I don't think following Scrooge's “Let them go to the poorhouses” advice is healthy, either. There is a place for working together as a community, funded by mandatory taxes. I find libertarianism utopian, and in our fallen world, utopianism is inevitably disastrous.

Libertarianism is about the Constitution. The idea is that the private sector is more fit to solve social ills than the government (a good reason for “social justice” to get a more specific name). Government is regarded only as a rule-maker and arbitrator, and groups can define how they want their beliefs to manifest at the state, local, community, or even club level, subject to the hierarchy. Libertarianism doesn't insist on individualism; you can live in a commune if you like and libertarianism won't care. However, it also refuses to insist on any other set of values.

I took to economic libertarianism very easily because it's really what the Republican Party claims to believe, at least when it's politically expedient. My social views are following for pretty much the same reasons as I would expect of most here, although I still hold to conservative theology and ethics.

Sounds like conventional wisdom; historically, however, that simply isn't true at all. For openers, you don't have “liberal Christians,” evangelical or otherwise, as part of a similar bloc; there are, for example, no Christian TV or radio outlets that cater to them, nor do they have much pull in the Democratic Party and in fact were all but ignored there. (African-Americans make up the closest thing to an exception but only because of their five-decade battle with the political right.)

You're right that historically the right has tapped into Christians and built a base there, but speaking purely political you could easily insert “Liberalism” into your post that I quoted above. Both sides have their own orthodoxies that they cling to, not just conservatives. Liberals do not have a monopoly on free thinkers, either.

PS. Let your biblical views shape your economic and social views instead of letting the political views shape them!
I'm not so sure the Bible has much to say about how to run a country. Seems to me it's all about how (and when to not) to run yourself. Translating that into political theory is a big job.

Quest Church Faith Statement

The Scriptures, both Old and New Testaments, are the inspired Word of God without error in the original writings, the complete revelation of His will for the salvation of men and women, and the divine and final authority for all Christian life and faith.

There is one God, Creator of all things, infinitely perfect and eternally existing in three persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

Jesus Christ is God's eternal Son. As true God and true man, He allowed Himself to be born of a virgin, taught men and women how to live through a sinless life, was crucified as a penal substitute for our sins, arose bodily from the dead, ascended into heaven, where, at the right hand of the Majesty on High, He is now our High Priest and Advocate.

The Holy Spirit persuades us to repent of our sins and confess Jesus as Lord. He lives in us, teaches us, gifts us, and enables us to live godly lives.

Men and women were created in the image of God, tempted by Satan and rebelled against God. As a result of their rebellion against God, men and women are dead in their sins. Through repentance and personal faith in Jesus Christ, we are forgiven our sins, reborn by the Holy Spirit, and we become children of God.

The Church is the living Body of Christ on earth; Christ is its head and source of life. The Body is composed of those who have received Him personally. The Church exists to celebrate the living God, cultivate personal growth in Christ, love one another in Christ, and communicate Christ to the world through words and deeds.

Jesus Christ will return to earth to raise the dead, judge the world, and establish His glorious Kingdom. This is the hope of the Church and its encouragement for ministry. At the end of time the redeemed will go on to eternal life whereas the unredeemed to eternal hell.

Baptism soon after accepting Christ as personal Savior is a testimony to sin and resurrection to a new life, and the Lord's Supper is a time of thanksgiving and communion with Christ, setting forth in sacred and symbolic manner the death of the Lord Jesus Christ and the unity of His Church; all true believers and only believers should share in it. Infant baptism is appropriate of believing parents as a testimony of the expectation of the future grace of Christ in the life of the child.

Because God gives us eternal life through Jesus Christ, the true believer is secure in that salvation for eternity. If you have been genuinely saved, and trusted in Him, then you cannot lose your salvation. Salvation is maintained by the grace and power of God, not by the self-effort of the Christian. It is the grace and keeping power of God that gives us this security.