Foreign influence in elections

And He condemned the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah to destruction, having reduced them to ashes, having set an example of what is coming on the ungodly.  --2 Peter 2:6 (Berean Literal Bible)

I don't normally delve into politics in this forum, but this week I cannot help myself.  While most of the United States was distracted by the Senate impeachment trial, voters in Iowa were kicking off the primary season by elevating a dark horse candidate.  Statistically, since 1972 more than half of the Iowa caucus winners went on to win their party's nomination.

This year, the Democratic candidate with the most delegates from the Iowa caucuses is Peter Paul Montgomery Buttigieg, also known as "Mayor Pete."  He is a Democrat (obviously), appealing to voters tired of a divisive Republican President (Trump).  He is a centrist, who appeals not only to Democrats that are not ready for far left socialists in their party, but also could put an end to the tug-of-war between Democrats electing a more and more liberal candidate followed by Republicans choosing a more and more conservative one.  He is a combat veteran (like Bush) and a Rhodes Scholar (like Clinton).

He is also gay.

He married his partner Chasten Buttigieg in 2018 and took Chasten's last name.  If he won the Presidency, the first First Gentleman in the White House could, on occasion, wear a dress.  As a conservative Christian, I have a problem with that.

Now some of you may instantly label me as bigoted, prejudiced, or homophobic, but before you do, please read on.  I believe Christ died for all people, even Mayor Pete.  I believe people innately crave human contact, and once they find it, they call it "love" even if it is destructive, immoral, or unnatural.  I believe Jesus loves all people, but I also believe that He condemns sin, and wants to free us from the bondage of sin so that we can find God.  I believe that elevating a culture based on the way they have sex is putting the emphasis on sin rather than grace or redemption.

I do not go to parades and carry signs that say, "Proud to be a pornography user."  I don't know of anyone who would grab a megaphone and start a demonstration in favor of adultery.  If we are Bible believers, then we must recognize that these lifestyles are sinful.

In the Old Testament, Leviticus 18:22 says, "You shall not lie with a male as with a woman; it is an abomination."  Likewise, Leviticus 20:13 says, "If a man lies with a male as with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination; they shall surely be put to death; their blood is upon them."  Now there are some who would discount the Old Testament laws, because we do not execute adulterers, homosexuals, or witches (mediums) in our culture.  They believe in a hyper-Grace that they infuse into New Testament teachings, like "God is Love" and "Jesus never condemned homosexuality."  These half-truths forget that Jesus preached on hell more than He spoke about heaven.  Did Jesus love the money-changers in the Temple?  Of course He did, but that did not keep him from overturning their tables, and using a hand-made whip (a weapon) to drive out the sacrificial sheep they were selling.

The New Testament does speak to this.  Paul said this about the human condition:

They are without excuse.  For although they knew God, they did not honor Him as God or give thanks to Him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened.  Claiming to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man....Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves, because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator. For this reason God gave them up to dishonorable passions.  For their women exchanged natural relations for those that are contrary to nature; and the men likewise gave up natural relations with women and were consumed with passion for one another, men committing shameless acts with men and receiving in themselves the due penalty for their error.  --Romans 1:20(b) - 25

We must agree that homosexuality is sin.  I do not believe it is the unforgivable sin, but if the sin is celebrated instead of repented from, then those people have chosen their sinful identity over God, and they are surely bound for hell. 1 Corinthians 6:9-10 says, "Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God?  Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God."  Yes, God gives grace, but He cannot be in the presence of sin.  It is only by the blood of Jesus that we are washed clean, and can repent from sin and turn toward God.

In my lifetime, America has gone from listing homosexuality as a mental illness, to looking the other way while it was closeted, to people coming out but still looked at with some amount of disgust (anybody remember the sitcom Seinfeld, where the characters adamantly deny being gay, followed by "Not that there's anything wrong with that!"  If there was nothing wrong with it, why would they so adamantly deny it?).  Today it is no longer closeted but celebrated, to the point where we have a viable candidate for President who is in a homosexual marriage.

Instead of having a four month long trial and spending 45 million dollars trying to prove Ukrainian interference in the 2020 Presidential election, we should turn our attention to a more spiritual influence.  We have given ourselves over to a Satanic influence of our culture, to the point where the next President of the United States could be gay.  That is the foreign influence we should be most on guard against.