Christians have the greatest message in history, yet the vast majority of Christians fail to spread it. Christians founded the greatest, most powerful country in history, yet they fail to protect it. Christians have allowed themselves to be distracted from two hugely important aspects of what it means to be Christian.

Since this is a political blog, readers may wonder what Christianity has to do with politics. That’s the point. Secular voices have effectively marginalized the voice of the church by convincing Christians that their message of God’s redemption should be kept separate from everyday life. Americans by the millions are being taught that religion has nothing to do with reality. Granted that is a lie, but most people who claim to be Christians do precious little to counter the lie. Instead, our children in all grades of school and especially in college, which is infested with liberal professors, are indoctrinated with the lie that there are no absolutes, there is no God, and that even if He does exist, He has nothing to say about how we run our country. And in the face of those lies, Christians remain silent. And that is why so many millennials give credence to the idiocy of socialists such as Bernie Sanders, Kamala Harris, Pete Buttigieg, and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. They even vote many of them into office.

And let me clarify that Christians make up a huge percentage of the military. They serve diligently and often in life-threatening situations to protect our country from foreign enemies. But when domestic enemies attack our founding principles as well as the foundation of our laws – our Constitution – in every possible way, both overtly and covertly, the Christians at home seem to look the other way because Christians remain silent.

In biblical days, the elders of the cities would sit in the gate of the city, which was generally a gated passageway between two walls. As they sat, not only would they determine who was allowed to enter their city, but they would also serve as witnesses to business agreements and as arbiters of disagreements. They were the governing body and the justice system of their time. Today Christians, as “elders” of the country, have left the “gate” and allowed others – who do not possess the wisdom that comes from knowing God’s absolute truth – who because of their socialist education don’t even believe it exists – to make those decisions for them. Socialists are out to destroy the moral fiber of our country, and Christians remain silent.

Many Christians are distracted by the details of building their lives, and they assume that the foundation on which they build those lives is firm and can withstand any attack. That is not the case. The foundation of our liberties is undergoing massive attacks by those who don’t believe in what has made America great and/or don’t want us to be a great country due to their ignorance or malice. Many other Christians are aware of the problems, but they don’t know how to respond in a way that allows their voices to again be heard “in the gate.”

In response to that need, a group of individuals have come together to form the Statesman Project with the goal of helping Christians once again take their rightful place in the fabric of our country. They are hosting an “Elders at the Gates” seminar on Saturday, July 27^th. And this is not a bunch of crusty, old, white, conservative men. The featured speakers are Dr. Alveda King, the niece of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and Dennis Peacocke.

Dr. King is a former member of the Georgia House of Representatives, a former senior fellow at the Alexis de Tocqueville Institution (a conservative Washington, D.C., think tank), and a Fox News contributor. She became a Christian in 1983 and is a pro-life activist. She considers abortion to be a form of racial discrimination. She is one of the most prominent black figures in the American religious right.

Dennis Peacocke was involved in the civil rights and free speech movements during the 1960s while he earned a Political Science degree from the University of California – Berkley. Then in 1968, he became a Christian. He combined his concerns for social justice with the Bible and is internationally respected for his unique way of applying biblical solutions to the many challenges facing families, churches, business, and government.

The seminar begins promptly at 8:00 a.m. and ends at 3:00 p.m. The meeting is hosted at Victory Worship Center, 200 Hammond Lane in Staunton. Further information can be obtained from Travis Witt at traviswitt@usa.com.

Christians have for too long “dropped the ball” when it comes to Christ’s impact on our country. It’s long past time for Christians to pick it up again.

Cordially,
Steve “Doc” Troxel, Ph.D.

The General Assembly met in special session on Tuesday, July 9, at the Governor’s request so that they would – he hoped – pass a whole bunch of gun control bills for him to sign into law. And our representatives came loaded with bills and resolutions. Delegates filed 31 bills for laws, three joint resolutions, and 46 House resolutions. State senators filed 32 bills, two joint resolutions, and 20 Senate resolutions. The resolutions were basically to celebrate the lives of named individuals or to commend individuals and organizations. Nothing sinister there.

The Senate’s two joint resolutions would establish two study commissions on violence. The House joint resolutions would determine the rules of the special session (HJ 4003) and recognize the Virginia Beach Tragedy Fund as a good thing (HJ 4002). Then there was HJ 4001 sponsored by Kaye Kory (D-Falls Church) which would have established an annual “Gun Violence Awareness Day” so liberals could demonize gun owners.

Of the 63 actual bills introduced, six were good and nine were harmless. The other 48 were trouble from the git-go.

All of the good bills were offered by Republicans. Delegate Mark Cole (R-Fredericksburg) introduced HB 4001 that would have codified into Virginia law the US Supreme Court’s District of Columbia v Heller decision that clarifies the right of individual Virginians to keep and bear arms. Delegate Cole also introduced HB 4002 that would require state and local government entities to allow their employees who have concealed handgun permits (CHPs) to carry concealed in their workplace unless the government provides armed security on site. And Delegate David Yancey (R-Newport News) offered HB 4014 that would allow persons convicted of stealing firearms to get a reduced sentence if they provided substantial help to authorities in apprehending other persons involved in the crime.

In the Senate, Bill Stanley (R-Moneta) introduced SB 4011 to allow public and private schools to have “volunteer school security” officers (retired law enforcement officers not paid by the school) who can be armed on school property. Senate Majority Leader Tommy Norment (R-Williamsburg) introduced SB 4015 which would require schools to teach firearm safety at all grades. The courses would be taught by law-enforcement officers and would not use actual firearms. Dick Black (R-Leesburg) introduced SB 4016, which would allow local government employees with CHPs to carry or possess a firearm at their workplace whether armed security is provided or not.

All of the bad bills were introduced by Democrats with a few notable exceptions. Former Lieutenant Governor candidate Glenn Davis (R-Virginia Beach) introduced HB 4007 which would allow localities to ban guns in their government buildings. This would infringe on the rights of gun owners to protect themselves both in the buildings and going from and to their vehicles. Davis also introduced HB 4008 which would reduce options for CHP applicants to get the training that our laws require. I can understand Democrats introducing bad bills, but I don’t understand Republicans trying to limit our constitutional rights.

And although Senator Norment introduced one good bill, he introduced a bad one. SB 4013 would ban firearms for anyone other than a certain privileged few in any government building and would change violations from misdemeanors to felonies. Then he turned around and asked that the bill be stricken. Not sure what he’s thinking.

With all those bills, one would think that the special session would last for days. Instead it lasted 90 minutes before it was recessed until November 18^th. In the meantime the bipartisan Virginia State Crime Commission led by its chairman Senator Mark Obenshain (R-Harrisonburg) and vice-chairman Delegate Rob Bell (R-Albemarle) are directed to “undertake a systematic review of the events that occurred in Virginia Beach and propose legislative changes to Virginia’s laws concerning firearms and public safety.” In the letter to the Crime Commission, House Speaker Kirk Cox and Senate Majority Leader Norment noted that they “have asked the committees of the House and Senate to refer all legislation introduced during the Special Session to the Crime Commission for review,” including any additional legislation filed before July 19.

This is a win for common sense, but several perils remain. The General Assembly reconvenes after the November election, which means legislators cannot be held accountable at the polls this year for their votes when the special session reconvenes. Also, people lose interest too easily, which means our legislators can act in November without the scrutiny that they are currently facing. If we are to protect our constitutional freedoms, we must stay on top of this. We must remind our representatives that we are watching them because their actions profoundly affect us.

Cordially,
Steve “Doc” Troxel, Ph.D.

Virginia Governor Ralph Northam has “summoned” the General Assembly to a special session beginning on Tuesday, July 9, “for the purpose of consideration of legislation related to the emergency of gun violence in the Commonwealth of Virginia.” They will stay in session until the General Assembly decides they are done.

Northam commented, “Let Virginia show the nation that we can respond to tragedy with decisive action.” Unfortunately, Socialist gun-grabbers, like Northam, have the wrong idea of “decisive action.” They will be promoting laws that require universal background checks for all gun transfers public and private, one-handgun-per-month purchase restrictions, “assault weapon” bans, and “Red Flag” laws. All of these laws are an attempt to circumvent our Constitutional protections, and not one of them would have prevented the shootings in Virginia Beach this past May. Northam tried to claim the high road with this statement, “I will be asking for votes and laws, not thoughts and prayers.” However, if our country did more praying and less legislating, then perhaps God would heal the people of our land. No law ever passed by a legislature can change the heart of a murderer.

One of the misguided laws that Northam wants is the universal background check (UBC). It isn’t a background check as much as it is gun registration. Once the state has a gun registry, the state can come in and confiscate privately owned guns. Ask the people of California how that is working out. Adults ages 18 to 20 would no longer be able to own handguns. Frankly, if they are old enough to vote and enlist in the military then they are old enough to own a gun. Gun owners would not be able to loan a gun to a friend or family member without going through a gun dealer for a background check. And the owner would have to undergo a check to get his own weapon back. A gun owner would become a criminal if s/he made a private sale (even though sale of one’s own property is protected by the Constitution); all sales would have to go through a dealer. UBCs do NOT deter crime, nor is the real intent of UBCs to deter crime. Illinois has had UBCs for years, but 97% of Illinois convicts got their guns on the street or through “strawman” purchases. The real goal is to deter law abiding citizens from legally owning a gun at all.

Another insidious law to be introduced is the so-called “Red Flag” law. If someone (even a vengeful ex or a hateful neighbor) files a notice that someone is dangerous to others or to himself, then the police can show up at the individual’s door with no warning and confiscate that person’s guns. There is no due process, no right to confront the accuser (or even to know who it is), no protection to keep the confiscated guns from being damaged or destroyed, no protection from repeated false claims, and no refund of exorbitant legal fees to gain back your legal property. Again, if this was truly about crime prevention then the “dangerous person” would be taken into custody, not the weapons. If someone is truly dangerous why are they left on the street unsupervised? There are any number of ways to harm others or oneself without a gun. This isn’t about safety, it’s about gun confiscation.

Thankfully, as Speaker of the House of Delegates Kirk Cox says, “While the governor can call a special session, he cannot specify what the General Assembly chooses to consider or how we do our work.” Cox plans to address gun violence by providing tougher sentences – including mandatory minimum sentences – for criminals who use a gun in the commission of a felony. Northam, of course, opposes mandatory sentences. My only reservation about that approach is that criminals don’t think they will get caught. They always think that they are smarter than the cons who do get caught, so the threat of a longer sentence will not be a deterrent to criminals except that it will keep convicted felons off the streets and in jail for a longer period of time (during which they can learn better crime methods from more experienced criminals who are in prison with them). But it is a more reasonable approach than what Northam and the socialists want to use. At least it’s directed at criminals rather than at law abiding citizens.

Do not despair. The General Assembly can make Virginia safer. State Senator Dick Black (R-13) will introduce a bill during the special session that will allow local government employees to carry a concealed handgun at work if they have a concealed handgun permit (CHP). Several of the victims and other employees in Building #2 in Virginia Beach have CHPs, but current law does not allow them to carry in the building. Had they been able to do so, one or more of them would have been able to stop the shooting much sooner because they could shoot back. That would have saved some of the twelve lives lost that day – if in fact, the shooter had even dared to attack the people at all. There is a definite deterrence factor in knowing that the potential victims can shoot back. Contact your delegate and state senator to make certain that they support Senator Black’s bill. Allowing citizens to protect themselves is the most effective gun-safety law we can pass.

Cordially,
Steve “Doc” Troxel, Ph.D.

On Saturday, June 22^nd, the State Central Committee (SCC) of the Republican Party of Virginia (RPV) made four decisions important to the health of the Party and the Commonwealth. First, we will select our nominee for President next year at a statewide convention. We anticipate a huge celebration of the nomination and eventual reelection of President Trump. RPV will determine the date and location this fall. We expect the President to speak at the convention. You will want to mark the date on your calendar as soon as it is announced. It will be quite the party.

Then, the SCC voted to choose our candidate for US Senate by primary. The main argument in favor of a primary was that it would allow more people to vote, since not everyone – military, disabled, poor – could take a day to come to a convention. The main arguments for a convention are that they raise money for campaigns and they make it much more difficult for Democrats to sway the results of our nomination processes – as they apparently did in huge numbers in the 24^th State Senate District this year. My response to the pro-primary arguments is that we have a representative form of government so we elect delegates to the General Assembly. We do the same thing to a convention. Everyone who wants to vote, even though they can’t come to the convention as a delegate, can vote at their local mass meetings for convention delegates who will accurately represent their views. Also, if people are that interested in selecting their candidates then why do so few of them show up to vote at primaries? The SCC vote was surprisingly close. In fact, if the Sixth District’s Jennifer Brown and Wendell Walker had not instructed their proxies, Dan Webb and Cody Hanshaw respectively, to vote for a Senate primary it might have gone the other way.

The two “headliner” issues came next. Second Congressional District Chair Dennis Free offered a resolution to clarify the situation in the 97^th House Legislative District (LDC 97). SCC Vice Chairman Mike Thomas, who is the leader of the establishment wing of the SCC, immediately called a “point of order” declaring that the SCC couldn’t hear the matter since there was no proper appeal before the SCC. Chairman Jack Wilson, who had made some incorrect public statements in favor of incumbent Chris Peace, upheld the protest and was immediately faced with an “appeal of the chair’s decision.” (If you don’t know your Robert’s Rules of Order you will not survive a SCC meeting.) The Sixth District’s Jeff Adams shot Mike Thomas’ arguments to pieces. We were not considering an appeal. We were, as the highest Republican body in the state, providing clarity to the State Board of Elections (SBE) at THEIR request as to whether Chris Peace or Scott Wyatt was the legal nominee for LDC97. (Read my May 3 and 10 emails for more background.) The chair’s decision was overturned and debate began.

In the end, because Wyatt followed the appeals procedures laid out in the RPV Party Plan and Peace had tried to circumvent them, the SCC passed a resolution affirming the 1^st Congressional District Committee’s May 20 ruling that Wyatt is the nominee and that the SBE should be so notified by 10 a.m. Monday morning. The rollcall vote was not even close: 56 – 17 with three abstentions. This meant that over half of the coalition that Mike Thomas usually leads would not support him in trying to cram incumbent Chris Peace into the nomination despite the Party Plan. The five SCC representatives from the Sixth District plus Chairman Brown’s proxy, Dan Webb, voted for the resolution as did SCC Western Regional Vice-Chairman Wendell Walker’s proxy, Cody Hanshaw. More importantly, those votes supported RPV Party Plan procedures rather than allowing a few highly placed officials to circumvent the rules for their own purposes. SCC Western Regional Vice-Chairwoman Nancy Dye voted against.

The second big question was whether the RPV’s Appeals Committee had exceeded their authority in deciding a matter from Hanover County that directly affected the debacle in LDC97. Again, the resolution was presented, Mike Thomas raised a Point of Order against it, Chairman Wilson agreed with Thomas, I appealed the ruling of the chairman, the debate made it obvious that the ruling of the chair would be overturned, and Thomas withdrew his protest. Then we debated and passed a resolution that said (1) the SCC’s Appeals Committee had overstepped their authority because no appeal had been filed nor was the committee allowed by the Party Plan to make the type of decision they made, and (2) Hanover’s decision to remove their chairman, Dale Taylor, and to disavow decisions and actions by Ms. Taylor following her removal were valid until such time as a valid appeal might be brought pursuant to Article X of the Party Plan. No final totals on the standing vote were determined because after the count of those who favored this resolution reached well above a majority, they quit counting.

I truly enjoyed working with so many people on both sides of the Republican aisle to reinforce the idea that when we have rules and procedures, we follow those rules and procedures. Otherwise, we have chaos. And the Lord knows that we have enough of that without bringing more of it on ourselves.

Cordially,
Steve “Doc” Troxel, Ph.D.

 

The President of the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC), J.D. Greear, told last week’s annual gathering of SBC church leaders that they should not become a “stooge for one [political] party.” He said, “When we tie our message too closely to a political platform, we put an unnecessary obstacle in the way of the Gospel for half of our mission field.” Let us hope that Christians do not interpret those remarks to mean that they are not to be involved in politics at all, because if Christians fail to be involved with politics then they have by default become stooges for one of the political parties. Now Greear, in an interview last month did clarify that Christians “have to be clear on the things that we disagree with as much as we champion the things that we agree with in our particular candidate.”

Yet I have heard some well-respected Christian leaders say that the church should abandon politics altogether. The liberals in our government sincerely hope that evangelical Christians – who are generally conservative in their views – will do just that so that Christians will not bring their conservative values to the ballot box nor their biblical ideas to the centers of power in our government. Christians desperately need to look at what they stand to lose if they fail to engage as Christians in the political process.

More importantly, Christians need to remember what Jesus taught his followers in the Sermon on the Mount,  “You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house” (Matthew 5:14-15). Christians need to ask themselves why they fail to shed the light of Christ in the political process. If they say it is because politics is too dirty, then they have identified the very reason they should be involved,

Christians should not let politics rule their faith. Christians should be injecting their faith into politics. Understand that “the separation of church and state” is not found in the Constitution. It is a phrase Thomas Jefferson used in a letter to Rhode Island Baptists. It’s a personal opinion, not a law.

Note the differences between the Republican Party Platform and the Democratic Party platform. The Democrats’ 45-page platform has one paragraph about religion: “Democrats know that our nation, our communities, and our lives are made vastly stronger and richer by faith in many forms and the countless acts of justice, mercy, and tolerance it inspires. We believe in lifting up and valuing the good work of people of faith and religious organizations and finding ways to support that work where possible.” But don’t believe that the Democrats are talking about Christian values here. They spend much more space in their platform supporting things that are antithetical to biblical teaching. And Democrat officials across the country actively work against Christians’ freedom to practice their faith. If Reverend Greear wants to have a ministry to the entire country then Christians need to help preserve a government that allows it. Christians apparently do not understand just how at risk their freedoms are.

On the other hand, the Republican Party platform offers a number of statements of support for biblical morality and the rights of Christians to practice their beliefs, such as: “We pledge to defend the religious beliefs and rights of conscience of all Americans and to safeguard religious institutions against government control…. [We will] protect the non-profit tax status of faith-based adoption agencies, the accreditation of religious educational institutions, the grants and contracts of faith-based charities and small businesses, and the licensing of religious professions – all of which are under assault by elements of the Democratic Party” (p. 11)

I know the Christians who were largely responsible for adding the pro-Christian language to the Republican Party platform. They are not stooges for the Party; they are Christians who let their light shine in the darkness of politics.

Too many Christians don’t vote in November because they don’t like their choices. Christians must make their voices heard during the nomination process. That’s the only way to get candidates on the ballot in whom they can believe. And Christians must stay engaged during the election winner’s term of office. The Bible tells Christians to pray for those elected officials. But Christians also need to hold those officials accountable to vote in ways that allow a Christian to support them. If Christians fail to stay engaged in their government, in the politics that elect our representatives to that government, then sleaze and corruption will continue to proliferate. Sleaze and corruption grow in the darkness. Only by shining the light of God’s Truth into politics will we ever clean up the mess we have that threatens our country and that threatens the very freedoms that allow Christians to fulfill the mission Jesus gave them – that is to take the Good News of Jesus Christ to people of all political persuasions.

Cordially,
Steve “Doc” Troxel, Ph.D.