Dear Editor,

I am writing this in response to a letter written by Mr. Randy Marple, printed on December 4.

Mr. Marple says that George Soros runs the Democratic party, but he failed to mention the Koch brothers. Just a few comparisons between Soros and the Koch brothers. Soros was 14 when his family fled Hungary because of the Nazi invasion. Charles and David Koch were born into extreme wealth, when they were young, their father Fred Koch co-founded the John Birch Society. When Soros was 17 he moved to London and worked as waiter and porter to pay his way through college. In 1967 the Koch brothers inherited $300 million from their father. Soros has donated hundreds of millions of dollars to promote democracy and help the less fortunate. The Koch brothers have created fake environmental organizations and have donated $48 million to climate change denying organizations, and funded the tea party through the wrongly named organizations “Freedom Works” and “Americans for Prosperity.” Just a few contrasts between Soros and the Kochs.

Mr. Marple also mentions his Christianity as why he supports Republicans. It is my belief that Republicans are the biggest threat to Christian values. Christianity is defined by believing in and following the word of Jesus Christ.

These are the reasons that I believe Democrats and not Republicans better reflect Jesus’ teachings.

1) The environment. Most religious people care deeply about the environment, caring for the environment comes from within us, growing from out of the scriptural call for stewardship of the Earth.

2) Care of the poor is important to a large percentage of Americans. We know but for luck, we would be in the same boat ourselves. Caring for the poor is not an option for anyone who takes a serious reading of the Bible — it is a demand and even a test of whether they can truly be Christian.

3) Health Care. When a nation finds people sick and in pain, they can’t respond with, “Take responsibility for your own problems,” or, “Too bad, doesn’t your employer have insurance?” A real good samaritan pays the bill. So would a “Christian nation.”

4) Women are God’s people too. They should get equal pay for equal work and should have access to the same jobs men can do. “We are neither … male nor female in the kingdom of God — and we should take those values into the world if we can.” (Galatians 3:8)

5) People earning minimum wage. Any minimum wage lower than $15 an hour is not able to provide a decent standard of living. “They are stealing from the worker their wages, and their (unpaid) wages will cry out against me at the judgment.” (James 5)

6) Most people naturally favor increased taxation of citizens who are better off for the sake of those who are less fortunate. To those still insistent upon arguing for resorting to personal philanthropy, question this: if we did away with all taxes, would everyone then voluntarily give their “taxes” to the poor? Really? Christians are required by Jesus to care of their poor.

7) Most “real” Christians feel the government needs to get out of writing or demanding when and where they can say their prayers. Jesus was specific. Government is government; religion is religion. They are explosive when mixed. Saying prayers before a county board meeting is condemned in the Old Testament as “civil Idolatry.”

8) Most “real” Christians believe defensive wars are necessary, but using one’s military to make a nation’s wealthy class even wealthier by attacking others is simply not God’s way.

9) Justice and human rights should play a major part in international aid, aid is not just to serve America’s interests. On this point Democrats have always trumped Republicans. The Republican mantra of “we will look the other way as long as you sell my own company oil” is how the enemies of Christianity act. Christian values call us to feed our enemies, not just “use our aid to reward our friends.”

10) God would prefer capital punishment eliminated from this Earth. Republicans are not even close to this ideal. Democrats are closer in line to the teachings of Jesus.

11) Christians believe government should be effective. At no time has history shown us a lasting civilization that did not effectively govern. Republican’s belief in “the government that governs best is the one that governs least” makes the same amount of sense as “the father that fathers best is the father that fathers the least” or “the Christian who worships best is the Christian who worships the least,” which makes absolutely no sense at all. Christians need to support good government. Bad government is one too small to do its job.

12) Corporations should pay their fair share of taxes. They haven’t and today’s deficit was created by the fact Republicans changed the rules to give them a free ride. You can’t be Christian and support the lowering of corporate taxes.  Every Christian understands the tithe system. In that system the rich pay the same percentage as the poor; not pay nothing and let the poor pick up their tab. The Bush tax cuts are as an unchristian act as this nation is capable. Might as well put Caesar into the White House if this is to be our permanent national policy. God commanded the rich pay their fair share. Based on the one tax return we have, the Republican president-elect not only did not pay his fair share, he won’t turn his other tax returns over because he knows he did not pay his fair share. Christians who reward crime … well …

13) Christians support higher emission standards. To foul the air and consider “a few hundred more deaths” merely “the cost of doing business” is evil and unChrist-like.

14) Strong Labor Laws: The rich are bound by God to care for their workers. If a corporation’s leaders are not Christians then forcing them though labor laws to act like Christians anyway provides a safe place for workers to do their job.

15) Massive initiatives in education: Where did we get the idea that a Christian should be for low taxes and against education? I have yet to see that anywhere in the Bible.

16) You can’t be Christian and be against immigration. That is heathen. Christians should welcome the strangers among us.  That is what made this nation great. If it weren’t for the past welcoming approach given to our grandfathers and great-grandfathers when they came in poor, illiterate, unskilled, speaking only a foreign language with nothing but a desire to live better, we’d have all be born in another country. If Republicans had been in control and insisting on the craziness they currently do now, most of us would not be here. Period. Republicans are wrong here. They cannot be Christian and be against the welcoming of Spanish-speaking immigrants.

The Republican Party is not the party of God. It is the party of the very rich. Anyone who votes Republican should not be deceived. They are voting strictly for the very rich, to keep them in power, and therefore, for that alone, their vote can be strewn as a vote against God. By doing so, they are making the choice to make the act of survival harder for the 99 percent of the rest of us, who do believe in God.

Sincerely,

Ben Lofton

Bellaire