Worried About the Election? What We Need is Revival
Many Christians are in fear, almost panic, that a Biden-Harris win this November will bring about a renewed secularization of America and Christian persecution. There is some danger that such an administration would take a radical turn, but historian Dr. William De Arteaga is far less pessimistic. In this essay, he reflects on the election of 1800 when orthodox Christians feared that the incoming Jefferson administration would bring in the Terror of the French Revolution (guillotine and all) and destroy orthodox Christianity. To the contrary, the greatest revival America has ever experienced took place during the Jefferson administration, the Second Great Awakening. Jefferson remained clueless, but that did not bother the move of the Holy Spirit. The key to revival is a “holy remnant” praying, not the politics of the government.
Image: Niklas Hamann
Some quotations from the article:
There is a sense a panic among some Evangelicals about the possibility of a Biden-Harris victory this November. These fervent Trump supporters are certain that such victory will result in the resumption of the Paganization of America, with increased Christian persecution and the total spiritual ruin of our nation.
I personally do not share these catastrophic expectations …
The political campaign of 1799 was full of mud-slinging and exaggerations just like modern campaigns (alas). The Democratic-Republicans accused the Federalist of backing England in its struggle against France with the purpose of ultimately establishing an aristocratic government in the United States, just like in England. The Federalists accused the Democratic Republicans and Jefferson of favoring the Terror of the French Revolution (guillotine and all). They asserted that if Jefferson won, America would experience a similar reign of Terror, Deism would be established as the official state religion, and “women would be ravaged in the streets.” … The Jefferson administration did not turn out anything like the catastrophic expectations of the Federalist had prophesied.
… revival can come again to America regardless of who is president. Revival seems to depend on two factors: God’s sovereignty, and the Christians’ persistence in repenting on behalf of the nation and praying for revival.
“On the Possibility of Revival under a Biden Administration”
To read the full article: http://www.pentecostaltheology.com/revival-under-a-biden-administration
Category: Living the Faith, Summer 2020
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