[TheRealVille]

^Some of those are fair questions for a candidate to ask of themselves, but I do not feel that all of these questions should be asked publicly. Reason being, is no matter what news media station, channel, print, etc... they will twist them for wrong. Things like this are being written to come off as legitimate but these reporters are waiting and drooling for a candidate to answer some of these questions.

Also question #7 is a 7% loss in the polls waiting to happen if a candidate even answers it.

I am not a fan of a religion and politics mix (in terms of public media discussion and debate) because politics has become more and more of a dirty game. I guarantee you that two devout Christian people could be opposing each other on the ticket in November and have a mutual respect for each other. However, if one of them said they hoped that people would see their Christian example in the White House, the other would attack it like a rabid wolverine because it is "smart strategy", when what they need to do is applaud it.

When it comes to me in the pulpit, I made the stand before I was appointed to be the pastor of these two churches that I will never speak of politics from the pulpit and I will never tell someone who to vote for. I know good quality pastors that preach politics in some way every Sunday and they will put campaign signs in the parsonage yard and wear Elect _____ shirts Monday through Saturday and have bumper stickers for their candidates. I just do not like to mix them. Will I and do I speak of morality from the pulpit, yes, just not "God tells us we need to support this or not vote for that, etc..." As far as politics go, I do three things in a service: pray for the leaders of our government, pray for God to give us wisdom to make good decisions whatever they might be and ban any political discussions, stickers, etc... from the sanctuary or being posted on church property. If you want to talk about politics, do it at home, on the phone, or as you are leaving the parking lot. Leave the politics at home and focus on God an hour or two of your week, is that too much to ask?

Do I want morally devout people in the government? You better believe it! Will I personally go as far as to say that I want born-again Christians in government positions, yes. However, I do not like the Bible-thumping on one side and the Christian witch-hunts on the other.

Some questions that are fair are #'s 1, 2, 4 and 6. #3 if worded a little differently, I do not like great in quotation marks because it implies that people's views of great are different, or that one great is better than another great. #'s 5, 7, 8, 9, and 10 are a great way to lose a chance of election, but need to be asked of the individual by close friends, family, etc... but not for the media to rip apart.

I always heard that if preachers do that from the pulpit, or campaign for a candidate at church, that the church would lose it's 501c3 status. I'm not 100% sure of this, but I have heard it for many years.