Letter to the Editor: Oskaloosa ministers call on local faith leaders

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Two Oskaloosa ministers call on local faith leaders to educate their congregations on election day issues.

OSKALOOSA, IA- Ministers Bill Tvedt and Mark Doland are calling on community faith leaders to educate their congregations on election day issues.

We seek to know where each candidate stands on key issues in this very important upcoming election. The two take responsibility for a lackadaisical approach to educating their members in the past. Both acknowledge that they are committed to making a change this election cycle to avoid the “hope and change” that we have witnessed the past couple of years.

“We have folks in our congregation that are out of work while they struggle to feed their families,” said Doland. He continued, “we cannot continue on the path of big spending and then bonding to cover for our poor financial decisions. We are putting our children and grandchildren so far in debt they will never be able to see daylight. ”

Other issues that are very important to our members are abortion, “gay marriage,” and judicial activism. We have become educated on these issues when they all come front and center on April 3, 2009. Varnum vs. Brien was a case that causes us much pause. We recognize for many years that we have accepted the premise of Roe vs. Wade as the law of the land. Our predecessors have tried to fight the decision by treating it as law and trying to legislate around it.

We have resolved to educate ourselves by studying the constitutional separation of powers. It was not widely known that the court’s interpretation of the constitution did not include the power to change or execute the law, nor make a new law. It is very clear that the Iowa Supreme Court went well beyond their constitutional jurisdiction, usurping the authority of the legislature and the Governor’s office, and most importantly, we the people.

“This decision has many of our friends and families wondering how this could happen in Iowa” Tvedt said. He continued, “ Whether you agree with the issue of marriage is not the main cause for concern, but rather, the ability for the judges in this case to codify any liberty we hold dear without the accountability of the electorate.”

While we believe very strongly that traditional marriage is the foundational institution that our country is based on, you could insert any freedom that we now enjoy in the blank that could be up for grabs. Our members are now educated on these issues and are activated and engaged. We educate our members on the issues, and then encourage them to vote their consciences.

We call on all faith leaders to educate their congregations on these important issues as to how they line up with the Holy Word of God. We have for far too long been silent on our civil responsibility in selecting those who rule over us. Exodus 18:21 tells us “Furthermore, you shall select out of all the people able men who fear God, men of truth, those who hate dishonest gain; and you shall place these over them as leaders-NASB.

Mark Doland
Oskaloosa, Iowa 52577