As a conservative Christian and candidate for ministry,
Do I believe Romney is rich?
Yes, but not more so than usual for a politician of his standing. In either case, that has no bearing on his ability to govern.
Do I believe Romney is going to Heaven?
Personaly, I do not believe he is, based on the dictates of my faith. However, Romney's personal religious beliefs are none of my concern unless they negatively impact how he governs, and so far they don't appear to do that.
Ultra- liberals do adore trumpeting and perverting that "Camel/ eye of the needle" verse in a pitiful attempt to try and pervert the faith to justify Socialism. A few points, though:
1. There are several wealthy people I know of who actively live to serve Jesus, and who I am fairly confident will be in Heaven as a result. Pastors of some particularly large churches are probably wealthy, but those who truly follow Jesus and trust in Him will be saved for both their faith, and how much they have done to serve the Kingdom. My favorite singer Rebecca St. James is wealthy, but I know that she is a true woman of God who has led countless people to find Christ, openly praised Jesus through her music and also her writing, and gives Him all the glory for her success. I have no doubt that she will be welcomed into Heaven. I work with my church's youth program, and we are currently doing three weeklong missions trips to an orphanage we have sponsored in Cat Island (In the Bahamas), I myself will be going the second trip. The trips would not be possible without the financial backing of several wealthy Christians who helped foot the bills as their way of serving the Kingdom of God. In the Bible, the apostle Paul is greatly helped by the woman Lydia, a wealthy purple cloth dealer who became the leader of a group of Christians in her town after accepting Jesus. She has certainly been welcomed into Heaven.
2. In that verse, Jesus was pointing out that love of money/ posessions can become a form of idolatry, which can make it difficult (Though by no means impossible) for wealthy people to know God. The problem isn't having money itself; It's being more focused on money and materialism than on God. Jesus had literally just seen a wealthy young man who had initially wanted to follow Him suddenly refuse to do so out of fear of parting with his possessions, so He said that to kind of follow up from that encounter. The danger is not having money or posessions, but placing more value on money and possessions than on a relationship with God.
3. It is widely believed that the verse in question may have been mistranslated, that instead of "Camel," it may have meant "Gamel," which is the Hebrew word for "Thread." That would certainly make more sense ("Easier for a thread to pass through the eye of a needle...").
"Why would you vote for a person you know Jesus himself would not allow into Heaven?"
As I said, his beliefs are his own business as long as they don't negatively impact the way he leads, and so far they don't seem to.
btw, while I'm no mind reader, I personally don't think Jesus would allow Obama into Heaven, either. Obama appears to be an Agnostic whose sympathies lie heavily with Muslims at the expense of Christians and Jews. He took National Day of Prayer (A day officially recognized/ observed for the past 60 years, yet whose roots go all the way back to a mandate given by George Washington) out of the White House. In 2011, he didn't give a public address for Easter or Good Friday, but he did so for the start of Ramadan and various other Muslim holidays. He is forcing Christian employers to act against their consciences and the dictates of their faith through his health care bill forcing them to give free birth control and abortions to their employees. Jesus did not have good things to say about those who are corrupting influences on His children, and I'd say Obama's actions definitely qualify as that.
" Has your Party become more to you than Jesus Christ?"
I'd say the same of "Christian" Democrats who support Obama in spite of his aforementioned birth control mandate, his open support of partial- birth abortion, and his open support of gay marriage.
"Jesus was a socialist..."
1. Jesus encouraged people to help the poor and needy of their own free will through personal acts of willful generosity, which Republicans/ conservatives are fine with (They in fact greatly exceed liberals in their generosity to the poor). Socialism is about forcing people to help the poor through mandatory wealth redistribution, which makes people resentful of giving.
2. Why would Jesus support a system of government under which tens of millions of His followers around the world have been persecuted, imprisoned, tortured, and executed for refusing to deny Him and become atheists? It would be the equivalent of Moses supporting Nazism.
