Fred Costello's Christian Testimony
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Representative Fred Costello U.S. House of Representatives Florida District 6 |
1. When and how did you become a Christian?
Fred Costello: "I was raised in a Christian home and was baptized when I was 8 years old."
2. How did becoming Christian change you?
Fred Costello: "I can’t say that I remember being changed at 8 years old. But I am grateful to know Jesus and that it is by His Grace that I am/we are saved. I can’t imagine going through life without knowing Him, without having His peace and His plan of salvation."
3. How would you describe your relationship with Jesus today?
Fred Costello: "Although Jesus is my personal Savior and I try to live for an Audience of One, I am not as close to Him as I should be. So He is more like a loving Father to me instead of a Best Friend."
4. In the past 12 months, how much time have you spent in prayer with Jesus daily?
Fred Costello: "Not enough."
5. In the past 12 months, how much Bible reading have you averaged daily?
Fred Costello: "Not enough."
6. In the past 12 months, what percentage of your income have you returned to God?
Fred Costello: "Approx. 8-10% of salary."
7. In the past 12 months, how many non-Christians have you told why Jesus died?
Fred Costello: "Not enough."
8. In the past 12 months, how many church services have you attended?
Fred Costello: "Approx. 40."
9. Which church in which town do you attend most regularly?
Fred Costello: "Tomoka Christian Church, Ormond Beach, Florida."
10. Which gift(s) has the Holy Spirit given to you and what fruit(s) have they borne?
Fred Costello: "Tough question ... Faith, kindness, giving/generosity, and serving/leadership. I hope others would say that my life has demonstrated my faith and kindness to others and encouraged them to grow their faith and increase their kindness to others. I am known to be generous and was honored by Halifax Urban Ministries as the “Humanitarian of the Year.” And I hope my public service (8 years as Mayor of Ormond Beach and 4 years as a State Representative) has been a fruit of my gifts of servant leadership."
11. Do you believe Jesus always has been God?
Fred Costello: "Yes."
12. Do you believe Jesus was born of a virgin?
Fred Costello: "Yes."
13. Do you believe Jesus died on the cross?
Fred Costello: "Yes."
14. Do you believe Jesus rose from the dead?
Fred Costello: "Yes."
15. Do you believe Jesus ascended to heaven?
Fred Costello: "Yes."
16. Do you believe Jesus will return someday?
Fred Costello: "Yes."
17. By what criterion do you believe people go to heaven?
Fred Costello: "Nobody lives a perfect life (except Jesus) and thus we are all sinners. Since God can’t be in the presence of sin, we can’t live a life good enough to get to heaven. So we must accept Jesus Christ as our personal Savior (because He died for my/our sins) and thus we are saved by His Grace and will live with Him in heaven solely because He loved us enough to take on our sin."
18. By what criterion do you believe people go to hell?
Fred Costello: "Blasphemy/rejection of God."
19. How many books of the Bible do you believe to be inspired by God and without error?
Fred Costello: "All."
20. The beliefs of which well-known Christian leader alive today resemble your beliefs?
Fred Costello: "I’m not sure. It is dangerous to align with/follow a Christian leader ... but the question seems to realize we follow Jesus and not a pastor. So, as to which well-known Christian leader has beliefs that resemble mine, I suspect Pastor Mike Hayes of the Center for National Renewal (CNR), Churches in Covenant, Int’l, would be a likely candidate. My wife and I attended the dedication of the CNR in Washington, DC because we believe the Church (Body of Christ) must be involved in the political arena and we try to support pastors who believe we must be IN the world but not OF it."
21. Under what circumstances do you believe abortion should be permitted?
Fred Costello: "None. I have two adopted children and am endorsed by the Florida Right to Life PAC."
22. What is your position on homosexual marriage?
Fred Costello: "No such thing ... marriage is a sacrament of God and is defined as joining a man and a woman. We must not let the secular world steal our sacrament. I support creation of legal civil unions (between any two people who say they love one another) to allow governmental rights available to couples but I do not support calling it marriage unless the couple is a man and a woman. I am endorsed by John Stemberger, President of the Florida Family Policy Council."
23. If (re-)elected, what remedies will you advocate for our healthcare system?
Fred Costello: "Expand Short Term Medical Insurance, Direct Primary Care and Health Savings Accounts; eliminate mandates from insurance policies so buyers get only the insurance they need; authorize tax deductions by individuals for purchase of healthcare insurance; arrange a window of opportunity for purchase of healthcare plans at the same cost by those with or without preexisting conditions; create funding for subsidizing those who need to be shifted to a high risk pool (which will reduce the cost for 95% of insured); telemedicine; purchase of insurance plans across state lines; purchase of pharmaceuticals from anywhere in the world; tort reform ... and more on my campaign website." (see below)
24. If (re-)elected, what remedies will you advocate against the opioid crisis?
Fred Costello: "I championed creation of the Prescription Drug Management Program (database) so prescribers do not unknowingly enable those seeking opioids; we need to have Naloxone co-prescribed when opioids are prescribes; I support suing big pharma and using proceeds for diagnosis and treatment of drug addictions; Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi (known for fighting against opioid addiction and for suing big pharma) knows how hard I worked to help her pass the PDMP and stop the pill mills, and has endorsed me for Congress.'"
25. If (re-)elected, what remedies will you advocate against poverty and income inequality?
Fred Costello: "We must restore the Judeo-Christian values upon which our blessed nation was founded ... including personal responsibility, equal opportunity and charity. Restoration of the family unit is fundamental to fighting poverty. And the church should take care of our own who need help rather than rely on government. We must assure that all our students have a personal pathway to success ... whether that is college or vocational education or other. And to stop the generational theft that government welfare has caused so many, we must stop paying welfare dollars to able bodied people who don’t want to work and stop increasing how much we pay with each additional child born into welfare."
26. If (re-)elected, what remedies will you advocate against illegal immigration?
Fred Costello: "We are a sovereign nation and therefore need a wall ... physical in urban and other areas and technology based in other areas that can be controlled without a wall. We must simply immediately return all who attempt to enter illegally. I support increasing the number of legal immigrants we welcome to come to America using merit based immigration and increasing the amount of work visas issued. We must stop chain migration, anchor babies and lottery visas. Legal immigrants are often the most vocal against illegal immigration."
27. If (re-)elected, what remedies will you advocate to protect religious liberties?
Fred Costello: "It starts with standing up for our Freedom of Religion (not Freedom from Religion) as outlined in our Constitution and Bill of Rights. Our country is unique in that we acknowledge that our rights come from our Creator/God and not from government. Government protects our rights but does not grant our rights. We must elect legislators who will stand up for our 1st Amendment right to Freedom of Religion and elect and appoint judges and justices who will accurately interpret our Constitution and require that the rule of law reflect our foundational principles. Followers of all religions (or those who do not believe in anything) are welcome to come to America as long as they understand we are a nation that will protect their right to worship (or not) as they believe ... but that we are a nation founded upon Judeo-Christian principles and they are not welcome here if they want to try to change our values or live under different laws."
28. If (re-)elected, what remedies will you advocate against the internet monopolies Facebook censoring Christian content and Google demonetizing Christian websites?
Fred Costello: "I will vigorously fight against censorship of our Christian values and also fight against censorship of the Jewish or Hindu or agnostic or atheist values of others."
29. What other issues are priorities for your constituents and what remedies will you advocate to address them?
Fred Costello: "As mentioned previously, restoration of our Judeo-Christian values is first. Additionally, we must get back to following our Constitution, shrink the federal government and attack debt, fund out military and keep our promises to our veterans, reform immigration and seek free market healthcare reform. Please see my website for additional information."
30. What else would you like to share?
Fred Costello: "I am the “values candidate” ... not because I am more religious but rather because I try to live what I believe. (I’m pro-life and we have two adopted children.) My wife and I have been married 45 years and are blessed with three children and six grandchildren. We have custody of and are raising three of our grandchildren. While all three Republicans in this race have served our country in the military (I was a Captain in the USAF), I am the only one who for over 40 years has lived in, raised my family in, worked in (I am a dentist), owned a business in (Drs. Costello & Drake), served in (I have served in multiple volunteer community leadership positions and also as both a City Commissioner and Mayor of Ormond Beach and as a Florida State Representative) and cared about Congressional District 6. It offends me that wealthy outsiders who don’t live among us are legally able to attempt to buy our (community) seat in Congress. With the help of the Faith Community, we will win this election!
Fred Costello
For more information about Fred Costello, please visit MyFloridaHouse.gov.
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