As we all get sick of the hype, the repetitive and vituperative advertising, the entrenched positions, and the expectations of others, it is tempting to wish the whole election would go away. I (Graham) am not a particularly political person. I've never really enjoyed politics and as a citizen in the UK I often didn't vote. And yet, I'm reaching the conclusion that not voting is simply not a viable option for me any more. This will be the first Presidential Election in which I'm eligible to vote (having become a US citizen last year). The question is - who and what should I select in what I know is going to be a bewildering array of choices on the ballot.
More to the point, does it really make a difference that I am a Christian? What motivates my choices and positions? Can the Bible really help me decide which economic policy is better, or which healthcare approach, or environmental stance? I have come to believe it can. That's why in Living Faith we're going to spend a few weeks exploring the impact of a Biblical worldview on how we vote. Not what should we vote (red, blue or green) but how we should go about our voting decisions, our political conversations and our activism. (By the way, I believe declining to vote is in itself a form of political activism!)
So here's my stab at the title question: I believe Jesus would vote with God's agenda in mind, subversive and radical as it is, not considering personal short-term gain so much as community, national and global long-term gain; focused on hope, quality of (eternal or Kingdom) life, mercy and love.
In preparation for our teaching series, and then throughout it, I'd like to use this blog to supplement discussions. Feel free to join in! Let's start with two questions:
1. Should Christians vote?
2. Does being a Christian impact how we make our voting decisions?
2 comments:
>>does it really make a difference that I am a Christian?<<
Unfortunately , "No"
Such is the state of politics and Christian thinking.
Some secularists glory in the fact that anyone in America can walk up to McDonalds and order a Big Mac and fries and it just doesn't matter who's behind the counter, in terms of religion, ethnicity, or race.
The point isn't that Christians should discriminate on this basis, but that most of hum drum American life has been so thoroughly commercialized and dumbed down that someone's confession is relatively meaningless in public life and civil society.
The way Christians can make their confession more relevant today is to follow the advice found in Isaiah 58. The way to prove our God is the only God and worthy of praise is not just to have great worship and cool theology and confessions, but to do justice, feed the poor, and rebuild the city walls. Then our light will shine forth and it will mean something to be called a Christian in America and public life, whether in politics, business, education, science, community, or art.
Bill's point is well-taken, and I agree. But I wouldn't want it to distract from the importance of bringing our Christian worldview into our conversations about politics, our voting decisions, and our political activism. Sadly it seems for many of us our politics are driven by the same kinds of considerations as the rest of our culture, rather than prayerful, Biblical questioning of God's will. That's what I want to challenge in myself, as well as hopefully in others, over the coming weeks.
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