Thanks to those of you who commented on my post, This is how we do it. I enjoyed reading all of the varied perspectives and so today I wanted to give you my take on voting politicians into political office.
- I believe that every human being makes decisions influenced by their world view. I am shaped by my upbringing and by what I believe to be true. This belief influences the way I choose to respond in any given situation, whether consciously or subconsciously.
- I believe that it is my prerogative, indeed my duty, to ensure that the people who influence and lead me (especially when I have the ability to choose) must be people who lead me in the direction that I believe to be equitable and right. Isn’t that the whole premise of voting for a candidate? Shouldn’t our worldviews be closely aligned enough so that I’m confident that he/she will serve to improve our way of life?
- Truth, contrary to many people’s opinions, is not subjective. Truth is absolute. Jesus did not compromise truth in order to live amicably with the people around Him. In fact, He was quite antagonistic to the religious and political leaders of the day (the Pharisees). According to 2 Chron 7: 14, a nation is only blessed to the extent to which the Christian lives out his worldview.
- Nations are not Christian, people are! If Christians want to see certain values reflected in our societies then we must get involved with the political process whether by voting or by running for office. If, hypothetically speaking, I am voted into public office, I will unapologetically begin each day with prayer. If that is offensive to those who don’t believe in prayer, so be it. The hypocrisy of their position is the fact that they would rather I be like them and not pray, yet they call me narrow-minded and bigoted when I suggest that they should consider being like me, and pray.
- Freedom, as defined by constitutional rights, is at best a tenuous value. The freedom to make choices can lead you into bondage to addictions that are ultimately destructive. In that instance you cease to be free. That’s why a good parent makes the decision to protect their child from certain ‘freedoms’ that our culture allows us, in an attempt to keep them from potential harm. If Jesus is truly Lord (and He is), then it is incumbent upon those of us who profess to believe in Him to live the values that He has outlined for us. We don’t force people to believe nor live as we do, we simply make it attractive to do so.
- I concur that freedom of speech, freedom of religion, and even the freedom to worship a piece of metal, are all First Amendment rights, however they are binding on those of us that are subject to the laws of the United States and not on God. The Scriptures don’t change because the constitution says people can worship whatever or whomever they want. This means that the separation of Church and State is a fallacy. If we vote for a person who lives and believes differently from us then the legalized ‘killing’ of unborn babies is the resultant effect and we all bear the consequences of that decision. If we have leaders who espouse our values then, according to the Scriptures we live Godly, peaceable and quiet lives.
- Prayer works! This is why we have concerted efforts such as One Prayer to harness the collective strength of the Body of Christ and establish the will of God over the nations. If His will isn’t established, someone else’s will be.
Well, what do you think? Don’t go quiet on me now, let’s continue the dialog! I’ll conclude my thoughts on this tomorrow.
8 comments:
Interesting perspectives. The last line of the freedom bullet point says, "We don't force people to believe nor live as we do..." but isn't that exactly what legislating Christian values is? Forcing by law that people adhere to our Christian values.
Jordan, the issue isn't about legislating Christian values, it's about living them. Like Steve Hickey said in his response to my "This is how we do it" post, the legislature does not implement its own laws but ostensibly represents the voice of the people (at least that's how democracy should work). If Christians have a platform in govt from which they can live out their worldview so that there is evident change for the better, then there is a greater likelihood that people will see the benefit and value of living as Christians, and consequently push for and indeed vote for the people that will implement those beneficial values.
I totally agree. For the record, this is a great post. I like to play the devil's advocate to force some conversation. I do get tired of Christians who rally against causes that they were simply out-voted on. They've joined the conversation too late in the game.
I also believe this is where prayer comes in. If Christians are not praying and doing their part by voting, I their protests and words are completely in vein.
also...there's a fantastic debate called, "How Would God Vote" at http://blog.beliefnet.com/blogalogue/
An additional thought from me on legislating values. Law equals values. So either we do away with law, or we admit law stems from someones value system.
My world is the life issue. Three years ago, 90% of Mexico was pro-life and abortion was not legal. Two years ago, 16 legislators changed that without a public vote. Today, only three years later, abortion is legal and Mexico is now only 50% pro-life. What happened was that when something is illegal people view it as wrong. When it is legal they believe it to be ok. Morality is absolutely legislatable.
We are in a war over values. And it's not about Christian values - secular progressives want to throw out natural law and Judeo legal foundations that are 3000 + years old and get us to adopt unproven relativisms that flow from their secular value systems and humanistic beliefs. People want to keep religion out of state - but the very ones demanding it are radically "religious" themselves - their religion isn't Christianity, but what they believe is indeed a belief. Whether we view God as God, or think man is god, in either case we all have a religious worldview - even atheists.
So again, it all comes down to whose religious values do we want to shape our nation. I vote we stick with traditional values as we do have historical precident for what happens to societies that shed moral restraint.
Well said Jordan. Rallying against a cause and complaining about it is 'Monday-morning-quarterbacking.' At best, attention paid to that is cursory. I appreciate your voice in the conversation. Let's do our part this November.
Just came across this blog. Great thoughts! Has anyone read "God's Politics" by Jim Wallis?
Steven, I really appreciate your insight on these matters.
Jaime, welcome to the conversation and thanks for your input. I haven't yet read "God's Politics" but it is on my to do list.
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