It seems to be an assumption that a Christian in the United States ought to vote. This is a (the?) proper way to engage society and the political process. I’ve even heard it described as one’s “Christian duty.”
Can anyone point me to some arguments backing this up? My current plan is to not vote. See this post for some of my thinking on ambassadorship, but some recent reading is giving me reason to rethink my eschatology (I hope I’m using the right word here.) and, subsequently, examine my stance on voting one more time before the election. I’ve got six days to sort out whether or not I should vote, and if I should for whom I should vote.
I appreciate the help.
I reference these articles on my blog as well. They are a good commentary on Christians and politics:
here.
And here.
The concept of a representative democracy isn’t going to be found anywhere in Scripture, so I don’t think voting or not voting would necessarily be right or wrong, but exercising the right to vote is a good thing to do as a citizen in the community. Giving unto Ceasar your input, so to speak.
As for who to vote for, I’ll leave that up to you.
Baldy-
I don’t think it’s simply your Christian duty to vote, but it is your right—and your moral duty—as a citizen of this country to vote, even though you are, as you say, an ambassador of Christ.
As for who to vote for, I think your political views and actions should be an expression of the Lordship of Christ in your life, just as He is Lord in every other area of your life. The candidates and ballot measures that best express your values as a believer are the ones you should vote for. This makes your moral duty to vote even more important. Arguments can be made that either the conservative or liberal side of the political spectrum best expresses the values implied by Christ’s Lordship. I’ll leave that up to you.
Would God vote if he were a flesh and blood citizen in the form of Jesus on November 2, 2004? It seems a little silly to ask, since He’s known the winner of every election in our past, present, and future since the beginning of time, not to mention the fact that He’s quite capable of influencing candidates and outcomes supernaturally, if he so desires. Even so, I don’t think this means that all is deterministic, and that we have no room or responsibility to exercise our freedom by voting—quite the contrary. There’s room for both God and us to act in our political system, and in every other system in our universe. This is why I say you should pray, and you should vote.
If God—or any other part of the Trinity—did vote, I’m sure that He would also choose the candidates or measures that best expressed His values and His priorities. Since those values and priorities are so imperfectly expressed in the candidates and measures, God might have a difficult time making such an imperfect choice. But, then again, nothing is difficult for God. Maybe the whole point is not for Him to decide—or for us to have a clear choice—but for us to spend some time thinking about God’s values, as well as His prioritization of those values, and then acting on our beliefs by voting.
okay, i know it’s really controversial, and i’m probably going to get crap for it, but here’s why i’m voting, and why i’m voting for john kerry. (gosh, i should send this in an email… oh well).
i HATE the fact that gwb has brought god into the war. i think it’s wrong and needs to be stopped (yes, the war too, but mostly that god has been involved). i have always voted republican, and this is a big departure for me. i know this isn’t what you asked for, but in a sideways way (because i am emerging sideways i guess) it is.
one voice is all we have, one voice, one vote. i personally have been silenced too long. all i know is that by voting against gwb i will be able to know that i did everything in my power to remove myself from what could become another crusades (yes, i know that is extreme, but it has to start somewhere, right?)
i don’t believe that american democracy is the savior of the world. i think george bush does in some broken theological way. i posted on this under ‘onward christian farmers’ at my blog.
i also live in a ‘swing state’ and i just don’t think i could live with myself (or have a right to complain for the next 4 years) if i didn’t vote.
i don’t think it’s a biblical imperitive, but i do believe that it is an honor, and one i don’t want to take lightly.
i also believe that as christians we need to think globally, not just about america. our foreign policy affects our missionaries around the world. if you talk to any of them you’ll find that most aren’t in support of this administration. gwb is making their job way more difficult.
see, it’s not popular, i could never voice this in our church, i’d be labelled a heretic, but i don’t like god involved in this war. i think jk would stop that aspect if nothing else.
i also hate to think of someone with the amount of power gwb is going to leave the whitehouse with, after 4 more years, going to someone like schwarzenegger, it’s terrifying to think what he could possibly do now that we’re an ‘empire’. god save us all.
Bobbie-
I respect your views, but there are a couple of things you might want to keep in mind:
1. God’s been involved in a lot of wars; in fact, some would say He’s been involved in all of them. I pray He’s watching over us with our best interests in mind, whether our wars (or any wars) are right or wrong.
2. It would take a constitutional amendment for a non-US born citizen like Arnold to become president.
3. It may be debatable, but for me, we’re hardly an “empire” in the traditional sense of the word.
4. The crusades weren’t necessarily a bad thing. At least in the case of the first few of them, the purported motives were noble—perhaps like the purported motives of our invasion of Iraq.
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To put it another way:
“Let each citizen remember at the moment he is offering his vote that he is not making a present or a compliment to please an individual — or at least that he ought not so to do; but that he is executing one of the most solemn trusts in human society for which he is accountable to God and his country.” –Samuel Adams
durb – Thanks for the links. And thanks to all for the words. I’ve still got a few hours, so I’m still listening.