BIBLICAL GUIDANCE FOR VOTING

By Doug Newman

March 20, 2008

Posted at Novakeo, The Price of Liberty, Christian Liberty Party, Rational Review,
Growing Vertical and Freedom4um.

A recent e-mail exchange on the subject of this fall’s election prompted these thoughts on Romans 12 and how Christians should vote. While the Bible says nothing about voting, it does guide us on how we should live. Its advice for living applies everywhere, including the voting booth.

I wrote the following in an e-mail to SG.

“Hillary, Obama, and McCain are all cut from the same cloth. Oh sure, they talk a little bit differently. However, they are ALL for endless socialism, endless war, UN membership and the surrender of our independence, open borders, a full-blown police state and abortion on demand of 1 million babies per year. (1) THEY ARE ALL THE SAME!!! Don't vote for ANY of them!!!”

To which, SG replied:

“Agreed...I wish we could have a vote to elect new candidates if we don't like the ones chosen...what do you think about the mudslinging with Obama and his religious background?...Hillary will do anything to win...she is a scary person...I guess it comes down to which is the best of the worst...lol..."

To which, I say:

Romans 12 is a great resource for a Christian asking how to vote. I refer specifically to verses 2 and 9.

Romans 12:9 instructs us to “abhor that which is evil." There is no exclusion for voting. Christians are supposed to abhor evil. Period. “The lesser of two evils” is still evil, and we Christians are not to put our stamp of approval on it.

Don’t vote for evil just because everyone else does. Our current form of government (OCFOG), which Hillary, Obama and McCain all fully intend to make larger, costlier and more intrusive than ever, is evil. There is nothing sacred about it whatsoever. No, this is not Kim Jong-Il’s North Korea. Yet millions will vote away what is left of our freedom for no better reason than that they want to vote for a winning candidate.

As an old friend once said, I don't mind losing elections, but I do mind losing my freedom. I am no holier than anyone, but I am NOT going to vote for a continuation of OCFOG.

This brings me to Romans 12:2, which tells us to “be not conformed to the world.” It does not go on to say “except when voting.” What the majority does should be irrelevant to Christians. If 98 percent of the people cast a stupid vote, it is still a stupid vote.

I graduated from high school in 1979. It has been a while. I do not do things just because everyone else does.

Christians should not support OCFOG. That so many Christians are so desperate to win elections -- even if this means voting for all kinds of evil -- or to keep certain candidates from being elected, shows that they have become worldly in a very bad way. Our citizenship is in Heaven, not on earth. (Philippians 3:20) Our King has a Kingdom that is not of this world. (John 18:36)

So you write in Ron Paul – which I plan to do -- or you vote for a candidate from a third – or should I say a non-privileged? – party and you wind up losing. Big friggin' deal. If your worldview is a Christian one, you would realize that there are more important things than winning elections and attaining dominance in the kingdoms of this world. Your duty as a Christian is to do what is righteous, not what is fashionable in the world’s eyes. You will be able to sleep at night knowing that you did not aid and abet the criminal class that has ruled this country since at least 1913.

I give you two quotes. The first is from the always quotable Vin Suprynowicz of the Las Vegas Review-Journal.

“Pretend with me that you’re an old German on your deathbed today. Would you rather tell your grandchildren, ‘I voted for the Nazis because they seemed better than the Communists and no other party could win’?

"Wouldn’t you rather be able to rise up and say, ‘I publicly denounced the Nazis and the Communists. We were a minority – 1 or 2 percent – but we stood up for the truth and we were right! We proved not all Germans were mindless torchbearers for tyranny! We were ridiculed, we were beaten and jailed, but we saved this nation’s soul. Now children, go and live your lives in a way to make me proud.’?”

The second comes from Donna Marsh O’Connor, whose daughter died in the World Trade Center on 9/11. She does not buy the official lies and she calls for another investigation.

“God blessed America. And look what we did with it.”

I believe that America’s Founding documents, while not explicitly Christian, have God’s Fingerprints all over them. God blessed America richly. And look how we Christians vote these blessings away, just because everyone else does.

If you would like to post this, please e-mail me and include this URL.

Far more profound and eloquent thoughts on this subject from Al Cronkrite.

(1) I neglected, in this e-mail, to mention the Federal Reserve.

E-mail. I get e-mail. I get lots and lots of e-mail.

I have supported Ron Paul from the start. When I tried to register to vote they refused me the right without their required SOCIAL SECURITY NUMBER!!!... So, what does that tell us?.... The people's Constitutional Right to Vote no longer exists. No number? No rights! Period. -- SM in Tennessee

Extraordinary!

What struck my mind in reading this was ... How can someone read Romans Chapter 12, then read Chapter 13:1-7 and assert that we are to sit still and let government commit crimes and murder people while we supposed Christians sit in our "holy hovels" saying we have no grounds to criticize the government. It is insanity heaped upon mental absurdity to embrace this widely held view, which in fact is a lie against God and his creation. -- N in Texas

Another concise and incredibly lucent publication by a well adjusted chiropractic patient I know. Worth the short read. -- JB, my chiropractor, in Colorado

Excellent! I will never not vote my conscience again. And this is because I have developed such confidence in the God of the Bible that I am willing to allow Him, in His perfection and ultimate Controller of history, to bless or discipline this country as He sees fit. I will do my part in doing all I can to be a factor in the blessing category. -- AL in Colorado

Picking the lesser of two evils is still choosing for evil. As one pundit said, that is like selecting which turd you want from the toilet. Christians need to know that they are accountable to God for their voting. It is better to vote in a godly manner than to care about "winning" by getting the lesser of evils. The corruption and venality of the Christian leaders who supported McCain, Huckster, Giuliani, and Romney in their bid for the presidency while at the same time they completely ignored or even rejected a godly man like Ron Paul shows how misplaced is the trust of Christians in their so-called leadership. I was deeply shocked and saddened by this, but I was not totally surprised. After all, these are the same Christian leaders who urged us to support Skull and Bones, New World Order George Bush one and two. -- SS in Colorado  

Great post! I would like to comment on one thing you said, though:

I think the Bible does say something about voting. It's part of a favorite passage of mine that I use when people suggest that God endorsed a monarchical system:

In Exodus 18:13-27, Jethro counseled Moses to establish a representative appellate court. The people were self-governed and every seven years heard the reading of the Law. This was their government until the time of Samuel.

In 1 Samuel 8:4-22, the elders of Israel asked Samuel to make a king to judge them. In this passage, the Lord tells Samuel all the terrible things a king would do, such as taking their sons to war, taking their property and giving it to his servants, taking a tithe for his officers and servants (if only our taxes were just a tenth!), taking their young men and donkeys for his public works, and taking a tithe of their sheep.

So, I would say that God did want us to be self-governed and wanted us to elect our own representatives: able men, God-fearing men, truthful men, benevolent men.

None of our "top three" qualify. -- BB down south somewhere

Freely Speaking: Essays by Doug Newman

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