I have just loved your teachings, and have been spreading your website and downloaded teachings to many to also learn.
I do have a question that we were “discussing” yesterday with my father, who is a believer. He says we must vote, that failing to do so is giving “them” a win. I think, voting for the lesser of two evils is still evil. I have always maintained that when voting for a candidate, I cannot and will not ever vote for someone who does not oppose abortion. I understand that the President alone does not hold that power-but it is, to me, an indication of their true human character and lack of value for Life.
So, my question is this. Does opting out of voting because both candidates are bad go against biblical teachings? God clearly states that it is He that appoints leaders. Or, do we “compromise” on our values and pick the lesser of the two evils? My husband likened that to this: If you had to vote for Hitler or Stalin, would you vote?
Thank you so much for your biblical teachings, keep ’em coming!!
You’ve asked for my opinion, so here goes. Your husband’s example is extreme to the point of being irrelevant to a typical US election. The thing that almost always diminishes the Christian influence in our government is that we have so many single issue voters. We can like everything about a certain candidate for President, and absolutely abhor all of his opponent’s views, but if our man is not pro-life we sit out the election, thereby making the victory of his opponent more likely. The net result is that abortion remains legal and a bunch of other things we don’t like become law as well. And the sad thing is that the president can’t change the abortion laws. Ronald Reagan was pro-life, and so is George Bush. But neither of them could get Roe v. Wade overturned.
The only thing that will bring about the reversal of abortion laws is the will of the people. Politicians want only one thing and they’ll abandon all their principles to get it. They want to be elected, because until they’re elected they can’t plug in to the incredible flow of money, power, and fame that members of congress enjoy. Why do you think they spend all those millions to get a job that pays only $150,000 or so and is only guaranteed for a few years? As soon as a politician has to be pro-life to be elected all politicians will be pro-life. But today, they don’t even bother to lie about their views, because they know it doesn’t matter.
Even among so-called Christians there is no unified voice calling for an end to abortion, because many of them are pro-choice. The Catholic Church is one of the largest and most vocal Christian organizations opposed to abortion. But President Bush only got a little over half of the Catholic vote, and was the first republican since Nixon to even get a majority. That means that over half of all Catholics have typically voted for pro-abortion candidates. And even though in 2004 over 75% of evangelicals who voted did so for Pres. Bush, abortion wasn’t their main issue.
A couple of months ago a Barna poll showed that over 40% of voters who call themselves born again intend to vote for one of the Democratic candidates this year, both of whom are pro-abortion.
We can say that there’s no hope for the world anyway, so why bother, but that’s not what the Lord called us to do. We’re supposed to be His voice while we’re here as well as His hands and feet. We are the “body” of Christ after all. If we can’t get the world’s attention about abortion, maybe we can influence the moral climate that has made abortion acceptable to so many. And come November, I believe there will be a strikingly clear alternative on that issue.