Should Christians Vote?

[eleos1954]

I was in a discussion with someone just now on X. We were talking about politics. I started by saying that if a Christian on X makes 90% of their posts about politics, then I would doubt whether that person was actually a Christian or not. Why? Because where your treasure is, your heart will also be there. And from the mouth, the heart speaks. This led us on somewhat of a rabbit trail of what the purpose of government is, whether Christians should be politicians, and eventually, whether Christians should even vote.

The nub of the issue is whether we, as Christians, should compromise on our values. This could be my personality talking (as I am an INFP according to MBTI, which is not something I put a lot of stock into but may shed some light on my perspective), but I've never thought that it is wise to compromise on your convictions (see the book of Daniel for more). Some things we hold with an open hand and say, "I think it is X, but it could be Y." Other things we die for. Holding certain propositions humbly is only prudent, especially when it comes to something like eschatology. But the purpose of government, according to the Bible, as far as I can see, is to instill order and punish lawbreakers. That's all the government really has to do, according to the Bible. So, when you have a government as big as the government in the US, it opens up a lot of questions. For example, in politics, everything is a game. Every politician is trying to finagle their own values into the system. And with that comes a great deal of compromise. One of the reasons that Joe Biden is such a bad president is because he is a compulsive compromiser and never puts his foot down on anything. Compromise makes for weak leaders.

So, if compromising for politicians is wrong, then the only logical conclusion is that we are merely voting for whose compromises we like the best. That, in turn, makes every person who votes a compromiser. Now, you might point out that who we vote for will impact us a great deal in terms of freedom and such. But if our freedoms are restricted, even to the point of government persecution, I am not convinced that this would be a net loss. In the US today, about 65% of the American population claim to be Christians. We know that the number of actual Christians and not those who are Christians in name only is far far less than 65%. I would put it at 10% or less, personally. Yet, at the same time, those true believers act as the salt of the earth and a righteous remnant, and they are necessary to preserve society. The righteous remnant will preserve society whether or not they vote.

With all that said, it is starting to look more and more like Christians should not vote because to vote is to compromise. Compromise does not make more people Christians, but it ends in a deteriorating effect on society where you have so many fake Christians that it actually ends up confusing things as to how many Christians actually are preserving society.

We are not voting for a god .... we are voting for people who we think best will govern the country (our home) .... there is a difference.

It's about worship ... and that's why we have the separation clause .... the government is not to impose a forced worship system.

We are all sinners ... we are ruled by sinners (some worse than others) ... if people don't want to vote for any reason that's their choice.

Fake Christians? Do you know everyones heart? Of course not ... judgement is totally up to the Lord ... ours is to point everyone to Jesus and leave the matter of judgement up to Him.

So vote for the sinner of your choice .... or not.

Personally I will vote .... because I do want a say so who I think will be best to lead our country where I live ... knowing they won't be perfect and not that I support all their views ... because NONE of us are perfect.

1 Timothy 2:2
Civil government is intended to protect the liberty and security of its people, so that they can live "a tranquil and quiet life in all godliness and dignity"

Romans 13:1-7
Let every soul be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and the authorities that exist are appointed by God. Therefore whoever resists the authority resists the ordinance of God, and those who resist will bring judgment on themselves. For rulers are not a terror to good works, but to evil.

rulers are not a terror to good works, but to evil.

We choose our rulers through voting ... and we do have a say so to a degree.

Vote for the sinner of your choice (or not) ... knowing no matter who it is ... they are a sinner but most certainly not your god.

 

[chevyontheriver]

It's about worship ... and that's why we have the separation clause .... the government is not to impose a forced worship system.

It's about freedom of religion and not merely freedom of worship. Freedom of religion is bigger than mere freedom of worship. Worship can be tightly construed to be what goes on once a week in a building used by a church. Religion is about that but also what goes on in your home and in the religious school and the religious hospital and the religious soup kitchen and even things done in public by religious people, like praying and acts of charity and even standing in public witnessing to the faith. ALL of those things can be constrained and even banned in a society that allows only for freedom of worship.

The government is not to impose a forced religious system, forcing you to go to a church or mosque or synagogue or temple or a religious hospital or a religious school or to pray a religious prayer or not to pray a religious prayer or forcing you to do things in violation of your religious faith. People took note when Kamala said there would be no exceptions to her abortion mandates. No exception to a doctor forced to do an abortion against her religion. No exception for a Catholic hospital either. If you have freedom of worship you may not be free in your conscience to avoid doing mandated evil deeds. With freedom of religion you do.

 

[zippy2006]

Very naive.

Very stupid.

 

[All Becomes New]

Very stupid.

So if Trump does something you don't like because of his character flaws you are just going to say, "I didn't vote for this"?

 

[AveChristusRex]

The right to vote is an enormous privilege that should not be taken for granted. But while the Bible includes several moral obligations for us as citizens, Christians are under no moral obligation to vote—especially if doing so requires us to violate our conscience. Voting can also be a positive moral good that we can nonetheless refrain from exercising for certain legitimate reasons. Understanding my argument requires that we clarify whether voting is a civic right, a civic duty, or a civic responsibility. The term “civics” is a Latin word meaning “relating to a citizen,” so a civic duty, right, or responsibility would therefore be a right, duty, or responsibility related to being a citizen. Unfortunately, there is no clear agreement on what these terms mean or what they include. For the sake of clarity, I propose the following definitions:

• A civic duty is the legal requirement to perform certain actions because of one’s citizenship in a community.
• A civic right is the legal permission to perform actions deemed necessary to carry out one’s citizen role. (This is different from civil rights, to which all members in the community have the right.)
• A civic responsibility is a generally agreed-upon obligation of a citizen that is not legally required of all citizens.

Secular law and Church law are not the same, and do not serve the same functions. The difference is especially apparent in ritual duties. You could be wrong. Your ideas could be wrong. Your approach could be wrong. A wise, humble, and pious man or woman is open to these possibilities and will change course accordingly. This is a call for the Church to stay completely out of political affairs. Where politics calls for conflict, let Christians call for peace; and where a politician bellows for division, let us work to love our neighbors with no exceptions. Our Lady of La Salette, pray for us!

 

[zippy2006]

So if Trump does something you don't like because of his character flaws you are just going to say, "I didn't vote for this"?

The voter makes their negative will known either by contacting their representative or by not re-electing them.

 

[Simonides]

You speak as though you have no idea how politics works and who the types of people who want to get into politics are.

Thanks lol. You beat me to it. I just realized it's 9am and I still haven't prayed this morning. I'm definitely not weighing in on this topic before prayer. And afterwords, I probably won't want too.
Oops, I guess I just did.

Samuel Clemens said it far better than I ever could. "If voting mattered, they wouldn't let you do it."

 

[JonasDaniels]

"Then Pilate entered into the judgment hall again, and called Jesus, and said unto him, Art thou the King of the Jews? Jesus answered him, Sayest thou this thing of thyself, or did others tell it thee of me? Pilate answered, Am I a Jew? Thine own nation and the chief priests have delivered thee unto me: what hast thou done? Jesus answered, My kingdom is not of this world: if my kingdom were of this world, then would my servants fight, that I should not be delivered to the Jews: but now is my kingdom not from hence."
John 18