it's not surprising to most that Christians tend to vote conservatively, and i am a registered republican...but more often these days i find myself questioning if the laws i'm held to as a believer should have me voting more along the left side of the isle.
lately it seems like "the church" hasn't been much more credible than wall street, the media or the politicians. Most of us profess his name but forget what he said (including myself)....here's a passage from a book i'm reading "red letter Christians" by tony campolo:
"...when Jesus tells us that he will regard the way we treat the hungry, the homeless, the immigrant, the poor family, the sick and the prisoner as if we were treating Him that way, it likely means that He would not think ignoring them is good domestic policy. Or when He tells us to "love your enemies" and that "blesses are the peacemakers," it might be hard to persuade him to join "wars against terrorism" with so much "collateral damage" to civilians."
i'm still struggling with many issues even belonging in government (abortion among one), but since they are i'm taking them in consideration as i muddle through all the rhetoric when deciding how to vote...nothing i've heard or read about John McCain seems to align with what Jesus commands us to do. he and his running mate have said they're not for abortion or same-sex marriages...most would consider that the views of Jesus. i guess what i like about Obama and his mate is that they seem to be for tolerance....how do we as believers hold non-believers to the same governance we are to follow? most of us seem to be forgetting about the tolerance and love we're commanded to have for these people. we tell women they can't abort their pregnancies but when their babies are born we brand them with a scarlet letter...there are other issues too, like homosexuality, in which we seem to be more intolerant rather than loving. don't get me wrong, for us, it is clear, but we have to remember that these folks don't know and believe the same way we do. how are they to come and know Jesus if all we show is intolerance and nonacceptance rather than love and compassion?
under the Bush administration more than $283 billion was cut from domestic programs in 2007...many of which assisted the elderly, the poor and our education systems. in the same administration we have spent 11 times that of China and 16 times more than Russia have spent on defense ($528 billion v. China's 49.5 billion and Russia's $34.7 billion) from tony compallo's book...
"the prophet Isiah warned the ancient Jews not to trust in military might for their security. He said 'Alas for those who go down to Egypt for help and who rely on horses, who trust in chariots because they are many and in horsemen because they are very strong, but do not look to the Holy One of Israel or consult the Lord'"
i'm not disagreeing that there are "evil" people overseas we are fighting. sometimes i just wonder how different is "the church" when we hold non-believers to the rules that govern us. how different are we when we don't love and accept a mother struggling with the decision to carry out her pregnancy? how different are we when we don't allow a same-sex couple to visit in the hospital and have the same rights in death as we do for our spouses? the list goes on...i guess the point here is that the war isn't working. maybe it's time to try something new. something Jesus would agree with. good can overcome bad. good will prevail over evil - we are promised that. why not start here in our country?
i do believe that it is the church's responsibility to carry out what Jesus has governed us to do. i don't believe however that many church's are ready to take on the responsibility....and if church's aren't ready then i feel like my responsibility as a christian voter is to vote for the candidate i believe is most likely to take my tax dollars and care for the needy and the poor; who wants to give freedom and a better life to the immigrants who come to America for it; who wants to sit down with other leaders and make peace instead of resulting to war; who governs with tolerance instead of doctrine....which candidate is that?
3 comments:
an interesting little note we learned recently...John McCain donates almost 28% of his income to charities, Barack Obama, almost 2% this just adds to my confusion of who to vote for...have a great week!
Great blog...here's one thing I've wrestled with over the past several years...are we called to be tolerant or accepting?...or is there a difference between the two?...I think there may be but that could be a later discussion...not sure how that would work out in the political world
I get what your saying but if we walk out of afganistan and iraq now then we basically threw all that money down the drain. Also as far as the immigrants go look what happened September 11, 2001. If we do that we take a chance of more terrorist attacks. They come into this country and are given money and do not have to pay taxes for 7 years. Who's money are they giving them? Ours! Anyways what I'm trying to say Sabrina is no matter who you choose they have both fed all of us a bunch of lies. Bush put out country in the ground and whose to say the next person won't. They can promise to bring out soldiers home but guess what it's not that easy. I personally don't vote because they are all a bunch of jokes. The comment your friend made about McCain and Obama's donations says alot. If Obama only gives charities 2% what do you think he will give us. They say what we want to hear just to get our vote. Anyways enough on politics because I have never voted and honestly could care less because both candidates suck. Give my baby a kiss for me and tell her I love her. Have a great weekend!
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