Posts Tagged ‘Christians’

I voted Pic by Enrico Fuente–

I was just browsing the article site, Helium, looking for new marketplace calls for writers. Well, I got sidetracked by one of their debates. Which one? The one titled, “Should One’s Faith Influence a citizen’s Vote?”

Well, first off, let me say the voting at the time I visited was 60% to 40% in favor of voting by faith. That is a bit close for my taste, but still a majority.

It is important to understand that the question does not mean govern by faith, but whether voters should cast votes by faith. I also believe that a leader should govern by his beliefs as well, but that was not the debate offered here.

As a Christian, always let your decisions be led by your faith. Every move you make should be guided by your relationship with God. Yes, we all fall short as we are imperfect sinners, but we should keep striving to make better choices with the word of God as our guide.

Some of the adversarial articles just baffled me. If your belief system is animal rights, do you not vote for animal rights politicians and laws? If athiest, do you not vote for candidates that fit your world view? If you are a card carrying feminist or “Greenie”, do you not vote for feminist or environmentally friendly ideas?

Well, a lot of the writers against voting by faith, all 121 of them, seem to think that voting your beliefs is a bad thing as it may mean using God’s wisdom.

How Crazy is that?

Very crazy. On a secular level, how can you trust someone that will vote against their core beliefs? Would any of the above voter examples vote against their causes and candidates? Not very likely. If they did, would you not question their intentions?

But that is what they expect of Christians.

Here are a few examples from the articles:

When did this country stop being of, by and for the people? Separation of church and state is one of the founding principles of this country. Yet living up to this idea has been one of the most difficult things to accomplish because the waters are continuously muddied by those who use religion to control the minds and behaviors of the masses. Religious faith has devolved to nothing more than blatant mind control because religious leaders have allowed God to be put on the shelf for their own personal gain. Christians have been at the helm of this nation since its beginning. Jesus taught love, peace and forgiveness, yet very little of these attributes are evident in the politics of religion.-Vernelle Nelson

The idea of faith, unfounded, unreliable and superstitious, influencing global geopolitics is such an awful thought it turns my stomach.

Those who decide who to vote for based on notions on faith and/or religion are surely allowing personal reflections on life to stand in the way of important issues; quite often, religious believers demonstrate to the world just how blind and narrow-minded their belief systems can lead them to be.-Harry Lacey

Faith should definitely not be the reasoning behind a vote, no matter on what issue. The reasoning behind this is pretty simple. Not everyone has the same religion, and if everyone began to vote based on their religions, a split would most definitely be created in public life between the different groups.-Danny Mendel

Notice that some are not even arguing the point in question

A lot of the articles are arguing the separation of church and state issue, which does not even exist in the Constitution. The argument of separation of church and state comes from letters by Thomas Jefferson, not governing documents. But that is another issue all together.

The last example above shows the fear, and dare I say, vitriol aimed at those of the Christian faith. This, in my humble opinion, comes from fear. People that believe in nothing, or worse yet, believe everything is relative, and thus there is no concrete right or wrong, are set trembling when faced with people of true belief. I know I was when my faith was at it’s weakest.

You have an obligation, to God

Being a Christian is a hard walk at times. When it is at it’s hardest is when our faith is tested. But that is when we should totally surrender to our Lord for guidance and strength.

As good Christians, our every thought and action should be to celebrate the Lord, and to strengthen our relationship. To walk into a voting booth, which is a very important action, and to not vote in guidance by your Faith is a sin. Plain and simple.

In politics, the silliest thing is when a candidate proclaims faith and love of the Lord, but then goes against Christian principals in their political choices. Turning their back on the Lord and their faith to be re-elected or to gain more power.

Let me tell you this, that power is finite. The power of God is forever.

We, as voters, are a lot more shielded than politicians. We do not have to tell people how we vote. But let me say this, to vote in line with your Christian Principles, but tell others another story to ease your worldly relationships, is being in sin as well. It is a denial of faith.

In Matthew 26: 31-35, Jesus tells Peter that he will deny him three times the evening of his arrest. Then, in Matthew 26: 69-75, this comes to pass. Peter did not want to deny the Lord, but being of the flesh, he had a moment of weakness. We all do this, we can’t help it, we are of the flesh as well. As such, we are imperfect sinners. The goal is to trust in the Lord, and learn to grow in spirit and strength through him. The goal is to get better and stronger everyday.

Take it to heart that we trouble non-believers

Yes, pride is a sin as well, but I can’t imagine that the Lord would deny us just a little bit to be proud that our faith shakes up those without. It scares them that we can find the strength to refuse temptation while they drown in it. I baffles them that they go from feel good fix to fix, but are empty when the fix wears off, while we shun such temporary pleasures and never come off our high of spirit.

Pray to the Lord for strength and guidance when you feel weak. Definately pray before voting, then vote with your belief, not against it. Never deny the Lord. Our reward will be his eternal love and grace.

Hey, that is a pretty big win, is it not?

Argh,

Eban