I got a lot of good responses on my last post and I would like to delve deeper into my thoughts on why it is possible for a Christian to vote for a pro-choice candidate. Aside from the actual fact that most supreme court justices are conservative, more presidents since Roe v. Wade have been Republican than Democrat, and the fact that nothing has changed since the decision. I am not going to comment on the effectiveness of the decision to elect a pro-life candidate.
I will, however, comment on the issue of abortion. I do not like abortion, I am not pro-murder even in the case of the death penalty.
While in college, at a non-Christian school, I had to come to grips with the fact that I should not expect non-Christians to behave in a Christian manner. The issue was that I was bothered by the promiscuity, alcohol abuse, and general immorality of many people. What I had to realize is that they are not Christians and should not be held to the same moral standard to which I hold myself. And even if they are Christians it is not my job to pass judgement upon them. Perhaps to tell them, in love, that they are not behaving in a way that Jesus taught but never to chastise them publicly for their actions.
With that said, we do not live in a Christian nation. We should not make laws enforcing morality or actions that we deem to be moral. The society may be going to hell but it is not our job to fix governments. We are in the business of telling the world about Jesus, who He is, what He did, and showing via our actions that the way the world exists is not how God intended it to be. We, as Christians, can't even control our own lives. We are all sinners fallen from grace and it is only by the death and ressurection of Jesus Christ that we have any business calling ourselves part of a royal priesthood. It is only because of Jesus taking our own sins upon us that we are in the place we are. Who are we, as sinners, to attempt to enforce righteousness upon other sinners? If God gives people the choice to sin, so should we.
This can be extrapolated to all manners of life in which Christians deal with non-Christians. Gay marriage, abortion, prayer in schools, etc are not things that should even be on our radar. Let's take a long hard look in the mirror at our own fallings, our lying, divorce rate, lack of humility, abandoning the poor, not caring for the widows, migrating from the cities, racial segregation in church, doctrinal issues that have nothing to do with Faith. The list goes on and on.
WE DO NOT LIVE IN A CHRISTIAN COUNTRY. We can pray that our leaders are Christians and behave in a Christian manner, but the nation and its residents have the freedom to do as they choose.
Therefore, the decision for president should be for the candidate who we feel best represents a Godly person and who will bring morality and applied Christianity into his decision making process. A single issue does not make or break a candidate's validity and, in the same way, a single sin does not remove all possibility for redemption.
I believe strongly that had John McCain spoken in the way he did during his concession speech during the entire campaign, my decision would have been a whole lot harder. The fact, however, that he was influenced so much by the RNC makes me glad he did not win. I can only pray now that the Barack I believed in can bring a Godly presence to the office of the presidency and that his policies will reflect his faith.
Please do not call into question Barack's faith. He stated his faith and it has been reflected in his speeches. Regardless of his name or his parentage, he grew up in the church and attended church his entire adult life. We will know what his beliefs are by the fruits of the spirit, which he seems to have.
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