Cross-posted on Street Prophets.
It is now being reported in the media that several of our nation’s pastors will appeal to their congregations to vote "conservatively," that is- to vote for John McCain this November. Their endorsement of the Republican candidate is rooted in the commonly-shared idea that Republican values are more in line with those of Christian Americans than the values more commonly attributed to Democrats. The Republican Sentiment is captured well in the following quote from a website that addresses the topic:
"Because we all will have to give an account of our lives, it is very important to realize the choices we make in the privacy of a voting booth will someday need to be defended before the open throne of God...It is the view of [devoted Christians] that Republican values are America's best political option." (Strandberg, ‘Would Jesus Vote Republican?’)
But are the arguments being made by Christian Republicans really that much stronger than those of Christian Democrats?
I reflect often on the Christian faith as it relates to the American vote- and YES, I am a Christian. Like many Americans, my religious beliefs bleed heavily into my political beliefs. The difference, however, is that I believe that contextually interpreted scripture is more supportive of an argument in favor of the Democratic vote. In fact, I strongly feel that most conservatives are missing God altogether when it comes to whom they support. Here’s my argument.
The Basic Foundation
Most Christians believe and repeat the old saying, "a sin is a sin." I've always believed that old expression to be based on Romans 3:23 where the Bible states that we have all sinned in some way, falling short of God’s glory. God’s simple forgiveness, according to the book of Romans, is sufficient for any and every sin. Most Evangelicals will agree that while our sins may differ in nature, they don’t differ in importance to God. They are all sins, and all terrible in his sight.
Still, Christian voters have taken what are socially understood to be "the big sins" and magnified those issues in such a way that they’ve become the basis of the most important political debates of our time.
This practice is not new. Religious people have magnified the issues they were most passionate about for many generations. The Pharisees (religious leaders of Jesus’ time) would often choose a sin or a tradition common among those outside their group and treat it as their society’s major controversy.
Jesus would debate with the Pharisees on a regular basis about how their attention to those controversies were blinding them to other societal problems. He is recorded to have said to them:
"What sorrow awaits you teachers of religious law and you Pharisees. Hypocrites! For you are careful to tithe even the tiniest income from your herb gardens but you ignore the weightier ( or more important) matters of the law which are justice, mercy, and faith. You should tithe, yes, but do not neglect the more important things. (Matthew 23:23, NLT)
We see here that one of the issue championed by the Pharisees was the tithe which was a matter of religious law during their time. The Pharisees were devoted to their causes, but divorced from the other issues that affected the people they saw every day. According to Jesus, they were cruising into sorrow because they had forgotten about the people who needed both God and good leadership the most.
Jesus: The Mighty Community Organizer
Instead of focusing on the issues that offended the religious leaders of His day, Jesus focused on the needs of the people. He advocated things such as help for the poor, the wellbeing of children, caring for the elderly, healing the sick (for free!), unity, equality, women’s rights, diplomacy, truth, protection for the persecuted, and fair taxes. Jesus even preached about tolerance and acceptance. He protected an adulterous woman from the mob of citizens that were ready to stone her. He demonstrated that we have a duty to protect everyone in our society, even when their moral choices offend our consciences. Sound liberal to you? It certainly does to me.
So, according to the very Bible we Bible-thumpers thump (and the very Jesus we Jesus- lovers love) if religious folks are looking for a cause to promote, we ought to start with justice, mercy, and faith. When those themes are widely and properly applied, society as a whole will benefit.
Yes, abortion and same-sex marriage are controversial issues in our society. I can’t argue against the level of importance those issues carry for many Americans. What I can scripturally argue is that Christians have a responsibility to society as a whole, which means that there are weightier matters to consider.
Weightier Matters
We do a disservice to our faith and our country when we cast our vote in support of one or two issues without considering the multitude of issues that imminently affect the American people. We are missing the mark as Christians when we allow people to go to bed hungry in our country. There’s no way Christians should allow their neighbors to sleep in the street. We should be ashamed of ourselves in this country for creating an economy where people can’t work- especially if we plan to cast a vote that will restrict their access to temporary support.
As for the theory that it’s better to vote for Christian leaders- I will leave my readers with George W. Bush’s record and ask them to reconsider their opinions in light of it. After all, evangelical conservatives raced to the polls in two consecutive elections to crown him their "Christian" advocate because he pandered to our ideologies on the campaign trail. The fallout of the votes we cast for him has created an economic recession, social oppression, and emotional depression for millions- if not BILLIONS- of people both at home and abroad. What would our society be like today if Christian Conservatives had voted on the basis of the candidates’ character and political platforms instead of the political rhetoric Bush gave about his "Christian" faith?
What would happen to our country if our taxes were as fair as Jesus had intended, instead of being as oppressive as those imposed by the tax collectors he criticized during His time? What would happen if we agreed to vote for the issues that Jesus Himself said were more important- such as justice and mercy? What would happen if we, as Christians, agreed that helping the poor, caring for the elderly, healing the sick, unity, equality, women’s rights, diplomacy, tolerance, truth, protection for the persecuted, fair taxes and the wellbeing of children were the weightier matters of the law?
I believe that in doing so, we as Christians might achieve a desire that we all share in common: the chance to be a little more like Christ.