Many people assume if one worships God, that he must be Republican. Young people especially those who have no cognizance beyond the Cheney years are particularly susceptible. For them, here are why Democrats, and not Republicans, tend to better reflect this nation's spiritual core....
1) The environment. Most religious people care deeply about the environment. Caring for the environment comes out from within us, growing from out of the Scriptural call for stewardship of the earth.
2) Care of the poor is important to a large percentage of Americans. They know but for luck, they would be in the same boat themselves. Caring for the poor is not an option for anyone who takes a serious reading of the Bible—it is a demand and even a test of whether they can truly be Christian.
3) Health Care.. When a nation finds people beaten and bleeding by the road they can’t respond with, “Take responsibility for your own problems” or “Too bad, ha, ha, ha, doesn’t your employer have insurance?” A real Good Samaritan pays the bill. So would a “Christian nation.”
4) Women are God's people too. They should get equal pay for equal work and should have access to the same jobs men can do.."we are neither... male nor female in the kingdom of God—and we should take those values into the world if we can." (Galatians 3:8)
5) People earning minimum wage. Any minimum wage (in 2011 dollars) lower than $11.00 hr. is less than the minimum wage we earned paying our way through college. "They are stealing from the worker their wages, and their [unpaid] wages will cry out against me at the judgment." (James 5)
6) I'm curious what Jesus would say if he saw a Republican funded, Christian pamphlet that ranked candidates on the strength of their support for handguns, as if a true Christian would be gung-ho on encouraging the unlimited proliferation of weapons used for random murder.
7) Most people naturally favor increased taxation of citizens who are better off for the sake of those who are less fortunate. To those still insistent upon arguing for resorting to personal philanthropy, question this: ... if we did away with all taxes, would everyone then voluntary give their "taxes" to the poor? Really? Christians are required by Jesus to care of their poor. The current tax system is a vehicle that does that job rather well.
8) Most "real" Christians feel the government needs to get out of writing or demanding when and where they can say their prayers. Jesus was specific. Government is government; religion is religion. They are explosive when mixed. Saying prayers before a County Board meeting, is condemned in the Old Testament as "civil Idolatry."
9) Most "real" Christians believe defensive wars are necessary, but using ones military to make a nation's wealthy class even wealthier by attacking others, is simply not God's way. You couldn't even join the early church if you were in the military. Imagine, people worshiping the Prince of Peace between fighting in nationalistic or imperial wars, cutting out peoples hearts with their bare hands for a living?
10) Justice and human rights should play a major part in international aid, aid is not just to serve America’s interests. On this point Democrats have always trumped Republicans. The Republican mantra of "we will look the other way as long as you sell my own company oil", is how the enemies of Christianity act. Christian values call us to feed our enemies", not just “use our aid to reward our friends.”
11) God would prefer Capital punishment eliminated from this earth. Republicans are not even close to this ideal. Democrats are closer in line to the teachings of Jesus.
12) Christians believe government should be effective. At no time has history shown us a lasting civilization that did not effectively govern. Republican's belief in "the government that governs best; is the one that governs least" makes the same amount of sense as "the father that fathers best, is the father that fathers the least" or " the Christian who worships best; is the Christian who worships the least", which is absolutely no sense at all. Christians need to support good government. Bad government is one too small to do its job.
13) Corporations should pay their fair share of taxes. They haven't and today's deficit was created by the fact Republicans changed the rules to give them a free ride. You can't be Christian and support the lowering of corporate taxes. Every Christian understands the tithe system. In that system the rich pay the same percentage as the poor; not pay nothing and let the poor pick up their tab. The Bush Tax Cuts are as an unchristian act as this nation is capable. Might as well put Caesar into the White House if this is to be our permanent national policy. God commanded the rich pay their fair share. Based on the one tax return we have, the Republican presidential candidate not only did NOT pay his fair share, he WON'T turn his other tax returns over because he knows he did not pay his fair share. Christians who reward crime... well...
14) Christians support higher emission standards. To foul the air and consider “a few hundred more deaths” merely “the cost of doing business” is evil and unChrist-like.
15) Strong Labor Laws: the rich are bound by God to care for their workers. If a corporation's leaders are not Christians then forcing them though labor laws to act like Christians anyway, provides a safe place for workers to do their job.
16) Massive initiatives in education: Where did we get the idea that a Christian should be for low taxes and against education? I have yet to see that anywhere in the Bible.
17) You can't be Christian and be against immigration. That is heathen. Christians should welcome the strangers among us. That is what made this nation great.. If it weren't for the past welcoming approach given to our grandfathers, and great grandfathers when they came in poor, illiterate, unskilled, speaking only a foreign language, with nothing but a desire to live better, we'd have all be born in another country. If Republicans had been in control and insisting on the craziness they currently do now, most of us would not be here. Period. Republicans are wrong here. They cannot be Christian and be against the welcoming of Spanish speaking immigrants...
And that is the short list...
The Republican Party is not the party of God. It is the party of the very rich. Anyone who votes Republican should not be deceived. They are voting strictly for the very rich, to keep them in power, and therefore, for that alone, their vote can be strewn as a vote against God. By doing so, they are making the choice to make the act of survival harder for the ninety nine percent of the rest of us, who DO believe in God.