I am not in the habit of speaking out publicly regarding American politics. It is not because of any cowardice on my part, I assure you. I happen to believe that American Christianity has entangled itself too closely with American politics over the past thirty years, in particular, to the point that the “faith once delivered to the saints” has become tainted by the association. Thus, in the minds of many in our nation, whether you represent the political Right or Left, and once you state that you are a Christian, the unbeliever as the recipient of that information often has a caricature in view that pieces the together, creating a barrier to the actual witness of the Gospel.
In fact, I have very strong views regarding the political structures of the United States. Many of you may not realize this, but I was a Social Science major in college. Indeed, the Social Science major itself included political science, history and psychology. I took every political science class Shorter College had to offer. At the time I attended Shorter, though it was a Georgia Baptist institution, it was a liberal school, both theologically and politically. In 1984, the Reagan/Bush ticket was running against Mondale/Ferraro for President/Vice-president. The overwhelming majority of the faculty and staff as well as the students in the History/Political Science department supported the Democratic duo. Less than a handful of us held out for the conservative pair of Ronald Reagan and George Bush, Sr. to continue in their administration. Needless to say, when Reagan/Bush steamrolled over Mondale/Ferraro on election day in a landslide victory, those who had supported the Democratic ticket were none too pleased that night or the following day on campus. It was a time to remember.
I bring this up for this purpose. American Catholic theologian, George Weigel, once stated, “Ideas have consequences and bad ideas can have lethal consequences.” The political parties that we now have accepted as part of our cultural landscape have always been based on particular ideas and values. From the very beginning of our nation, the men who ran for office represented not only themselves but groups of men and beliefs that bound them together. For instance, in 1796, we typically think that this election was simply between John Adams and Thomas Jefferson for the Presidency of the new United States of America. However, there were actually thirteen candidates for the office. One was an independent, George Washington, who received but two electoral votes. The other twelve candidates were nominees from two political parties, the Federalists and the Democratic-Republicans. The Federalists believed in a strong national government, a loose interpretation of the Constitution, and increasing business develop-ment. The Democratic-Republicans representing small farmers, affirmed a weak central government, and a strict interpretation of the Constitution. In this particular election, it was John Adams, representing the Federalists, who captured the Presidency, bringing in his group’s view of government to oversee the nation.
Over time, parties and people have changed. The Federalists are no longer in existence. The Democratic-Republicans, contrary to popular belief, are not the same as the present-day Democrat party. If anything, the Democrat party of today is more akin to the Federalist party of yesteryear with its desire for a strong central government and loose interpretation of the Constitution. Added to this is the Democrat party’s ongoing mission to expand the definition of civil rights to include not only race, religion, gender and immigration status to increase its own voting rolls, but also sexual orientation. With the 2012 election looming, the Democrat party has officially included its approval and affirmation of same-sex marriage in its platform to, hopefully, attract the young, open-minded voters to its side for the purpose of re-electing Barack Obama for President. Just for note, the DNC has also removed all references to “God” in its official platform, including but one paragraph exuding the importance of “faith” in America and its way of life. A day or so after the DNC began in Charlotte, God was significantly reintroduced to platform language by virtue of an amendment, forced through upon approval by the moderator after a three-fold voice vote over the loud “boo’s” of a resounding opposition! In other words, God wasn’t welcomed there by the delegates, but only allowed in due to political pressures as feared from the pending voters come November.
The Republican party that was formed after the fall of the Whigs in the 1850s has evolved from the party of the emancipation of blacks under Abraham Lincoln to the party of business interests in the late 1800s/early 1900s to the party of social and economic conservativism as of the late 20th century. In many ways, the latter two forces within the Republican party, economic protectionists and social conservatives, are still endeavoring to find a common ground for the best interests of the party as a whole. In the 2012 election, with the choice of private businessman, self-proclaimed conservative, Mitt Romney, it is hoped within the Republican party that the bridge between the two sides has been built, at least for the time being. As noting with the DNC above, the RNC platform upon which Romney will be running is decidedly pro-life, defending the sanctity of Biblical marriage, economically conservative with a recognition that our rights and freedoms are “God-given”.
What has all of this to do with the believers in Christ in America? As Scripture declares, we are to “...do all to the glory of God” (rf. I Corinthians 10:31), that includes exercising our right as Americans to cast our vote. We must research the platforms of the individual parties that are represented in each election (national, state and local) to see which ones uphold the values reflected in God’s Word and which ones stand for things that are contrary to Scripture. Once the positions of the parties are surmised, then we will effectively know which candidates we can and cannot vote for. From that point, it will be a matter of making sure we are registered to vote and then go do so as obedient to God’s Word (rf. Acts 22:25-29; 23:11). Of all people who should take every opportunity that our rights as Americans give to us, it should be God’s people. We are, after all, commanded by God to be examples of good citizens of our nation even as we are to reflect our citizenship in heaven. Let us then do all within our power to be informed, to vote and to uphold our values as followers of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ by selecting the right people to serve this great nation for the years yet to come.
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