How to Vote as a Christian: Ten Suggestions for the Present Landscape

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Whenever voting season descends upon us, we face perplexing questions. How do we navigate a field covered with emphatic and incompatible claims? Whom can we really believe? Which storylines should we deem important?

The following are a few guidelines to consider when, as a committed Christian, you prepare to enter a voting booth or fill out your ballot from home. These suggestions can also be useful after voting, not only in the blue/red divided states of America but in every country.

1. Thou shalt remain reasonably knowledgeable about issues.

Jesus directs, “Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s” (Mark 12:17). Romans 13 begins, “Let everyone be subject to the governing authorities” and furnishes an impassioned defense for paying taxes (vs. 6, 7). When Jesus describes the regional governor as “that fox” (Luke 13:32), He isn’t talking about Herod’s good looks.

The argument that Jesus didn’t involve Himself in the politics of His day so we shouldn’t in our day is misguided. His context — living in an occupied country under a dictatorship without option of voting rights — was far different from ours. We might as well refuse to use telephones or wear eyeglasses because, after all, Jesus didn’t.

The key word is reasonably, which connotes balance. Even if you’re naturally apolitical, be aware that voting and politics profoundly affect day-to-day lives of people who are dearly loved, especially as we’re touched by the pandemic. Sure, you can’t be expected to know every county supervisor and appellate court judge. You can, however, review summary statements about issues and from candidates.

Apathy is not a Christian virtue. Jesus sends us into the world (John 17:18), not out of the world, to help by whatever means are available. One is to be an engaged, intelligent citizen. This approach presents to the watching planet a reasonably attractive face.

2. Thou shalt not hitch thy wagon to one political party, come what may, right or wrong.

Recently a close friend in his mid-70s confided to me, “I’ve been a registered __________ since I was 18, but I’m changing parties this year.” We are never too old or young for healthy change.

Several years ago, I switched to “Independent” and was amazed at how many people on all sides began listening to me. Suddenly I was a novelty. I suppose they thought I was no longer stuck in a deep rut.

Political parties are not sacred vessels. God is not a Republican, or a Democrat, or a Libertarian, or a Green, or a member of the Inanimate Objects Party. Our identity is ultimately, inextricably, joyfully bound up with Jesus, God’s Son. We may happen upon a convincing political point of view, an agreeable pulse and trajectory, but all political parties may rightly join us in admitting to being “wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked” (Rev. 3:17).

3. Thou shalt acknowledge that complexity cannot fairly be reduced to a five-second sound bite.

The Agricultural Age, Industrial Age, and Information Age morphed to our present Age of Entertainment, in which what matters is shimmer and bounce, style over substance.

Unfortunately, entertainment does not adequately equip us for assessing truth. In his classic Amusing Ourselves to Death, Neil Postman laments, “Americans no longer talk to each other; they entertain each other. They do not exchange ideas; they exchange images. They do not argue with propositions; they argue with good looks, celebrities, and commercials.”[1]

Within today’s complex realms of pandemic healthcare, immigration, energy, financial implosion, abortion, homelessness, and free speech we encounter layered nuances and baffling contradictions. Often, we may feel like tossing up our hands in despair or caving to the spin merchants. Neither approach honors Jesus who said, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind” (Matt. 22:37).

Sift. Read. Investigate. Compare. Reach beyond easy pieties and cynical offerings from reactive echo chambers. Remain patient and attentive.

Love with your mind.

4. Thou shalt weigh integrity of character.

Adlai Stevenson quipped, “Your public servants serve you right.” Character matters. You are voting not merely on a candidate’s recorded past but on a plausible future.

In a culture where lying is epidemic, simply telling the truth sets us apart. Mistrust in any relationship sooner or later violates and imprisons. By contrast, Jesus declares, “The truth will set you free” (John 8:32).

To fall prey to “the ends justify the means” credo is to succumb to the rationale that felled Lucifer, Judas, Caiaphas, Stalin, and Pol Pot. But Jesus asserts that the means are the ends. The journey is the destination. That’s why He reveals, “I am the way” (John 14:6). We cannot lie for truth or bomb and bludgeon for peace any more than we can create a precise jigsaw puzzle using a chainsaw.

The apostle Paul warned, “Remember that there will be difficult times in the last days. People will be selfish, greedy, boastful, and conceited; they will be insulting, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, and irreligious; they will be unkind, merciless, slanderers, violent, and fierce; they will hate the good; they will be treacherous, reckless, and swollen with pride; they will love pleasure rather than God; they will hold to the outward form of our religion, but reject its real power. Keep away from such people” (2 Tim. 3:1-5 GNB).

Also, avoid voting for them.

5. Thou shalt obtain decision-making information from multiple sources.

Whether it’s MSNBC, CNN or FOX, TV news is a medium of disconnected images. Postman calls the result disinformation that “creates the illusion of knowing something but which in fact leads one away from knowing.”[2]

Even Before Everything Changed (BEC) with the pandemic and economic meltdown, I knew a household that was tuned to one cable news network 15 hours a day. During those 15 hours fresh fears were concocted, coddled, and proclaimed. Finally, the family decided to limit their news viewing. The point is: It does not matter which network they were watching. Two hours a day is too much.

The Week magazine features pithy contrasting ideas and international memes and viewpoints. If you watch TV news you may battle confirmation bias by clicking the “other” stations — yes, including PBS and BBC — not to criticize but to honestly examine differing perspectives. If you’re on digital platforms make certain you frequently go outside the “input bubble” that’s being created on you, and be aware that your information avenues are being bought and sold.

In Culture Wars, sociologist James Davison Hunter observes that conservatives see freedom in economic terms (tax cuts) and justice in social terms (moral standards), while liberals see freedom in social terms (human rights) and justice in economic terms (minimum wage, equal pay). Linguists also note the framing language. For example, everyone is for “lower taxes,” yet everybody supports “responsible citizenship.” Which one do you support? The aim of the game hinges on the name of the frame.

Christians see life and Scripture primarily through the lens of the living Word, who constantly challenges His disciples to be unafraid and to look beyond their worldview. (See Matt. 6:25; 8:26; 12:7; 28:10; Mark 5:36; 9:35; 12:43; Luke 4:21; 5:10; 9:55; 24:27; John 14:1, 27; 16:12; 20:21.)

Jesus also assures, “When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all truth” (John 16:13). This guided tour is rarely a quick trip.

6. Thou shalt be willing to change thy mind.

Such a change isn’t flip-flopping; it’s called education. We should grant the same freedom for political players.

In a public speaking class I taught at Union College, one student delivered a persuasive talk on climate change. His premise was plain: Climate change is a hoax. During question-and-answer time I asked, “What evidence would make you believe you were wrong about this?”

He thought for a moment. “Nothing.”

I tried to mask my astonishment. “Well,” I said at last, “thank you for an honest answer. So much for open-mindedness, huh?”

He smiled grimly. “Yep.”

That resonant question is one I have wrestled with myself: At what point would I change my mind on any subject? It’s a question to ponder, because we all need some humility. Naming a functional tipping point helps us to remain fluid, to concede that something does exist on the other side of our present conviction.

7. Thou shalt not be a generalizing, one-issue voter.

Voting issues are multi-faceted. For example, pro-life actually includes nutrition, housing, pollution, war, prescription drugs, adoption, racism, and eldercare. Otherwise, pro-life is merely pro-birth.

Jesus announced His public ministry to “preach good news to the poor, proclaim release to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed” (Luke 4:18). He was speaking to helping people spiritually, physically, and mentally through discipleship, healing, and education. That’s why Seventh-day Adventist Christians focus on churches, hospitals, and schools.

During the past year I’ve heard people declare that their U.S. presidential vote is based on one issue only: “Climate change.” “The economy.” “Abortion.” “Universal healthcare.” “Civil rights.” These choices are definitely more than tomato/tomahto; important distinctions emerge. But we don’t have to pick one and ignore the others.[3]

Clarify. Prioritize. Include more than one item from the menu.

8. Thou shalt not vote only for thy own interests.

As Christians we are called to stand up for the vulnerable, to be a voice for the voiceless. With love we speak truth to power (Eph. 4:15). 

Poor people are not peripheral to God. They are central. More than 2,000 Bible verses point out the sacred duty to protect and uphold those of us who are poor. Policies and budgets ought to seek the common good, though the means to efficacy may differ. This “common good” pursuit is aimed especially at people on life’s margins, no matter their age, race, beliefs, wealth, nationality, or orientation (Isa. 10:1, 2). As “God so loved the world” (John 3:16), we love all inhabitants of the same world.

Voting primarily for our own bank accounts is a tragedy. We cannot serve both money and Jesus (Matt. 6:24). With defiant optimism and by God’s grace, we do not conform to a grasping culture (Rom. 12:2). Like the meek and mighty Shepherd, we serve with compassion and courage.

Jesus always came down on the side of real people rather than systems. Which candidate is treating the populace as loved individuals, not data points or conduits to power?

“The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you [voted] for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you [voted] for me’” (Matt. 25:40, NIV).

9. Thou shalt truly love thine enemies.

At the most recent U.S. State of the Union address we saw partisanship on stark display from start (not shaking hands) to finish (ripping up speech). In addition to the commandment “Love your enemies” (Matt. 5:44) — as much a commandment as the original Ten — Jesus said, “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God” (Matt. 5:9, NRSV). God’s children, though, should not act as infants. Childlike does not mean childish.

So, find at least one thing on which you can agree with the opposing side and part as friends. The two churches where I serve as pastor welcome believers of every hue on the political spectrum, yet we work together as one. As distasteful and destructive as “that side” often appears, followers of Jesus do not react with dismissive rancor. Crossing the aisle remains a noble enterprise in government and in church.

By the way, Jesus did not say to Christians, “Like your enemies.” We don’t have to like people or their words or acts. Jesus does call us to love everyone as He does — to treat all people with grace and dignity, as beings made in the image of God. Christ calls us to a comprehensive civility.

History reverberates with stories of gracious inclusion. While hanging on the Cross, Jesus prayed for the very people who had Him crucified (Luke 23:34).

Following the Civil War, Abraham Lincoln ordered the military band to play “Dixie.” Mohandas Gandhi, a Hindu, strove to protect and serve Muslims. Eleanor Roosevelt refused to fear anybody, thus birthing the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Nelson Mandela involved his former captors in restructuring South Africa. Democrats and Republicans joined together (at least once) to pass funding to fight the coronavirus outbreak.

All were determined to cross the aisle, to keep their heart and hands open for the better promises of hope, peace, and love.

10. Thou shalt vote each moment of every day.

Our ultimate allegiance extends to no candidate, party, or country but to Jesus of Nazareth. How we live each day is in itself an act of voting (Col. 3:23). Each moment is a precinct gathering with God. Conscience, context, and the Bible provide our best, most accessible voting guides.

The ballot box of daily living confirms our status as liberated, teachable, grace-filled citizens of the New Earth. Everything matters. Each thought and every action, all day long, channels to one choice.

Follower of Jesus?

[   ] Check

 

Notes & References:

[1] Neil Postman, Amusing Ourselves to Death (New York: Viking Penguin, 1985), pp. 92, 93.

[2] Neil Postman, Amusing Ourselves to Death (New York: Viking Penguin, 1985), p. 107.

[3] As evidence that headlined issues may dramatically change and profoundly deepen, since the original writing of this article the COVID-19 volcano erupted in the U.S. and the Black Lives Matter movement blossomed.

 

Chris Blake is lead pastor for the San Luis Obispo and Morro Bay Seventh-day Adventist Churches. He is professor emeritus of English and communication at Union College and the author of hundreds of articles and many books.

Photo by Tiffany Tertipes on Unsplash

 

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This is a companion discussion topic for the original entry at http://spectrummagazine.org/node/10717
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#2

What is wrong with this author!? That is not what pro-life means any more than pro-choice means “actually includes nutrition, housing, pollution, war, prescription drugs, adoption, racism, and eldercare” Yeah I am pro-choice, you don’t have to chose to feed your child, I am pro-choice so my child gets to live in the trash can out back. I am pro-choice which means you can abort your 6 or 60 year old, Why people keep saying such things as if Pro-life means you can’t be in favor of the death penalty after being found guilty, this shows me that your thinking process is woefully inaccurate.

As one article puts it well:
" Premise 1: It is wrong to intentionally kill an innocent human being.

Premise 2: Abortion intentionally kills an innocent human being.

Therefore,

Conclusion: Abortion is wrong.

That’s enough for me, and it should be enough for anyone. Nevertheless, the hits on pro-lifers just keep on coming. One large evangelical conference featured a speaker who bashed pro-lifers for “withholding mercy from the living so that we might display a big spectacle of how much we want mercy to be shown to the unborn” and for “only doing activism that is comfortable.” Closer to home, a well-intentioned pro-life organization insists the pro-life movement must not only save children, but “programmatically” help others “build strong families, have healthy marriages, be better parents, and have thriving faith lives”—that, and promote responsible fatherhood.

How is all that even possible? Pro-lifers just got saddled with a backbreaking job description not even Superman can pull off. We do not establish “pro-life” credentials by diverting scarce resources from the unborn to take on issues that Christians with larger platforms and better funding are more than willing to address. That will kill the pro-life movement." https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/article/mean-pro-life/

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#4

Expect severe adverse reaction if character, morality, honesty, veracity, or anything that is noble is added as a factor to be considered when voting. For some reasons these values have been just completely devalued even by many who present themselves as being Christians. Go figure.

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#5

in reality, there’s only one choice that a christian, especially an adventist christian, can make if choosing between biden and trump, and that choice isn’t trump
there isn’t even one principle that trump pretends to believe, or in fact embodies, that can square with a religion based on jesus
in addition, everything about trump is diametrically opposed to such a religion


this being the case, it isn’t material whether biden lives up to everything that an adventist can accept, or carries with him things, like abortion, or gay marriage, that an adventist cannot accept
the larger reality is that in a pluralistic society, people don’t have the same religion, and these differences need to be able to exist side by side
we must accept that for our priorities to be given berth, others’ priorities must be given that same berth


but the destruction of law, order and truth that we’ve seen under trump, facilitated by the GOP, is an existential threat
trumpism is a clear departure from the conditions needed for a thriving, continuing democracy
this kind of danger must be resisted and in fact excised at any cost
the only effective way to do this is to vote for biden and the dems, now and through november


it goes without saying that there will come a time when we will need to vote for the GOP in order correct excesses by the dems
but this time around, very much depends on voting in biden and the dems


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#6

Based on that and the appalling, disgusting, sick behavior of Donald Trump, and his total disregard for decency, honesty and respect, and the obvious fact he is a habitual liar that cannot be trusted, I conclude there is absolutely nothing to justify reasonably and with clear conscience that voting for Donald Trump would be the right thing to do.

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#7

You say: "Jesus directs, “Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s” (Mark 12:17). Romans 13 begins, “Let everyone be subject to the governing authorities” and furnishes an impassioned defense for paying taxes (vs. 6, 7). When Jesus describes the regional governor as “that fox” (Luke 13:32), He isn’t talking about Herod’s good looks.

The argument that Jesus didn’t involve Himself in the politics of His day so we shouldn’t in our day is misguided. His context — living in an occupied country under a dictatorship without option of voting rights — was far different from ours. We might as well refuse to use telephones or wear eyeglasses because, after all, Jesus didn’t."

You are erroneously equating people not wanting to vote to people necessarily having an argument, that Jesus did not involve Himself in politics. Depends on what you mean by politics.

Jesus certainly was not a partisan for immoral or wicked politicians.

Are not you aware that many people are disenfranchised from the political process by politicians and therefore, want to refrain from voting for some politicians and political offices- yet you are insisting that the Bible dictates that these people vote? Where? This is simply unbiblical. The bible does not dictate that any one must vote. Please show us the verse? If the Bible is a guide, Exodus 18:21, NIV says “But select capable men from all the people–men who fear God, trustworthy men who hate dishonest gain–and appoint them as officials over thousands, hundreds, fifties and tens.” Yet, many who claim to be fighting for justice in the SDA Church are saying that it is our duty to vote for politicians who don’t fear God, and who are not trustworthy. Many are fighting for communities to vote for politicians who will harm communities and the country at large, further.

Some communities may want to hold politicians accountable by withholding their vote when suitable. Are you trying to undermine a community’s ability to hold politicians accountable and would you rather they be “captured electorates”? Under the guise of being civic minded and being justice-oriented, some 'activists" are advocating for people to vote for politicians, when they know that the communities are not getting much in return and could be harmed, yet these ‘activists’ are getting their own specific policy needs met.

Several Scholars have even advocated withholding one’s vote when suitable.

Why is it that there is so much activity about voter shaming people to vote? Where is the comparable activity around getting people tangible policy? Where is the energy around holding the politicians that one praises and puts forth before the believers, accountable for his/her failings? This rings of using particular communities for votes and it’s a cynical ploy to erect a movement for justice around. Even Ice Cube stated to not engage in voting for the sake of voting and to be suspicious of people who tell you to vote and not ask or expect anything in return - he stated that we should ask such people what are they getting in return. In turns out that these people usually are getting or have already gotten much in return, whereas the communities they trying to voter shame will not get substantial policy in return. Did not Martin Luther King state that it is important not to just vote, but to create people who are respectable enough to vote for? Yet, most of the posturing that we see in the justice arena is not concerned with creating people who are respectable enough to vote for. It is just that we vote for the voter shamer’s preferred candidate. Most of the people telling communities to vote are happy with at least one of the candidates, despite the moral failings of the candidate - this is why they are telling people to vote. They claim to be about justice, yet are content with their candidate and are content with their candidate’s serious moral failings and harm to the community. There has been the sentiment put forth within the Adventist community that if you refrain from voting, that you can’t effect any substantive or systemic change for the vulnerable within this society. This is not necessarily true. There are many bad circumstances that have not changed for the vulnerable in societies even with the vote and with voting. Just look at various areas of the country and how little things have changed and even worsened in some areas, even with voting. When someone makes statements like this - it reeks of trying to abuse certain communities for votes. People have the right to withhold their votes in order to exercise power and avoid being taken for granted. Are these social justice warriors trying to undermine a community’s ability to wield power and avoid being taken for granted by politicians?

#8

Anyone in America who wants to be protected as a citizen, also needs to protect America. America is under a horrible attack; our Democracy is threatened as never before. I still don’t understand why so many people support someone who has, in less than 4 years, proven to be a serious enemy of the USA.

We know Biden and Trump for several decades. Anyone who is unable to draw clear conclusions after comparing the two resumés must be numb from the neck up!

How to vote as a Christian? Just vote by PRINCIPLE. Some people would rather not vote than voting on a Democrat. This is not good enough when the Country is under such a attack. This paranoia against the Democrats is totally insane. Did something bad happened during the 8 years of the Obama/Biden governance? NO, nothing.

Where are those people who were afraid of Obama’s supposed “socialism?” They are very quiet now since after 8 years of Obama our Democracy was well strengthened. And niow that out Democracy has been almost totally destroyed by a FASCIST Republican, where are those “fearful and zealous” people hiding now?

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#9

Really? A Christian can’t refrain from voting in order to attempt to hold a politician accountable who has ignored or harmed that Christian’s community? How is it Christian to vote for Biden, if his tenure will largely harm certain communities or not largely benefit certain communities? Our responsibility is to get Trump out of office you say; this is the Christian Responsibility? Why should we follow your view and follow it when you describe Trump in comparison to Biden, in terms of what squares with Jesus or not? Are not you virtue signaling? Biden has stated specific policy platforms for some constituencies. Why should a certain constituency vote for Biden, if his presidency will not offer that constituency anything substantially crucial to their survival in terms of economics, healthcare, and right to life or will even harm that constituency? Are not you engaging in sacrificing some constituencies at the expense of others, and valuing some constituencies as more important than others and validating Biden’s quest in this regard? Are not you validating this creation of a zero sum game? We should vote for other constituencies and not expect anything in return for our particular constituency? This is godly and being neighborly? Is this what you and/or the author are perhaps saying? Advocating that a constituency who will not benefit from a Biden presidency actually vote for Biden; is this unchristian and perhaps, discriminatory? Is it intelligent? Then why are many Adventist Pastors engaging in this advocacy, and claiming that this is the way to get one’s voice heard?

#10

At least for me, the statement you posted is extremely vague, there were no specifics against Biden. I want you suggest that you post a complement comment, listing,

  1. Why not to vote for Biden
  2. Why to vote for Trump

Just enlist some major reasons, but specific not generic or vague propositions. This may be a a great contribution to help those who are still undecided.

5 Likes
#11

I was disappointed, but not surprised, to see that this article completely bypassed any areas of substance. For instance, the need to defund the police and to insure racial and sexual justice. Instead we get comments in the bottom, the first which appalling argues for the value of the life of a fetus, undeniably human tissue, but without the track record of independent life which gives us value as people.

They talk about property rights, but not the right to protest and receive reparations for centuries of injustice.

There is no excuse for the equanamity with which this piece is written.

#12

THOU SHALT NOT VOTE ONLY THINE OWN INTERESTS

You bet, I am going to vote my own interests.

Because I intuitively know that my best interests also dovetail with the interests of my fellow church members.

My stock portfolio is hugely increased, year to date, with some stocks more than doubling. The IRAs of my four adult children are similarly enhanced.

This tells me that the pension plans / IRAs of my fellow Adventists in the NAD are ensuring them an improved retirement — why would this not make me happy ?

I am also assuming that our financial experts at the General Conference are not having their excess funds sitting in cash, where the interest rates are minuscule. Hopefully the denomination’s portfolio is also benefiting from Trump’s unprecedented stock market gains.

But, you say, what about the working poor, those without stock market portfolios?

Well, Trump’s superb economy ensured historical employment figures for our black minority ( before the Chinese pandemic ). Would this not mean that members in our regional black conferences had unprecedented job opportunities ?

Similarly, the Hispanic community had the highest employment statistics IN HISTORY. Would not this be superb for the members in our Spanish speaking churches ?

Our Filipino members must be rejoicing that the stats for Asian unemployment are at historic lows ( prior to the pandemic ).

Trump, as a business entrepreneur has certainly jacked up the economy with his tax cuts and deregulations of onerous rules on businesses and corporations.
He has also been super aggressive at returning jobs to the
US and executing trade deals favorable to our country.

Also his enhanced southern border prevents floods of illegals entering, who undercut the wages of our working poor, when the illegals are willing to work for less.

And border enhancement prevents the flood of narcotics, causing a crisis of overdoses — not to mention the sex trafficking of underage girls across our porous border — I applaud Trump’s wall for multiple reasons!

Already we are having a spectacular V shaped return to a great economy., hurt by the pandemic lockdowns to our businesses.

You bet, I am going to vote my interests, when Biden assures me that he will implement a FOUR TRILLION $ tax increase.— much of it on corporations and businesses thereby predicting a drop in their stock prices ! Why would I wish that my stock portfolio ( and those of other Adventists ) have a dramatic decline, with a Biden win?

And I know that every extra dollar paid In tax prevents me from donating that dollar to ADRA, DOCTORS WITHOUT BORDERS, and other humanitarian causes.

Every dollar siphoned off as tax, makes it less likely that I will give more to my local church expense, the local church Vacation Bible School, or to improve the Conference’s youth camp grounds!

And if that is true for me, that would also apply to other Adventists in the NAD
.
I do not want my hard earned money to evaporate into hare brained multi trillion $ NEW GREEN DEAL schemes.

THOU SHALT REMAIN REASONABLY KNOWLEDGEABLE ABOUT ISSUES.

It does not require a graduate degree, or even a college education, to be aware that when socialism has been implemented in countries like Cuba, Venezuela and the former USSR, that living standards plummet and that generalized MJSERY prevails.

So why would I vote for the most radically left wing, pro socialist party — the Democrats — who will collapse our economy and return us to third world status ?

And finally, I vote LAW and ORDER.
Because I have not been able to occupy my home in Portland, Oregon this summer because my downtown condo is two blocks from the Federal Courthouse, under siege by rioters, for the past many weeks, creating a virtual WAR ZONE in my neighborhood.

Why would I subject myself to danger ? My building lobby has been in lockdown, with my neighbors fearful of exiting onto the street. They are unable to sleep at night because of the noisy mayhem below ! Fortunately I am blessed with another home i can escape to!

Our feckless Democratic mayor and incompetent Democratic Governor have allowed this disorder to prevail for multiple weeks, while tacitly supporting it.

Similar violent conditions exist in other Democratically controlled cities.

But I personally, with a residence in Portland, have been impacted.
Trump, if invited into Portland to control the riots, would eliminate them in one hour !

Of course I will vote my interests when I support Trump in November, but also knowing that my interests coincide with most of my fellow citizens and church members!

3 Likes
#13

President Trump should not be re-elected. It is not a matter of partisan loyalties but loyalty to the Creator of the Ten Commandments. To the many Adventist Christians and other evangelicals who continue to support Mr. Trump in spite of his blackened moral record, I would say say this: Remember who you are and whom you serve. Consider how your justification of Mr. Trump influences your witness to your Lord and Savior. Consider what an unbelieving world will say if you continue to brush off Mr. Trump’s immoral words and behavior in the cause of political expediency. If we don’t reverse course now, will anyone take anything we say about justice and righteousness with any seriousness for decades to come? How can we follow a leader that lies repeatedly? Can we say with a straight face that we need justice reform and then with the same straight face, say that the bent and broken character of our nation’s leader doesn’t really matter in the end? Trump’s house of cards will crash down on the reputation of evangelical religion and on the world’s understanding of the gospel. And it will come crashing down on a nation of men and women whose welfare is also our concern.

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#14

I get the feeling that the ‘message’ of the article went flying high over some heads!

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#15

Thank you, Chris, for your encouraging and practical ideas. I appreciate you putting this out there in the current free-fire zone.

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#16

I don’t know, Democrats ran socialist candidates for president, many wanting Medicare for all and the new green deal. and the communist party USA endorses Biden. I can’t imagine what happened as the result of Obama’s socialism.

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#17

Many years ago, I stopped voting Republican and have since voted Democrat. Not because of a party loyalty, but because the Democratic party stands for much of what I believe is important. Perhaps I should call myself independent, for I would not vote for a Democrat who was opposed to my beliefs.

I am unable to understand those who support Trump, a person who constantly lies and has so distorted truth that it is hard to know whether to believe anything he says. He has deliberately misled Americans about the coronavirus, while he could have saved thousands of lives if he had told the truth from the beginning. He is anti-science in every way, rolling back protections of nature as much as he can, so that the wealthy may benefit financially, while our world is being quickly destroyed by climate change. Believe me, we here in the west are well aware of it. Those who think Trump should be supported because he can make them wealthier are looking at the wrong standards. He is a disaster in every way for our country, and his lack of morality is destroying our characters.

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#18

Many people who didn’t care about Trump’s lies are not going to vote for him. They are now dead! Killed by a “hoax”
 Imagine!!!
:wink:

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#19

Re voting -are these your commands or your personal recommendations?

#20

Please clarify your question. I didn’t understand it.
Thanks.

#21

re read what tou wrote about Trump and those who vote for him and think about it overnight