we've got an election coming up and i have yet to stir up any political controversy so here we go...
sojourners is a christian socio-political organization/magazine that seeks to analyze politics from outside of the republican/christian-conservative viewpoint and take a Biblical stance on things in contrast to a partisan one. i think they're actually fairly left-leaning, but so am i so i like them.
they say it so much better than i ever could, so i'm just gonna copy and paste some text here.
"It is the responsibility of every political conservative, every evangelical Christian, every pro-life Catholic, every traditional Jew...to get serious about re-electing President Bush."
- Jerry Falwell, The New York Times, July 16, 2004
"I think George Bush is going to win in a walk. I really believe I'm hearing from the Lord it's going to be like a blowout election in 2004. The Lord has just blessed him.... It doesn't make any difference what he does, good or bad."
- Pat Robertson, AP/Fox News, January 2, 2004
These leaders of the Religious Right mistakenly claim that God has taken a side in this election, and that Christians should only vote for George W. Bush.
We believe that claims of divine appointment for the President, uncritical affirmation of his policies, and assertions that all Christians must vote for his re-election constitute bad theology and dangerous religion.
We believe that sincere Christians and other people of faith can choose to vote for President Bush or Senator Kerry - for reasons deeply rooted in their faith.
We believe all candidates should be examined by measuring their policies against the complete range of Christian ethics and values.
We will measure the candidates by whether they enhance human life, human dignity, and human rights; whether they strengthen family life and protect children; whether they promote racial reconciliation and support gender equality; whether they serve peace and social justice; and whether they advance the common good rather than only individual, national, and special interests.
We also admonish both parties and candidates to avoid the exploitation of religion or our congregations for partisan political purposes.
By signing this statement, we call Christians and other people of faith to a more thoughtful involvement in this election, rather than claiming God's endorsement of any candidate.
This is the meaning of responsible Christian citizenship.
Posted by bwu at October 22, 2004 03:42 PMYES. Absolutely.
Aside from the fact I'm voting for Kerry (irrelevant in CA since that's practically guaranteed), I really don't like to see people pick candidate because, "so-and-so said so/endorses him." Or single-issue people. "Kerry is pro-abortion! He advocates killing babies! How can you vote for him?"
I've already made several issues with the people who moderate the church mailing list when they allow people to send messages saying that "you _must_ go vote for this person because he's a Christian. Support Christian Values!" You just can't use superficial Christianity as a springboard for politics. Spread information and balanced commentary, not single-sided propaganda. It's much too easy to misuse things like church mailing lists to herd people like sheep.
"We believe all candidates should be examined by measuring their policies against the complete range of Christian ethics and values."
I like that statement. A presidential election usually comes down to picking the lesser of two "evils." They're not perfect people and never will be. The fact that they're politicians make this even more true.
Posted by: John Kua on October 22, 2004 11:12 PM