Matthew 15:9 But in vain they do
worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men.
I guess the 11th commandment is now
“thou shalt vote!” At least that’s what it seems in article
after article written by various pastors and pundits with the express
purpose of motivating Christians to vote for a favored candidate.
Every time I read, “not voting is a sin” I shudder. The use of a
persons faith to try to force them to do something based on fear
is... well... cheap... a cheap religious trick. Our faith should be
more valuable to us than that.
The outline usually goes like this: we
are told that if we don't vote it is sin and then come arguments
intended to persuade us to chose their candidate as the “lesser of
two evils”. Some even try to make us think they are being
objective. These writers basically try to convince us that one
candidate is far too evil for our vote. Some firmly state they would
never vote for such a candidate under any circumstances. I'm glad I'm
already a Christian because if I wasn't then profane antics like this
would cause me to avoid Christianity.
Instead of two evils they really give
us a choice of three: Evil number 1: Not to vote for either
candidate. Evil number 2: Vote for candidate one. Evil number 3: Vote
for candidate two (the really evil one).
Some even seem to imply that evil
number 1, not voting, is the greatest evil… but that doesn't seem
to be supported by their logic. What if the only candidates were the
one they would never vote for and one even worse. In that case they
would be forced to choose sin number one and not vote at all. (I
expect sin #1 would all the sudden lose its place as the 11th
commandment)
But what if some folks have already
come to the conclusion that both candidates have certain evils in
their lives, beliefs, or policies which render them unworthy of their
vote? Most people have a line of morality or principle over which
they will not step to vote. Could it be that the question of voting
or not voting is, for some thoughtful sincere people, a profound
matter of conscience?
Might there be a time when the system
has, or candidates have, become so corrupt that people of good
conscience believe their only recourse is to not vote, but to pray
that God’s grace will see us through the dark time? Some may intend to send a message to their political party by not voting.
Voting is a matter of conscience… and some of us still believe in liberty of conscience. I know I do, and I will not support a contrived religious doctrine intended to impede that liberty.
Voting is a matter of conscience… and some of us still believe in liberty of conscience. I know I do, and I will not support a contrived religious doctrine intended to impede that liberty.
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