Vote 2012

In 2010, I wrote the post below.  I stand by those thoughts today even more than I did then. And to them I would add one other.

There is a responsibility that comes with our rights. Whether those rights are God given or the result of the government system we are under, our rights lead to our responsibilities. So, not only do we have the right to vote on Nov 6, 2012, we have the responsibility to do so.

But rights and responsibilities go beyond voting. They include helping others when they are down and we are doing good. They include sharing our bountiful excess when others have nothing. And, they include defending the helpless and the hopeless, when we have both safety and security.

No one is more at risk than a baby in his or her mother's womb. And no deserves more protection from society and yes, the government. If I can be compelled to recycle to protect a defenseless environment or wear a seat belt to protect my defenseless self, how much more do the weakest and most precious members of humanity deserve our protection?

Please vote and pray for life.

To God Alone be the Glory

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On Nov 2, 2010, all Americans 18 years old and older will have the privilege to vote.  I typically avoid discussing political issues because I think such discussions can quickly slide from a pure Biblical perspective to a very humanistic one.  However, I feel compelled to share the thoughts of two of my heroes in the faith: John Piper and Dietrich Bonhoeffer. I will let their words speak for themselves, but my prayer is that for true Christians, we would approach our privilege to vote prayerfully, seriously, humbly and very, very gratefully.  SDG

Piper:

No endorsment of a single issue qualifies a person to hold public office. Being pro-life does not make a person a good governor, mayor or president, but there are numerous single issues that disqualify a person from oublic office. For example, any candidate who endorsed bribery as a form of government efficiency would be disqualified, regardless of his party or platform. Or a person who endorsed corperate fraud would be disqualified no matter what else he endorsed. Or a person who said no black person could hold office--on that single issue alone he would be unfit for office. Or a person who said rape is only a misdemeanor--that single issue would end his political career. These examples could go on and on. Everybody knows a single issue that for them would disqualify a candidate for office.

You have to decide what those issues are for you. What do you think disqualifies a person from public office? I believe that the endorsement of the right to kill unborn children disqualifies a person from any position of public office. It's simply the same as saying the endorsement of racism, fraud or bribery would disqualify him--except that killing a child is much worse. -- The Godward Life, vol 1

Bonhoeffer:

"Destruction of the embryo in the mother's womb is a violation of the right to live which God has bestowed upon this nascent life. To raise the question whether we are here concerned already with a human being or not is merely to confuse the issue. The simple fact is that God certainly intended to create a human being and that this nascent human being has been deliberately deprived of his life. And this is nothing but murder." -- Ethics pg 206