Should Christians vote for Democrats?

by Chad Miller

In my writing, I typically focus on Christian apologetics but lately my thoughts have been consumed with the worldview war being raged in the political arena. While I still believe focusing on apologetics in Churches is absolutely essential, I am beginning to think the Church is losing its focus on important political issues. This apathetic approach to politics is having a serious impact on the culture and meanwhile there are innocent lives at stake.

Make no mistake about it, I have been 100% guilty of this in my own life. I have always voted and done my due diligence in that regard, especially on the abortion issue. However, I haven't always been quite as keen on watching the news, paying close attention to what was happening in government, and doing my best to inform others - even though the political arena directly impacts not only my life in the present, but more importantly my children in the future. I've known many Christians with presumably good intentions who vote for liberal politicians and because they have either been musicians I liked, authors who made good points in other areas, or friends whom I love, I was always willing to give them "Christian liberty" license. After all, we're all Christians and how we vote is up to our own conscience, right?

Well...

I'm not so sure about that...

When one considers everything at stake and how our votes truly impact human lives, our votes are tied directly to our accountability to God. How we vote is an integral part of our Christian stewardship. God in His sovereignty has chosen to allow American Christians to live in a culture much different than when the authors of Scripture lived. We are allowed to vote, run for office, campaign, and be actively involved in the direction of our country, provided we operate within the well placed restrictions of our Constitution. For Christians, we should first and foremost operate within the well placed restrictions of Scripture (which not coincidentally heavily influenced our founding fathers in framing our Constitution and Republic).

So what is the responsibility of the Christian voter? Does it matter which party we vote for? My contention is what party we vote for does matter. It matters a great deal. So is a vote for a Republican always a vote for Christian values? Unfortunately not. There are many Republicans who not only ignore Biblical principles, but even shun the conservative principles their own Party is supposed to uphold. There are many sharp divisions within the Republican Party on a lot of issues, but the Democrats seems to avoid this. While there are many issues the Democratic Party agrees on which are contrary to a Christian worldview, the only one I want to address in this post is the most blatant offense; abortion.

I knew about Barack Obama's stance on abortion before both elections and implored as many Christians as possible to NOT vote for him because of this (and a host of other anti-Christian, anti-constitutional, anti-liberty stances). I ran across this meme yesterday, and while many memes are clever ways at communicating a message without actually providing substance (or facts - be careful about sharing memes with quotes without fact checking them first), this meme is horrifying and accurate:



For anyone who is pro-life and to Christians in particular; if you find abortion and/or partial birth abortion morally repugnant, how can a vote for Obama or other Democrats be squared with that conviction? If you believe infants born alive during a botched abortion should receive immediate medical attention, how could you vote for Obama when he voted AGAINST that every time it passed his desk?

Make no mistake about it. This is what the Democratic platform is all about and not just President Obama. No matter how much a specific Democrat may profess to be pro life, they have to tow the Party line and cave to their supposed personal convictions, and the Party line on the abortion issue is 100% clear. The 2012 Democratic Party Platform states:

Protecting a Woman’s Right to Choose: The Democratic Party strongly and unequivocally supports Roe v. Wade and a woman’s right to make decisions regarding her pregnancy, including a safe and legal abortion, regardless of ability to pay. We oppose any and all efforts to weaken or undermine that right.

There's so much wrong there I could write a thesis on it. For brevity's sake, just contrast that with the 2012 Republican Party Platform on abortion:

Faithful to the "self-evident" truths enshrined in the Declaration of Independence, we assert the sanctity of human life and affirm that the unborn child has a fundamental individual right to life which cannot be infringed. We support a human life amendment to the Constitution and endorse legislation to make clear that the Fourteenth Amendment's protections apply to unborn children. We oppose using public revenues to promote or perform abortion or fund organizations which perform or advocate it and will not fund or subsidize health care which includes abortion coverage. We support the appointment of judges who respect traditional family values and the sanctity of innocent human life. We oppose the non-consensual withholding or withdrawal of care or treatment, including food and water, from people with disabilities, including newborns, as well as the elderly and infirm, just as we oppose active and passive euthanasia and assisted suicide.

Fiscal policy, immigration, foreign aid, healthcare, military, gender equality, gun control and many other issues are all important, and there can be disagreements between Christians on how to handle some of those issues without necessarily compromising Biblical integrity (though I believe strong Biblical arguments can be made against socialism)... but this is a human rights issue with no Biblical or moral ambiguity whatsoever, mdo different than slavery or human trafficking. Simply put, a vote for a Democrat is ultimately voting against the human rights of the most defenseless people one can find.

Even though the Bible is clear about where Christians should stand on the importance of the inherent value of human life, we have Christians who fill the voting booths to vote for their favorite Democratic candidate, presumably because they believe the greater good can be accomplished through the government. I've also heard "there was no solid conservative candidate on the ticket", though I can't imagine a situation where I would be forced to vote for Obama or other pro-choice Democrats. Romney was clearly not the most conservative candidate the Republicans could have chosen last year, and don't get me started on McCain in 2008. That is a separate issue and I'll merely say "shame on the Republican Party for continuing to advance candidates who don't stand for true constitutional principles".

However, I can still think of no valid excuse for the Christian to vote for a Democrat who as mentioned above will with very, very rare exception, cave on the abortion issue. Most Democrats simply do everything they can to radically advance the pro-choice cause while the very few pro-life Democrats will compromise their views for the sake of the Party. The Party not only advances abortion, but many other issues which run completely contrary to a Biblical worldview. For the sake of avoiding a full out manifesto, I'm not addressing those specifically at this time but instead focusing on abortion due to the importance of it specifically, as well as the major happenings in society right now (Kermit Gosnell case, Obama speaking at Planned Parenthood, undercover videos exposing the abortion industry, and many more).

Christians need to seriously think about this for 2014 when the elections come up and truly be aware of what is happening. Whether you live in a red state and your (D) vote may not seem to count for much, or live in a blue state where your vote for the pro-life candidate won't seem to matter... we need to understand it absolutely does. We are responsible and accountable to God for how we vote. We have a responsibility to do whatever we can to protect the least among us. If you are a Christian reading this and voted for Obama or other Democrats, I can't put it any way other than there is blood on your hands for those votes...

If you thought voting for Obama was a better overall pro-life vote (like the very confused Christian "progressive" Rachel Held Evans), how is that vote looking now, considering we're still at war, soldiers are still dying, unemployment is skyrocketing, we're drone bombing innocent people, we're steadily losing our civil liberties. and our President is the first sitting President to ever speak at a Planned Parenthood event (or any pro-choice organization)? It seems like the Democratic Party might not offer the utopia so-called Christian progressives are looking for. In fact, electing Democrats is consistently worse for the overall "culture of life" message since millions more are killed under Democratic policies than any other, as long as we can agree about the aborted babies being part of those killed. It seems most Christian liberals would at least acquiesce that abortion kills a child, but again, the focus of the left is not typically on the child at all (and I wonder why).

Make no mistake about it, I am NOT claiming the Republican Party offers this utopia either. That will only come when Christ comes to set things right once and for all. I'm simply asking anyone with intellectual integrity to compare the platforms of the two parties on the abortion issue and the overall culture of life. Who is more consistently pro-life? Who is making attempts to overturn Roe V Wade and making legislative moves which will dramatically reduce abortions? Fortunately many conservatives are beginning to line up with other culture of life issues (and conservative values) and not wanting the US entangled in foreign wars where we have no business being involved. Is supporting those politicians a valid option for the Christian liberal?

Sorry about that.. I meant Christian Progressive.

Instead of voting for a party who openly professes to be against the rights of the unborn, why not examine making inroads within the Republican Party? Which is more likely; to get the Democratic Party to overturn its longstanding and increasingly aggressive support for abortion, or get the Republican Party to examine its views on internventionist wars and other supposed life issues? Is it a possibility for Roe V Wade to be overturned and more pro-life legislation be put in place if all the professing Christians voted for actual pro life candidates? While we have our thinking caps on, is it possible government is not the be all/end all cure for poverty, disease, and starvation? Will wars cease and peace be achieved by any political means?

What the US government is supposed to do is protect the rights and liberties of its citizens. This especially includes protecting the lives of innocent children, and as Christians, this is of utmost importance and should eclipse any other soapbox we may have. Think about the millions of American babies being murdered. Think about what the Lord would have you do when you're in the voting booth. One of these days the ideas and thoughts of our hearts will be naked and exposed to the eyes of Him to whom we must give an account. If we don't think our votes will be held under the same scrutiny, we're in big trouble.

Chad Miller