We are 30 days from the United States Presidential election. Are you feeling the tension? I am.
I will not claim this is the most important election of our time—America has seen many low points in our history— but we all know there’s much at stake. An ongoing global pandemic. Racial tensions. A last minute Supreme Court decision. For sure, there hasn’t been a more important election in many years.
In my observation, something that's continued to decrease steadily over the last four years is civility between people who don’t see eye-to-eye. Not only do Republicans and Democrats not get along, but, even within my Christian faith there is disunity and fighting. The Journal of Democracy says this: “Political polarization undermines the public’s ability to serve as a democratic check: In polarized electorates, voters are willing to trade off democratic principles for partisan interests."
Earlier this week, on Facebook, I decided to share that I’ll be voting for Biden in November. As a Christian and a swing voter, I know I have a unique perspective as to HOW I landed on voting for Biden, and I figured that if there are other people who are still undecided that I might be a resource. While there are several big reasons I’ll be voting for Biden, the largest one is that I believe our current President is the largest contributing factor to a polarized America, and thus, he puts our democracy at risk.
There are many ways I could have chosen (or not chosen) to share this information. To be honest, I knew it would be much safer and easier not to share at all, but I thought long and hard about whether there might be a way to share respectfully and for the purpose of helping others make their voting decision. I knew for certain that I didn’t want to demean our President, I didn’t want to claim that Christians have to vote a certain way, and I didn’t want to contribute to fighting between people.
For the most part, my Facebook community respected my wishes. I received a lot of private messages from friends who wanted to talk through their beliefs, or who wanted to share parts of their hard stories. You see, I have a lot of Christians in my social networks and when you tell Christians that you’re voting for a Democrat they will almost always shift the conversation to abortion. If you’re someone who’s had an abortion—and especially if you’re a person of faith who had one because your life or your child’s life was at risk—it’s really hard to watch people debate the very thing that caused you so much pain. I’m so thankful that I could be a listening and loving ear for one particular friend who reached out to me privately and shared parts of her story. And, I carry a lot of pain for her because in my attempt to share who I’ll be voting for, others co-opted the space to discuss abortion.
As much as some people of faith would like to believe, the Bible is unclear about whether we should vote Republican or Democrat. Many, many Christians are still under the illusion that our political party and our religion are one and the same. They are not. What is clear? That others will know we are Christians by our love for Jesus and our love for each other. The Bible is clear about protecting the unborn. The Bible is clear about how we care for widows, the poor, immigrants and women. What remains uncertain and disagreed upon at times is how.
There are undecided voters of every religious and ethnic background, but right now I’d like to speak to those who have a faith in Jesus Christ. If you are a Christian, and you’re feeling embarrassed about who you voted for in 2016, those feelings are worth paying attention to. If you’re the child, brother, friend or spouse of someone who has told you there’s a “Christian” way to vote, then now may be a good time to do more research and reading. Let me be clear: I am not advocating that “good” Christians vote for Biden. I’m also promising you that Christians do not have a moral obligation to vote for Trump.
But, don’t just take my word for it. I’ve compiled a list of articles discussing this very topic. Many Christians and Conservatives will, for the first time, vote for a Democrat in 2020. It might even be you.
Resources:
Thou Shalt Not Be a Jerk: A Christian’s Guide to Engaging in Politics (check out the video, but also, there’s a book!)
Who Needs a Platform When You Have Negative Partisanship by David French, founder of the National Review, a conservative magazine. French will be voting for Biden in 2020.
We are Evangelical Christians Not Voting for Trump This Time
A new group of Evangelical voters forms in support of Biden (worth noting—this group is different than the individuals listed in the article above)
David Platt’s Plea Before You Vote
Christian Witness Demands That We Defend Truth and Reject Donald Trump
Jeannie Gaffigan: My loved ones told me ‘real’ Catholics vote for Trump. Here’s my response.
Trump’s Bible Stunt: How Christians Feel, from the Atlantic
Added after the original post:
Policies, Persons and Paths to Ruin, a post by evangelical leader John Piper
Can we talk politics? (a letter from Jen Pollock Michel to her e-newsletter subscribers. Hopeful and encouraging!)
She’s Evangelical, Pro-Life and Voting for Biden
Donald Trump is Not Pro-Life-His Response to Covid-19 Proves It
Photo by Luke Stackpoole on Unsplash