There can be such a will of some people to defeat a particular candidate that they don't even want to hear or read anything, and I mean anything, that might cause them or others to do anything but march on in a robotic trance, with blinders on their eyes and fingers in their ears.
As Christians, we have a greater responsibility and allegiance to God than to any politician, political party, and even to our country. Of course our country is important, but as Christians we are responsible to cooperate with God in our witness to others first, hopefully transforming the country through God's Grace.
The most common responses I have received so far have been:
Romney "is pro-life".
-Well, there's more to being pro-life than being anti-abortion. And Romney is not always anti-abortion. And even when he is, I do not see such conviction that I believe that he will actually do anything other than say he is pro-life. There's more on this, but you can do a little research on your own right? (Of course we know Obama is definitely pro-abortion and even pro-infanticide so do not misinterpret or distort what I am saying.)
What " if your vote results in dramatic worsening of the situation for pretty much everything you care about (a bigger evil staying in power)?" and "A vote for a third party candidate is a vote for Obama."
-That is part of the discernment that one needs to consider. But it's a part and needs to be taken to prayer and considered in the whole of the process. When our conscience is clear, we will proceed with assurance and peace, not fear. The Lord does not give us a Spirit of fear.
"I know Romney is not perfect. He was not my first nor second choice in the primaries but he he is better than Obama."
-My intention is to get people to think about the weight of their vote on their souls before the weight of politics. Honestly, it's not for me to judge someone who wrestles with the full grasp of facts and takes that (hopefully with prayer) into the voting booth.
I was going to rant on a bit more about this, but Lisa beat me to it. (Ah, good for me and for you.)
No, it's not easy, but it is your responsibility. And although Tom Petty's song "The Waiting" was definitely composed with a different end in mind, the chorus of that song reminds me of this process. Here it is (with my changing of that one word <2x>):
The weighting is the hardest partSo try not to get angry about any of this, just think and pray and discern until you truly feel at peace that you have taken into account all of the information. Soon, the weighting will be over.
Every day you see one more card
You take it on faith, you take it to the heart
The weighting is the hardest part
(The Waiting, by Tom Petty - with editorial liberty)
For a minute there, I had hope for you. You said there's more to pro-life than being anti-abortion. Yet you said nothing about opposing war or the death penalty. You said nothing about helping the poor or your responsibility as a human being to feed the hungry, clothe the naked, and shelter the homeless. You said nothing about giving children the opportunity to go to school, even if they come from poor families. And god forbid you ever talk about preventing the situations that lead to abortion in the first place - sex ed in school, birth control, family planning, counseling, teaching boys to respect women, thereby reducing rape, etc.
ReplyDeleteSigh...you folks are all the same. You aren't pro-life. You're pro-fetus. Given all the things you choose to ignore that I listed above, Obama is much more pro-life than you any of you. Screw people once they've left the womb, right?
Wake up. Your ideology is blinding you to Truth.
You obviously don't read much from me beyond this post. Much (not all) of what you mention, I advocate.
DeleteHowever, you can't be pro-life without being anti-abortion.
By the way, Jesus is the Truth, and I'm sure He is not happy about the slaughter of millions.
Have a great day.