Litmus Leadership

Got the following from a friend of a friend via FB ...

Why I am a Christian Democrat

It led me to this ...

Why I am Not Voting for Romney

Wow ... I had feared that we Christians had abandoned the donkey division (in favor of the elephant in the living room, to cast aspersions equally).  How refreshing to find genuine Believers staunchly in the blue camp.  Both sides of the US political turf desperately need salt and light.

From all I can tell, Graves and Mills are "real" Christians.  It appears that they recognize their need for a Savior, and Jesus is IT and they believe it.  That's the definition of "real Christian".  Since publishing their surprising essay, they have been taking a beating from the rest of us.

Republican != Christian

I will vote mostly Republican.  I categorically refuse to vote straight ticket.

Mrs. Dollar hears the claim that "real Christians vote Republican" and challenges it.  Good for her!  It boggles the mind how someone claiming to be a Christian can turn a blind eye to the social agenda driven via the Democrats.  But the Republicans have faults too.  Mills and Graves are no less Christian because they're voting for Obama.

Real Christians vote Republican
horse feces!

Real Christians believe in Jesus.
Real Christians presumably then follow Jesus, which means taking up your cross daily. And in this country, real Christians are obligated to vote because it is a civic responsibility.

Mitt Romney is not a Christian.  He's a Mormon; Mormonism is not Christianity; ergo ... Romney is not a Christian.  Mr. Romney publicly recognized that his faith is different from mine.

Red or Blue

The venerable indicator, litmus, turns red for the acidic test and turns blue under caustic conditions.  How fitting to this discussion ... red and blue.

As humans, we need indicators.  In democratic nations, we vote.  Which way should we cast that valuable token?  So we look for cues.  Some issues are clear.

As a Christian, I know that what really matters are the matters of the heart.  "For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, slanders." (Matt 15:19)  I want to support (and vote for) leaders who oppose evil, stand against murder, oppose fornication and adultery, and fight against theft and lies.

• Candidates who indicate blue might stand against theft of big companies from the little guy.
• Candidates who indicate red might stand against theft of big government from the tax payer.

In 2012, my indicators tell me we have a bigger problem with government overspending and taxing than with business overspending and overcharging.  Big business overspends!  Big companies overcharge!  Just not as much.  Just not today.  I see red.

• Candidates who indicate blue might oppose killing by their stated opposition to war.
• Candidates who indicate red might oppose killing of unborn children.

War is hell.  (quoth Sherman, a soldier)  I won't argue that our wars are allways "just".  That's a whole nutha discussion.  I do wish that back home we could agree to support life, the life of the innocent.  A child is not a soldier.  A child is not a criminal.  A child is not a choice.  If the unborn were unhuman, I would not hold this position.  But all indications are that they are human, they are individual, they are ... alive!  I see red, like blood spilled over the past 39 years.

• Candidates who indicate blue might protect us from government intrusion into lifestyle choices.
• Candidates who indicate red might protect us from government sanctioned immorality.

From the indicators, I'm seeing red.

It would perhaps be better if government and/or the health industry left marriage undefined.  But there are a ship load of other issues than medical coverage.  Marriage is more than cohabitation.  Relationships are more than what consenting adults carry on.  Family is for fostering young and old alike.  Kids don't simply need stability, they need models.  This in no way slams single parents.  Nor does it say that children of immoral parents are bad apples.  Nor does it demean the infertile.  We simply must try for the best: husband and wife, mother and father, family for life.
 

No Easy Choice

It is getting more and more difficult to read the cues.  The indicators are sometimes painted.  (You might get blue when you thought you picked red, or vice versa.)  Just today, I got a "he's a liar" comment about one of the candidates, without citation or substantiation.  When I asked for pointers, that guy responded that I could/should go find the details on my own.  Not a way to strengthen his argument.

I would have voted Republican this time for POTUS because of the other issues.  (I listed three.  There are more.  And I disagree with the GOP on many things.)  But Mormonism is a real problem.  I have been struggling.  Not the same struggle as Dollar, Graves, and Mills, but personal and painful.

Some Christians have articulated ... choosing a non-Christian is frequently a reasonable thing.  In my case, there are plenty of times and places where I would explicitly choose a non-Christian.  Even where the choice is between a Christian and the non-Christian, sometimes I would go with the latter.  (Family is good; nepotism not so much.)

If I had cancer, I would seek the best physician I could find, regardless his religion.  When I need the car fixed, I want it done right, no matter if the guy doing it knows the Lord yet.  (As it happens, my mechanic is a Christian.  And he does excellent work; he's not cheap.)  In my job, whether I'm looking for help or looking to hire, some of the candidates are atheists, homosexuals, even Mormons.  I consider these people friends.  (They do excellent work; they're not cheap.)

At this moment, there is one specific Mormon I would very much like to hire.  (Not meaning Mitt.  Different situation than the election.)

When choosing leadership, voting for president or representative or judge, the heart of the matter begins to matter all the more.  I have to give an account before God.  How will I justify my vote?

I will probably vote for Mitt Romney.  He aligns well on a number of indicators.  But I am having a very difficult time with the decision.  Ironically, some Mormons don't like him either.  Maybe they're Democrats.

Real Christians Vote How?

What issues should "real Christians" care about?
When I class Mills and Graves and Dollar as Brethren, what should I expect them to do and say in this treasured American process?
Which way should I cast my own vote?

In the booth, it's up/down for the candiate.  But arriving at that binary selection we have to digest a dozen other pro/con indicators.  The reduction is increasingly difficult, but come Tuesday we must have boiled it down.

Honor God:  The rejection of God by one of the two major parties pushes me hard toward the other.  God is not on the ballot, but the "why" behind the actions of the candidates is motivated by their attitude toward Him, and they are on the ballot.

Choose Life:  God created us in His image.  We value all of God's creation.  How much more should we then value the part which is "in His image"?  Both of the headliners support abortion, one more strongly.  Abortion is not on the ballot, but the office with veto power is.

Support Marriage:  Without slamming friends and family who make wrong choices, you should still defend right choices.  This is not hate.

Financial Accountability:  Budgets and money are not immediately spiritual concerns, and they don't carry the weight of Eternity.  (You can't take it with you.)  So this is fourth on my list.  But I am compelled to include it since it represents an impending storm.  And Christians can have opposing views about how to act responsibly, as we see from our Democrat Christian friends.

Shawn, David, Ellen, please get your party to return to a Godly position regarding life and living.

-- R; <><