I Can Be a Christian and Vote Obama

Let me introduce myself spiritually. I strive to glorify God in everything I do. I seek His will and follow it. I examine the teachings of Jesus Christ and strive to follow Him. I also seek the guidance of the Holy Spirit in my thoughts and actions. I believe that God has a calling on my life and through my humble obedience, God will do amazing things for this world. My faith is all encompassing. Every thing I do is for Christ. (although I am not perfect…) As a follower of Christ, I would consider myself a Christian.

 

Let me introduce myself politically. Throughout my adult life, I have considered myself politically moderate. I believe in bipartisanship. I believe in solving problems. I believe in working together to make this country better through honest communication while holding to our ideals. I believe in well thought out and well executed action. I believe in inspiring the American people to get on their feet, fight for what they believe, and support each other while reaching to the world. 4 years ago, my vote was largely republican. This time around my vote was large democrat- And that included a vote for President Elect Barack Obama. That’s right, friends, I voted Obama. And I’d also like to add that I voted for Obama after months of educating myself about the issues and seeking the will of God. Never before have I been more confident about a vote I cast.

 

I am a Christian and I voted for Obama.

 

I recently read an article because of a comment on a dear friend of mine’s blog. This is an article by Janet Porter and the title itself tells me that I’m not who I am because who I am cannot exist. “You Cannot Be a Christian and Vote for Obama.” (Feel free to read: http://www.worldnetdaily.com/index.php?pageId=79276) This article was highly passionate (something I can appreciate because I love passion.) and focused solely on the issues of abortion and gay marriage, rattling off biblical reference after biblical reference about what God has to say about these things and what God has to say about obedience. I’ll let you in on another little secret- I am pro-life. I believe life is something to be very passionate about- it is a precious gift that everyone has a God given right to experience. Each and every human being including the unborn, the elderly, women, minorities, children in orphanages around the world, and basically all people around the world, were created by God, in the image of God, and for God’s purpose. (so many commas… good thing I’m not an English teacher) They therefore deserve respect and have the right to live life fully. This belief requires action, action both in and outside the issue of unborn children. (which we can talk about further anytime. Seriously. I would love to converse with any of you further about this!)

 

Four years ago, my passion for life lead me to cast a vote for George W. Bush. It was a very important issue for me and he agreed with me on it so I thought it was a good vote. Four years later, we live in a nation where abortion rates continue to sky-rocket with the biggest pro-lifer according to his campaign in the White House- 10 years ago they were on a downslide with a pro-choice democrat who couldn’t keep his pants on leading the country. (Please know that I appreciate Clinton and know that he was far more then an adulterer even though very few “Christians” seem to share that opinion) And I have ask myself why.

 

Could it be that politics are about far more then sharing the same ideas on social issues? Me thinks so. Why do we put Republicans in the White House to combat the abortion issue? Well, its because they have the ability to appoint supreme court justices who have the ability to turn over Row v. Wade whenever given the option. We also live in a country where candidates willingly admit that even if they are all about outlawing abortion, they may not necessarily put someone in the Supreme Court who agrees with them. There’s no “litmus test” to use the rhetoric of Senator John McCain. Bush was given the option and didn’t. Republicans have basically said time and time again, “I believe in the sanctity of life but I’m not necessarily going to do anything about it.”

 

Government generally doesn’t want to dabble in social issues and in my humble opinion, I don’t really think they should throw down law and law that protects a particular picture of the “biblical” family which looks very little like the family that Jesus Christ was raised in…

 

So what do we do about abortion? Hmmmm? Well, call me crazy but I’ve been looking to the democrats on this one. I mean abortion rates have declined with democrats in power so, for me, it doesn’t seem like a bad place to look. How does this happen? Education, preventing unwanted pregnancies, creating more favorable options for women in need, supporting women facing unplanned pregnancies. Supporting, not threatening.

 

Somewhat new on the radar is Initiative 95-10- A comprehensive plan that will reduce the number of abortions by 95% in the next 10 years by promoting abstinence, personal responsibility, adoptions and support for women and families who are facing unplanned pregnancy. Sounds pretty solid to me. There’s a plan for action- not just a “Hey I hate abortion!” shout out. That’s why on this particular issue, I gotta side with the democrats. Now I won’t get into all the other reasons I voted Obama of which there are many (something else we can converse about as well.)

 

I can be a Christian and vote for Obama. In fact I am a Christian who voted for Obama.

 

And I would like to encourage my fellow Christians to get on board- to work passionately for change, to creatively seek solutions to this nations problems for the glory of God, and to truly seek the will of God in all that we say and do realizing that it isn’t as clear-cut or easy to discern as we’ve been raised to believe.

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