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Vote my conscience?
written by Julie R. Neidlinger 6 comments link this postIn this month's ND Assembly of God newsletter, the first two articles are about the imperative importance of Christians needing to get out and vote this election. You know how these articles go; how our nation is at a crossroads, the importance of reclaiming our "true Christian roots", how vital it is to get the right candidate in the office so he or she can appoint the right judge so that judge can make more laws of man that will help preserve our nation in perpetuity as we Christians are supposedly to want...
And oh yeah. Vote your conscience, I was told.
Vote my conscience.
One article contains the following paragraph:
Church, it is critical we take a stand for our nation. [...] The church cannot sit back any longer. It is time to take a stand for righteousness and holiness.
Righteousness and holiness are important, but the way this otherwise noble Christian phrase is included in an article on politics and voting seems to suggest that by merely voting right, I'm doing the hard work of personal holiness and seeking righteousness.
That's a lie.
The rebuttal that comes to mind for this entire religious tendency whenever elections roll around, what I want to say, exhausts me to even think about.
So I'll just say this, and no doubt leave myself open to a lot of comments without really desiring to take up the mantle of debate.
I prefer, as a follower of Christ, to not take a stand for any nation but, instead, for the kingdom of Jesus Christ. How does it sound to say "Church, it is critical we take a stand for the Roman Empire. Church, it is critical we take a stand for Palestine. Church, it is critical we take a stand for Ethiopia."
No.
We do not take a stand for the powers of this earth. Our focus and energy should never be on how high we hoist the American flag, but on spreading the Gospel of Christ. That is what we are to do. We are not here to spread the gospel of our forefathers, the gospel of our buy-buy-buy culture, the gospel of democracy -- preach Christ, and preach him crucified. His Kingdom. His Gospel. That's it.
The church sitting back is a problem, indeed, but it isn't one of sitting back and not taking part in the politics of man. It is, instead, a sitting back and not taking part in the desperation of fallen man. We've traded it off for indignation and righteous anger, missing out on the necessary pain and joy of humbleness and love.
You could dismiss me as merely being cynical about the church and politics, but the admonition to vote my conscience adds to the continually growing (and overwhelming) sense that if I were to really vote -- and act -- on my conscience, I would make a lot of people angry and upset.
I would tell them to take that American flag out of the church; definitely take it off of the altar. I would tell them to stop mixing politics and religion. I would tell them that when it comes election time, the church should say...nothing. I would say that we ought to stop featuring and supporting various celebrities or athletes solely based on their politics. I would say that no politician should ever grace a pulpit when he is functioning as a politician. I would say a lot more but, as I mentioned, it exhausts me.
When you're raised in the church your whole life, like I was, you can do two things:
You can swallow the blue pill and keep picking up voters guides and being worked into and end-times tizzy and sending your dollars to para-church-para-political organizations that insist the country is about to self-destruct and that we should focus on saving the nation instead of souls, and generally sully the Gospel of Christ as a mere political power struggle over who controls a nation instead of a kingdom.
Or, you can swallow the red pill and feel ever-increasing discomfort and misplaced anger and confusion and a feeling of being bound to the point of breaking while trying to find a way to not vote your conscience but merely live with your conscience.
If there were a white-pill analogy, I'd include it here and make it so we ended on a patriotic note.
Because I don't hate my country. I just love Christ so much more.
Labels: church life, politics, religion
Copyright (c) Julie R. Neidlinger 4/14/2008 01:16:00 PM
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6 Comments:
Note: I just got an email regarding this post. I'm in the midst of a very hectic day, but what I want to say to the person who sent the email I'd also like to add to this post. So, here it is:
I've often wondered at how difficult it would be to be a missionary for Christ in another nation if I'm holding the Bible in one hand and waving an American flag in the other.
We can't serve two masters.
By 
Julie R. Neidlinger, at
14/4/08 17:48
There are some who have it as their goal to make this a 'Christian nation', to declare Christianity as our national religion. And just like you can like the cardinal if the eagle is your national bird, you can be of other religions if it is our national religion. But that is not their agenda. Their agenda is to make laws and teach in schools and guide everyday behavior in accordance with their religion. And they try to get all Christians on board to vote for people who mught further that.
Yet the Christian ought to be the first to be a die-hard supporter for separation of church and state, because as soon as we let any religon lead the nation in terms of government and laws, we are in danger that it will not be OUR brand of Christianity, and we will be stuck with something just a little and eventually as power corrupts a LOT off. Schools should teach science and history and math and reading skills and churchs and parents should teach religion and religious guidance of actions and so on and all of us should settle for no less than pure and true separation. Lest we lose the right to practice out own chosen version. So do not fall for the voices that tell you there is some Christian duty to vote a certain way. You should ask yourself what their agenda is and if it is other than pure separation, use them as a guide to vote the other way!!!
Just an opinion. It is all there to keep us free to beleive what we want. It is constantly in danger of being eroded away.
By goprairie, at
14/4/08 21:31
Julie, could you make your blog posts a little shorter? Thanks.
(I can hear you sighing.)
I'll try reading it again later when I have more energy.
(Was that another sigh?)
By Anna, at
14/4/08 22:11
SIGH.
Oh, yes.
Much sighing.
Here's a place you might like to visit.
You inspire much sighing.
By Julie R. Neidlinger, at
14/4/08 22:20
Good post. You could have written Bob Dylan's God On Our side.
Every patriotic Christian should listen to that song!
Ya know, I have heard this we-are-at-a-crossroads thing since I first followed a presidential election closely since 84 (was 18, but was not a citizen). So this crossroads has been around for at least 24 years now.
When is it gonna end?
By David Cho, at
15/4/08 00:30
Hmmmmm, I am glad to see I am not the only one who has had these thoughts. You are right, though, to express such thoughts can be exhausting, and opens one up for all sorts of criticism about lacking love for country, and slacking in the morality department and what not...
First off, I think there is room to love God above all, and also be patriotic/express love for country.
Secondly, I feel we need to address our personal sins, and dire need for repentance and reliance on Christ, in fellowship, not stress the need to cleanse congress. It is taking the focus off of our own problem, of sin, whenever we point fingers and try to 'fix' the sins of others. If enough of us fixed ourselves, the country would clean itself up.
You are spot on, we should love God most of all, and everything else we do and say should make that fact crystal clear.
By Andrea, at
15/4/08 14:48
