In two months, Americans will enter another election. Once more, millions will enter the polls and cast their ballots.
As far as elections are concerned, it seems to me that:
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Citizens should vote. It is a privilege and a duty. In some ways, it is a very large matter, and in other ways a small matter (every citizen has only one vote), but still one in which I think they should be faithful.
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Citizens should think carefully about their voting decisions.
For Christians in particular, Proverbs 21:1 gives perspective at the end of the day:
The king’s heart is a stream of water in the hand of the LORD;
he turns it wherever he will.
For my part, I have strong views on the 2016 presidential election, and concerns about the pragmatism of some voting philosophies. (Disclaimer: I am an evangelical and pro-life voter.) Albert Mohler asks whether character in leadership matters; supposing that it does, he makes a case about the forthcoming election:
[T]he very fact that someone is pro-life, or claims to be pro-life, is not a sufficient reason to elect that person or to vote for that person over against every other consideration. And when you look at someone like Donald Trump, you’re looking at someone who has made his entire fortune through immoral enterprises such as casino gambling. You’re looking at someone who has bragged about his extramarital affairs even to the point where, in his own words, he has warned husbands that their wives are not sexually safe so long as he is in the room. You’re looking at a major party candidate who has actually framed in his office a cover story from Playboy magazine showing his own face.
I understand the “lesser of two evils” argument; it has been made by respectable men like Wayne Grudem for the particulars of this election. But I believe that a candidate below certain levels of moral decency should not have my vote. And that is why I will not vote for Trump.
Thank you for reading. This blog will return to more typical subject matter with the next post.
Other articles on this election:
- Wayne Grudem: Why Voting for Trump Is a Morally Good Choice
- Richard J. Mouw: Voting Is Only a Moment
- Alex Chediak: Is Voting for Trump a Morally Good Choice? (response to Wayne Grudem)
- Michael Farris on why he won’t vote for Trump
- Grant Wishard, fellow Grover: Evangelicals have one last chance to reject Trump