I had an odd upbringing. One foot planted so firmly in 'the world' that my favorite movie in first grade was Pretty Woman, and we had dirty magazines on the coffee table, and one foot so deep in the Evangelical church that we ate the Malt-O-Meal brand of Lucky Charms because it didn't have the word 'lucky' in the name and we couldn't say the word careful "The Bible says 'take no care!'" It was confusing to say the least. I often didn't know where we stood on issues.
But EVERYONE knew where the church stood on two issues. You could ask a random heroin addict under a bridge and they could tell you. Abortion and homosexuality. Those are the big ones. THE REALLY REALLY BAD ONES. Not okay, EVER. You are vocal against both. And you do whatever you can to stop either one. And you never ask questions. They're just wrong. And they're why 'we' vote Republican, by the way.
Of course, along the way, we are taught many other reasons why Republicanism is the way to go. We need our guns! We don't want our children taught about condoms and birth control! They need to learn abstinence only! We don't need to be shouldering the burden of the poor! They should work for what they want! We don't need immigrants coming to OUR COUNTRY and taking OUR RESOURCES!
But...isn't that what Christianity is all about? Taking care of the needy and welcoming those who reach out?
When did our nationalism become more important than our Christianity?
Would Jesus carry a gun? Would He think His right to a gun was worth all the lives lost to gun violence?
How is abstinence only education working out? Not well. We don't want abortions and we don't want to support welfare programs like food stamps, WIC, etc. And we aren't going out in droves as Christians offering unwed mothers free babysitting, diapers or parenting classes. So we are saying:
we don't want to teach you how to avoid pregnancy
we just want you to do things our way
regardless of your personal beliefs
and use more self control than we as adults tend to use
even though your brains aren't fully developed
but if you mess up, we won't help you
because welfare is wrong
and we're selfish and self absorbed
but we think we're loving
So basically, if you're a Christian who opposes abortion and welfare, you'd better be on the front lines, volunteering with unwed mothers and supporting solid sex education. Otherwise you're a hypocrite.
Anyhow, I've been thinking about this next election. I've always voted straight Republican, my thought being that I can't imagine voting for a party that supports abortion. That was really important to me.
And then I thought...how do Republican policies treat the poor, minorities, homosexuals and immigrants? These are people already living, and they are marginalized and given few rights. Do I feel okay voting singularly for the issue of abortion without considering all the people I might be voting against?
I do believe abortion hurts. But so do many, many other issues we face every day. I don't think I can vote, in good conscience, with one issue in mind anymore. I'm not saying I won't vote Republican. I'm saying that I can't assume that will be my vote based on one issue anymore. I have to really think about what I believe the Bible really teaches me to do and how to treat people and how my vote can best accomplish that. If my goal is lavish love, my vote has to reflect that.
Another thing I want all Christian Republicans to remember is that we are meant to be salt and light everywhere we go. What impression are we making? I see this stuff all.the.time.
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And there were some so foul I wouldn't repost them. I can't even believe anyone would put that on their car. Or that anyone would print it.
