Right and Left and Everything in Between

Politics blogs are nevitable in the US right now.  So why don’t I jump on the band wagon…

This year, more and more young evangelicals are defecting to the Democratic Party.  We’ve gotten a lot of attention for this because, after all, our parents are the founders of Reagan Politics, the Religious Right, and America’s infamous opponents to abortion and gay marriage.  And so the question naturally follows: Why are the young whippersnappers not following suite?

While many in previous generations are losing sleep over the possibility that God-less liberals have hijacked their children, those of us who are backing that God-less Democratic liberal who is just as open about his personal Christian faith as W. ever was continue to maintain that our morals haven’t changed, only our ballots have.

Eugene Cho over at Beauty and Depravity offered a great post presenting three views on the current debate.

I was struck by Randy Alcorn’s take on the election.  Ultimately, he comes down right where I would expect someone like Alcorn to come down.  But what struck me is that he begins by stating that he an fellow Portland author Donald Miller (these two guys appeal to drastically different audiences) share the feeling that politics is about more than abortion and gay rights.  They both agree that being pro-life is the better choice for a follow of Jesus.

Alcorn writes that when he first heard about Obama he wanted to vote for him; he saw this as an opportunity for him to prove to the world that conservative evangelicals like himself really are capable of voting Democrat.  But then he found out that Obama has no desire to overturn “Roe v Wade” and as a solution, would rather invest in education to keep unwanted pregnancy at a minimum.  For Alcorn, that was all he needed; Obama lost his vote.  Alcorn says that he will continue to vote Republican as long as they maintain the line and fight to do away with legalized abortion.

Survey after survey has shown that young evangelical voters are just as conservative as thier parents (some polls even suggest we might be more conservative).  Yet, many of us are joining the Democratic Party and voting for a pro-choice, pro-civil union candidate.  Why?

Well…precisely because we think there’s more going on in the country than just those two issues.

I can’t speak for everyone – only myself.

I am, and always have been, pro-life.  I  do not in any way support legalized abortion.  Likewise, I feel bound by my Christian principles to be opposed to legalizing gay marriage (For the record, my opposition to gay marriage has nothing to do with [non-existent] anti-gay sentiments; it’s determined by the fact that I believe marriage to be a religious institution that the state has taken over.  Gay marriage miscontrues the spiritual message/example/nature of marriage as intended by God.  However, if one is speaking in purely civil terms, I see no reasonable basis for opposition.  But again, I don’t believe marriage is a civil agreement – it’s a spiritual relationship.  And I think every nation with marriage laws on the books is being influenced by religious convictions – otherwise, there would be no need for such a thing as marriage.  If two people want to spend the rest of their lives together, they don’t need to get a paper that says they’re married – they just need to move in.  Hence the reason that if a non-Christian couple came to me asking me to do their wedding, I will require pre-marrital counseling that will involve looking at God’s expectations for marriage roles, even if they don’t believe it.  If they decide that they can’t accept that requirement, then I’ll openly suggest to them that there’s no reason for them to get married.  If a Christian couple can’t accept, I can’t offer my blessing and I will refuse to be a part of the ceremony.).

Back to topic…

I’m pro-life and anti-gay marriage.  But I’m voting for someone who is pro-choice and in favor of civil unions.  Civil unions are very grey for me.  If the intention is to give gay couples the same rights as straight couples (minus marriage a la the above rant), then I’m all for it.  I simply don’t see civil unions as the first step down a very slippery slope.

But again, Why are so many young evangelicals going Democrat?

I think a large part of it is that we don’t have the same view of the US that many of our parents have.  The Moral Majority tends to view America as the New Jerusalem; somewhere along the way they became convinced that the US has been ordained by God to bring the gospels of democracy, capitalism, and Jesus Christ to the world.  That is a fun-da-men-tal difference between the two generations.  I wasn’t raise in a denomination that experienced much affinity with the Moral Majority (although there are those who share their worldview).  But I can’t help but think that there has gt to be something in their mostly dispensational theology that has caused them to view things this way.  By contrast, many of my peers are gravitating toward such Reformed and Calvinist personalities as Tim Keller, Mark Driscoll, and John Piper.

Likewise, many of us do not feel threatened by living in a society that is systematically opposed to Jesus and the cross.  The Bible is pretty clear that opposition will come; it’s pretty clear that God isn’t a fan of morality/righteousness that comes as a result of legislation.  The prophets and Jesus are often found condemning the nations for failure to glorify God even though they may be following the “law” to a “T.”  Legislation does not produce morality.

If followers of Jesus adopt a self-identity as “aliens and strangers” and separate themselves from America, then it becomes much easier to accept the fact that we live in a country that simply does not share our moral standard.  And we’re not condemned for it.

When I read the Bible, I don’t see a road map for establishing a particular government or economic system.  I see instructions about how a Christian should conduct themselves in these areas, but nothing that says this country or that (with the exception of ancient Israel) needs to be organized in a particular way.  So when I hear many of my fellow evangelicals accusing Democrats of being Socialists, I simply don’t understand.  Why is socialism so bad?  I’m not saying I want to be socialist…I just wondering why it so demonized?  All I know when I hear the Right criticize is that socialism is bad.  But I’m never given a reason.  It’s so bad that conservatives will die (or commit murder) to prevent.  Biblically, that doesn’t make sense to me.  I think it’s just a bunch of people more concerned with upholding the “doctrine of America” than they are about making educated, biblically-based decisions.

Going back to abortion and gay rights…will God destroy America on the basis of societal immorality?  He could…he’s done it before.  But he doesn’t destroy those who are his.  He may bring down America, but he won’t bring down his people on the basis of the nation’s short-comings.  Look at Sodom and Gemorra: the cities were destroyed, but those who believed were saved.  The same happened at Jericho.  Why have American evangelicals tied their faith and salvation to their American citizenship?  If the country falls yet you still believe, then you have nothing to worry about.

Young evangelicals are making this distinction: their faith is based on their relationship to Jesus, not America.  And so there must be something else to base one’s vote on.  Pro-life is expanded to include adequate and affordable healthcare for everyone and anti-war except in cases of immanent threat.  Gay rights issues become a question of human rights – those things that all people are entitled to as beings created in God’s image (when someone ends up in the hospital, they would be very upset if their closest as most loved friends wer unable to visit them.  Why should we believe it’s any different for a gay patient?  Gay or not, they still have friends and loved ones who want to visit them…).

Society has needs.  And these needs cost money.  The Bible is pretty clear about the fact that God gives certain people more money for the expilicit purpose of giving more to those who need it.  But when Obama talks about raising taxes on the wealthiest Americans to help those with less, the religious right throws a fit and complains about income redistribution and socialism…  Isn’t that akin to refusing to use the blessings God has given you to bless others?

When I, as a young, conservative evangelical look around at the American church, I see a great disconnect between our professed faith and our real faith: Americanism is our religion, and money is our god.  And so I’m taking my stance and I’m proclaiming that YHWH is my God and Jesus is my savior.  And I’m voting Democrat this year…

Filed under: Christian Living, Christianity, Culture, Theology