Just a disclaimer right off the bat: this post is not intended to reflect my own political perspective. I believe that each Christian needs to determine how they should vote, and where they should stand politically, based on their values, their faith, and the leading of the Holy Spirit. My intent here is not to make a statement reflecting any particular platform or political ideology. Rather, my point is to share some reflection based on my observations as this year's presidential election draws near. *End disclaimer.*
Those who know me know that I'm not a big fan of politics. I think most politicians are at best panderers who cater to those that can serve their own ends, and at worst completely corrupt sleazeballs who are entirely out of touch with reality and with the people they are supposed to serve. But what particularly bothers me is when people confuse politics and religion...or, worse, use religion to justify or promote particular political agendas. So I try to generally avoid politics altogether. Yet with the 2012 presidential election drawing near, politics are everywhere - it's a little hard to avoid.
There's one thing, in particular, that strikes me about this year's election hullabaloo. I get that many Christians vote Republican because they believe that doing so affirms their biblical values. That's fine. But I have great concerns about Mitt Romney in the upcoming election, particularly because, not only is he not a Christian, he is a Mormon...the member of what is, by most historical definitions, a cult. The fact that he is a Mormon is fine - this country was founded on religious freedom. What concerns me is that many Christians don't seem to have any hesitation about supporting Romney, promoting him as if he is the "Christian" choice simply because he is Republican.
A vote for Romney means electing a Mormon to the highest office in our land. That means that we will have someone leading our country who has very different beliefs than Christians. Furthermore, there is the (secondary but also significant) reality that electing him would, in many ways, "legitimize" Mormonism in mainstream America (more so than it already is).
And, regardless of whether we believe that Obama's policies reflect Christian values, he is a professing Christian (also regardless of whether we believe he actually IS a Christian, he does profess such). So I suspect that for many people it will boil down to "the lesser of two evils" (which is an awful way to vote anyway). Thus it boils down to this: is it worse (understanding that what is "better" or "worse" can be profoundly personal and subjective) to elect someone who shares our faith but may not seem to reflect all of our faith's values politically; or to elect someone who seems to share our faith's values politically, but does not share our faith itself - and not only does not share our faith, but actually affirms their membership in a cult and their faith in what is tantamount to a false god? For me, while I'm not keen on either candidate (or platform, for that matter), and I'm not sure I have an answer to the above question, the latter seems far more troubling than the former. What concerns me greatly is the breadth and depth of things that Christians seem willing to compromise in order to "fit" a political agenda.
I'm not pretending this issue is easy...nor is this a reflection on how I plan to vote, or on my own political beliefs (I suspect this post will appear to indicate a political leaning on my part that is not actually accurate). I also realize that there are Christians who support Romney, and that's fine. My intent is not to offend those folks. It's simply to share an observation that many Christians seem to be blindly pursuing a party candidate, often under the guise of Christian values, without considering the actual religious implications of such. And I find that very troubling indeed.
