People have been asking me should I or shouldn’t I vote. Naturally the obvious answer is yes you should vote. It is our obligation as citizens of this once great nation to “get out the vote.”
This is the most important election in recent history. We do have a clear choice. We can remain on the downward slide to the destruction of our nation that once was a world leader and a world power. Now not so much.
One of my readers asked this question: “I believe we as Christians are to stand by our moral values and I don’t believe either candidate is morally fit to be President.”
This may seem an un-Christian thing to say, but, sometimes the only choice is the lesser of two evils. It may seem like the only choice we have right now, but I don’t think so.
The following are excerpts from “The Blaze” written by Billy Hallowell:
The Rev. Billy Graham has a pointed message to Americans who are fed up with the political process and, as a result, have decided that they won’t be voting come November: “[Voting] is a God-given responsibility.”
The renowned 97-year-old preacher rhetorically asked what would happen if every individual decided not to vote, saying that, “before long we’d lose our freedoms and be ruled by a power-hungry dictatorship.”
While acknowledging that no governmental system is perfect, he said that indifference to the political process is dangerous to the republic.
Despite the nature of a government, Graham said that people still had a responsibility to support the government in “every way they possibly could,” with Christ telling people to “give to Caesar what is Caesar’s, and to God what is God’s.”
It is that same principal that Graham said is at play today, imploring Americans to “do everything we can to encourage and support good government.”
That includes voting, and praying for the nation and her leaders, Graham said, appealing to 1 Timothy 2:1-2, which reads:
“Therefore, I exhort first of all that you make supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings for everyone, 2 for kings and for all who are in authority, that we may lead a quiet and peaceful life in all godliness and honesty”
I agree with Rev. Graham. We need to vote to protect the fragile republic we have now and could lose if we don’t vote.
Some have commented “I can’t vote for Donald Trump because he’s not a Christian.” He says he is. We can’t judge a person’s heart, only his actions. The past is not always a good place to look.
Philippians 3:13 says:
13 Brothers, I do not count myself to have attained, but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead,
Even if Mr. Trump is not a practicing Christian, or is a non-believer all together, remember God has used non-believers for His ultimate plan throughout the Bible.
As I said, we do have a clear choice this year. Vote on the side of economic freedom and religious freedom, or vote to continue the same socialist agenda that has us heading down the path of economic destruction, curtailment of our 1st Amendment rights of freedom of religion and the ultimate destruction of our 2nd Amendment right to bear arms.
The First Amendment of the United States Constitution reads:
“Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof…”
Christians are constantly being targeted and persecuted for their faith by the very government that has sworn to protect them. The agenda of the liberal left is “freedom FROM religion” not “freedom OF religion.” A “non-vote” would only help keep the persecution growing.
The Second Amendment of the United States Constitution reads: “A well-regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.”
Merriam-Webster’s Learner’s Dictionary says a militia is a group of people who are not part of the armed forces of a country but are trained like soldiers…a body of citizens organized for military service.
Luke 22:36: He said to them, “But now, let him who has a purse take it and also a bag. And let him who has no sword sell his garment and buy one.”
Prior to His crucifixion, Jesus revealed to His disciples the future hostility they would face and encouraged them to sell their outer garments in order to buy a sword. It would be a dagger or short sword that belonged to the Jewish traveler’s equipment as protection against robbers and wild animals. A plain reading of the passage indicates that Jesus approved of self-defense.
Self-defense may actually result in one of the greatest examples of human love. Christ Himself said, “Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends” (John 15:14). When protecting one’s family or neighbor, a Christian is unselfishly risking his or her life for the sake of others.
Like I said we do have a clear choice. Not voting is not an option!
SILENCE IS CONSENT! NOT VOTING IS SILENCE!
LIFE FROM A CHAPLAIN'S POINT OF VIEW 
An excellent discourse on a very important subject. Brother Leon, It is hard to fathom someone giving up the right to vote when so many have fought and died to give him/her that right. If they call themselves Christians, they should pray and let God lead them. Not voting is akin to slapping the face of all soldiers who served to protect this country. We do need a real change, and God will see that we get one…
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Well said Mae.
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I have a few thoughts. Surprise, surprise.
First of all, I would like to agree that we need to vote. Regardless of your selection of president, the down ballot positions and initiatives need our support. In fact, I would argue that these other offices may be MORE important than POTUS, as they allow us checks and balances as well as affect our local governance.
That being said, I fully and wholeheartedly disagree with the “lesser of two evils” argument. If your choice was Hitler (who murdered 12 million) vs. Stalin (who starved 60 million to death), which would you choose? What if there was a third option option of a candidate who may not see eye to eye with you, but at least is not a Fascist or Socialist?
In this country, we do have such a third option. Granted, they may not be as popular as Trump and Hillary, and may stand very little chance of winning. It does, however, present us with an option of still performing our civic duty while not endorsing one of the two least trusted candidates in American history.
The religious beliefs of a particular candidate never sway my opinion of them. Trump’s “Christianity” (or lack thereof) is irrelevant to me. What matters to me are his statements regarding policy.
My concerns are that he has taken multiple views of every one of his stated policies. Just four years ago, he thought Romney too tough on immigration, then he wanted mass deportations and a wall, then he “softened” his stance allowing for a pathway to legal status, now he’s back to a deportation force..and that is just one issue.
Furthermore, his fascistic tendencies should give any Christian pause. This is a man with a long history of punishing his enemies, using the force of government to enforce his will on private citizens, hiring pro-Russian sympathizers and Alt-Right (the extremist/racist branch that can be found all over breitbart.com) emissaries. Trump says he will use torture techniques that exceed waterboarding and will murder the families of terrorists, rather than just the terrorists themselves. Trump knows nothing of foreign policy (as evidenced by his response about the Kurds vs. Quds), nuclear warfare (he botched his answer on the nuclear triad during the debates), and just yesterday displayed his ignorance of cyber warfare (he believes that “the cyber” is merely a recruiting tool for terrorists).
The man has deep ties to the Russian mafia, hired an anti-Ukranian propagandist to be his campaign manager, brags at length about sleeping with married women (while he was also married, by the way) and porn stars, kicks 95 year old women out of their home, and buys and sells politicians. He defrauded dozens of people with Trump University, and now appears to be guilty of his own “pay for play” operation evidenced by the amount of financial support given to the Florida Atty General Pam Bondi after she dropped her investigation into Trump University (he donated $25,000 to her just before she backed off, then hosted a swanky fundraiser at a massive discount in Mar-A-Lago just after she dropped the case).
You said actions betray one’s heart. I ask you, what do Mr. Trump’s actions say about his character? Is he really the “lesser of two evils” that you will be comfortable supporting? I cannot do it. If he gets into office and is as wonderful as his supporters believe, then maybe he’ll have my vote in 2020. However, if he gets into office and is frightening as I believe, I refuse to pretend to justify my vote for him to my peers and children. I would never want to say, “yes, I voted for the fascist that destroyed America” to you or anyone else.
I plan to “vote your conscience,” as Sen. Cruz suggested. At the very least, my conscience will be clear.
Finally, you are correct that God uses non-believers to advance his will. I am convinced that his will is to bring us into the end times. If I am correct, then our country–and world–is headed toward war and chaos that will not be fixed by moral means. Hillary or Trump won’t matter when the world economy crashes and WWIII begins. I rest only that when I stand before the Lord, I will not have to answer for the damage done by either candidate, because I will not cast my vote for either of them.
I will not think less of you if you vote for The Donald. I only ask that you really consider the options and what your conscience tells you to do. Fully investigate Trump’s statements and past, as I know you have done for Hillary. Maybe you will change your mind. Maybe not.
#NeverTrump #NeverHillary
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Love your “few thoughts” Alex…you do give a lot to consider, but I don’t feel comfortable not voting for Trump because every for against Trump is a vote for Hillary. I think that would be even more of a disaster for our nation. I believe the choice we have been given is one more sign that we are living in the End Times and that the Rapture is not that far away…
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Although it is a common refrain, “not voting for Trump” IS NOT “a vote for Hillary.” Using the same logic, not voting for Hillary is a vote for Trump.
So I suppose that I will vote for both of them by voting for neither? That’s chock full of logical fallacies for days.
A Trump presidency with a weak GOP Congress will be a green light for every one of his stated megalomaniacal policies. However, they may actually act as a barrier for Hillary…or at least a partial one.
Again, both of them want to collapse the system. Hillary stated as much in her college thesis on Alinsky. Trump’s new campaign CEO, Steve Bannon, has stated that he is a “Leninist” who wants to destroy the political system. Can you trust either of them not to?
Does it even matter?
They are both corrupt, both liars, both power-hungry sociopaths, both under criminal investigation, both with some shady ties to nefarious foreign governments, both fully capable of ending the United States as we know it (which is not the U.S. that was founded 200+ years ago), and both surrounded by people who want a collapse of our political system.
I can honestly say that I do not believe Trump to be any better than Hillary. Sure, we KNOW that Hillary is awful, but Trump has no signs of being any different.
As a historian, read up on the rise of Hitler and tell me that we are not staring at the same social environment that led to the election of that “strongman.” (by the way, Trump also subscribes to the”thoroughbred theory” of maximizing genetic potential through selective mating…sounds awfully Aryan of him).
We have mass chaos in our nation right now. The solution is to elect a Constitutionalist or a Strongman. Cruz was the former, but America rejected him.
In Acts, Stephen was God’s chosen apostle and Christ was ready to return as promised. Stephen was killed, and Christ sat back down at the right hand of God.
I believe Cruz was a similar test with opposite results. I believe that we had the chance to delay Christ’s return, but the rejection will hasten it.
Which is not necessarily a bad thing for us Christians.
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Alex, you do bring up some valid point as usual and I agree with most of what you said, but am having a hard time about your statement about a vote against Trump in not necessarily a vote for Hillary…I do agree that the rejection of Cruz (who I favored by the way) will hasten Christs return…as you said not a bad thing for Christians….As I have heard some say lately…”Jesus come quickly!”
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Well, my “vote for Trump” supposes that 1. I am an avowed Republican who will always tow the party lime regardless of candidate (I am a registered Independent and voted Libertarian in 2012) and 2. that the reverse statement of “not voting for Hillary is a vote for Trump” is somehow to be ignored as well.
I’ll hear that refrain from Democrats for the next 60 days, so would I not be guilty of “voting for Trump” because I’m not voting for Hillary? Logic is logic. No pretzel twisting will make a statement true in one case, but not true in another equal case.
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If you split anti-Hillary votes between Trump and a 3rd party candidate it seems to me Hillary would get the advantage. If 4 people voted; 1 trump 1 3rd party 2 hillary; who would win? Good night my friend…
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Well, if you split anti-Trump votes between Hillary and a 3rd party candidate, it seems to me Trump would get advantage. If 4 people voted: 1 Hillary 1 3rd party 2 Trump: who would win?
See what I mean about how you MUST consider BOTH sides of the anti-whomever vote. It’s not like Trump ever had my vote and lost it. Besides, the guy won the primary without my vote, and is virtually tied in the general election without my vote. As we’ve both agreed, God’s Will will determine our future. So, my non-Trump AND non-Hillary vote will not only have no bearing on the election, but I will be able to sleep at night if Trump comes to power and launches us into World War III. His supporters, on the other hand, will have to explain their lapse in judgment.
🙂
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Good points….’nough said…Love you brother! 🙂
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