I'm a pro-life Christian. That's why I'm voting for.....??
Posted: Monday, November 03, 2008
by Aaron Taylor
Aaron Taylor
My name is Aaron D. Taylor and I'm a pro-life Christian. You may not recognize me now, but 8 years ago I attended a Pentecostal Bible school that openly encouraged their students to fast and pray that George W. Bush would defeat Al Gore in the 2000 election. I did. For forty days I skipped dinner after work so I could go to my friend Nick's apartment and cry out to God for a man in the White House committed to overturning Roe Vs. Wade.
The odd part about it is, my ambivalent attitude towards all things political isn't because I'm less pro-life than I used to be, its because I'm more pro-life than I was 8 years ago. I've come to realize that if I'm going to call myself pro-life and be consistent, then I'm going to have to have just as much respect for human life after the womb as I do before the womb, otherwise, all I really am is pro- birth.
It's precisely at this point that things get murky. Throughout the decade of the 90s, sanctions imposed by the U .S. government denied the Iraqi people access to medical supplies and basic sanitation and, as a result, killed about a half a million children. As I look back on it, I can't recall any high profile pro-life Christian leader speaking out against children dying in Iraq as a result of U.S. sanctions. Neither do I know of any Christian leader voting solely on the issue of abortion speaking out against the use of depleted uranium and cluster bombs by U.S. coalition forces in Iraq. Both of these directly affect not only babies, but adults as well, even after the troops leave. My question to single issue voters is this. Does your concern for babies include Iraqi babies or is it only American babies that you're concerned about?
I can hear the half-screams already. But Aaron, don't you know that the sanctions in Iraq and the U.S. invasion were for the protection of the American people? Well, not everybody agrees with that and that's exactly my point. I have no problem with my brothers and sisters in Christ voting on issues that they care about, as long as they recognize that, unless one of the candidates is running against a potential Hitler or Stalin, every vote in a fallen world for a sword-wielding politician is an imperfect vote, therefore Christians have no business trumpeting a particular person or party as the only morally acceptable choice. The reality is Biblical values cannot be translated into the political sphere without a considerable degree of ambiguity and neither are they intended to.
Take for example the issue of abortion. For all of the charismatic prophets and apostles declaring Sarah Palin the next Esther because of her opposition to Roe Vs. Wade, the truth is Roe Vs Wade could be overturned tomorrow and it will not make abortion illegal. All it will do is send the issue back to the states and, given the current political climate, most states are unlikely to outlaw it. But let's temporarily assume that I'm wrong and by some magic-wand (or an act of God) abortion is declared officially illegal in the U.S.A. Will that stop abortions?
No it won't. Nearly half of all the abortions in the world are performed in countries where abortion is illegal. The reason is because the greatest factor contributing to the number of abortions world-wide is not legality, but poverty. You want to know where the fewest abortions are taking place in the world? Western Europe, where abortions are legal but rare because of policies that spread the wealth around much to the chagrin of the USA's most prominent social scholar, Joe the plumber.
And that's just the abortion issue. A family member the other day told me that God only cares about the moral issues, meaning abortion and gay marriage. I agree that God cares about these two issues, where I disagree is the idea that God only cares about these two issues. Why? Because there are about 2,000 verses in the Bible that speak to poverty related issues and, last time I checked, I can't find one verse in the Bible that speaks to the abortion issue or for that matter the gay marriage issue (which McCain and Obama virtually agree on) as a matter of public policy.
If the prophets Micah, Isaiah, Amos, Malachi and James the brother of Jesus are going to have any influence on my vote, then I have to conclude that wage related issues are certainly in play for what constitutes as a moral issue. Even more, when I take nearly all the prophets into consideration, I have to conclude that God cares a whole lot about the treatment of refugees. That being said, I now have to ask myself the question of whether God would consider the 2 million Iraqi refugees barely surviving in Syria and Jordan a moral issue (not to mention another 2 million internally displaced people living inside Iraq) and who actually has a plan to help them. At the time of this writing, only one candidate is talking about that and, hint hint, its not the pro-life candidate.
After an insane amount of thought and study, I've decided that I'm going to vote tomorrow. Do I have doubts and fears about the person that I've chosen? Yes I do. Is the person that I'm voting for the Messiah? Not by a long shot. Is the person that I'm voting for an imperfect choice? The answer is absolutely yes. But what bothers me is I wonder if my fellow believers who vote for the other candidate are willing to admit the same? I wonder if at the end of the day we can all recognize that thoughtful Christians can be found on both sides of the political aisle? Does God care about more than two issues? To borrow a phrase from a popular American governor, you betcha!
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Top-level comments on this article: (8 total)Aaron,This is a very thoughtful article. Somehow, many Christians have the notion that the preponderance of Americans "believe" in abortion and therefore are "unbelievers." As you say, the sanctity of life supersedes the boundaries of this one moral dilemma. Many make it seem as if the pro-life issue, in its narrowest scope, is the only litmus test that determines one's spirituality and political character. However, it is a complex issue like most problems we encounter in today's world. Thank you.
Thank you James. I've taken some real heat for this article from people that I love. Your encouragement is a blessing.
Excellent article, Aaron!Although I adamantly oppose abortion and gay marriage, I'm a little leary of those "politically self-assured black and white no nonsense God is a republican fundamentalist" people to which you referred.For one thing, people like that tend to take on an "end justifies the means" type of a attitude. They know they are right and that God is on their side, so He surely wouldn't mind a little stretching of the truth -- or even a little outright lying -- to bring about His will on earth. And He will certainly overlook the misdeeds of the candidates who are on his side. After all, everyone is human, right? Of course, those who are against Him will be held accountable for every single peccadillo in their life. And woe to the guys on the other side who have had associations with shady characters in the past. What that's you say? Some of our guys and gals have associated with bad people? Well, come on now, that's okay because ... well ... you know ...In addition, this "God is on our side" assurance tends to foster a sense of paranoia. If you are not for them, you are against them, they feel. After all, if you are not for God, you are against Him, right? Then it becomes okay to hurt people who are a threat to their cause. After all, the forces of the "enemy" are just dangerous, they're scary, they're terrorists, they're baby killers! They must be put in their place or even eliminated, if need be -- before it's too late! Then mobs form to carry out these plans.That's why one should never be too sure about their own rightness. It can get ugly.
Very well said Aaron. I've had 3 people now tell me to "do the right thing" when I vote, assuming I was going to vote for McCain. My response: "oh, I will!"
Aaron, I respect your opinion and frankly, I've been pretty vocal on not being happy with anyone who is running for office -- my heart is heavy but, as they say, right now it is what it is and as an American we must respect whoever takes oath as our next President. I am saddened most, however, by the deception I am seeing with many Christians -- clearly abortion is an atrocity and you are correct that it will continue regardless of whether it is legal or not -- but America must be an example for all and with abortion comes a domino effect of many "sins" that create "an anything goes society" which, pretty much, is where we are - My beliefs are that regardless of the times, God is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow and it all must start at home first - this is not naive, this is truth. Thank you for allowing me to respond to you and wishing you well!
Aaron a good article. One has to look at the issue of Abortion this way. "Thou shall not kill", murder. "I was formed in my mothers womb and marvelously made". Now e can argue just when is conception and life present all day. Number one the fact that it is done at all legally or illegally does not make it any less a sin. secondly if a woman is murdered while pregnant two charges of murder are brought against her murderer. Why? The court recognizes life in the womb other wise the law is flawed.Now God, if we say we are believers, decides when how and where a life is brought into this world. If be by evil deed or love still a life. That life is defenseless in the womb and has no choice and is dependent on the mother. I think the term "having no natural affection suits this definition fine". So if we can readily accept killing an unborn then perhaps, just perhaps it is not so far a leap to killing the handicapped or the elderly? I leave you with one word "Oregon". Yes a decisive issue but one that all believers must accept in faith as they accept even a belief in God. PS: people profess anything, it is their fruits you shall know them. I will not vote for either.Arron I thought I responded with my name Robert Melaccio sr on the above
Aaron, your article helps me understand why Obama – the most liberal Senator in Washington, has been so popular and is favored to be our next president. Apparently, in the past eight years you are not the only Christian who has abandoned the cause of the unborn in America. You have found other evils that are so much more important than this little thing about which you think the Bible has nothing to say. And apparently you understand Jesus to have said something like this: “I was naked and you failed to vote for tax hikes so that everyone like me could have a decent wardrobe.” If God does, in fact, care about the abortion issue, then I imagine he cares how the people you and I vote for stand on that issue. And the way I understand Scripture, we will someday answer for our votes and even our failure to vote in THIS society. Finally, the way I understand Scripture is that being a good steward of the wealth one has is a matter between God and the steward. No steward should expect to hear from the Master, “Well done my good and faithful servant, who properly funded his government’s wasteful efforts to help others.” I seriously doubt that God is all that impressed with His people wanting to plunder the wealthy to fund their noble causes.Aaron is pro-life. I guess you didn't even read the title.Oh, is that what makes one pro-life in the context of the abortion issue? You just write an article that says "I am pro-life BUT . . ." Not in my book, "anonymous".
This is an excellent article. Not only is there more to being truly "pro life" than the abortion issue (death penalty,wars, poverty, limited access to healthcare etc all result in deaths), there's more to reducing the number of abortions taking place than simply opposing Roe vs Wade. I believe the number of abortions taking place during Obama's term will likely be less than it would under McCain, for many reasons including the social and economic ones mentioned in the article. It saddens me that there are people out there (quite a lot of them it seems) that are quick to demonise those who supported Obama, ignorant of the fact that a good case can be made that an Obama administration may very well be more protective of human life in the US and in the wider world than a McCain administration would have been.Respect people who make reasoned judgements, don't scream at them with threats of hellfire.
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