Faith and Politics in 2020 - My Why for My Vote
/This is my why for 2020. This is why I am voting for Joe Biden and Kamela Harris.
I see no reason to justify my vote, so don’t think that this post is about that. As I write these words, I clearly remember so many political conversations from 2016, so I guess in some circles, I will need to justify my vote. It seemed the focus of those conversations in 2016 were always on Hillary Clinton and the Dems and somehow the jest of those conversations ended up being boiled down to this one question: How can you say you are a Christian and vote for Hillary? Let’s face it; that question is still asked in 2020: “How can you vote for Biden and say you are a Christian?”
I am a Christian. I am also pretty much a lifelong democrat. I came of age in the 60’s and even though I had been raised in a home that identified as Christian and Democrat, I found I was out of step with the political leanings of those whose political discussions I had long listened to as a child and as a teen. The reason I was out of step had to do with race, civil rights, the Vietnam War, and the long held belief that I had that Jesus came down on the side of those fighting for civil rights and against those supporting going to war.
When I first became a Christian, when I first decided to follow Jesus, I was a young girl not yet in my teens, and I was the first in my family to take that step of actually saying I was a follower of Jesus.
My religious life has been one of taking a few twists and turns along the way. I won’t go into that now. That is a story for another day. I guess I can sum it up by saying that even when the doctrine of the religious system of which I was a part did not line up with Biblical Christianity, this quote by Marilynne Robinson’s from one of my favorite books of all time “Gilead” was ringing true to me.
““Christianity is a life, not a doctrine . . . I’m not saying never doubt or question. The Lord gave you a mind so that you would make honest use of it. I’m saying you must be sure that the doubts and questions are your own.” ”
I love that last part of the quote so much. The Lord does give you a mind, and I fully believe that if you doubt or question your faith or your political beliefs, just make sure those doubts and questions are your own. It is a good thing to explore what you truly believe regarding all influences upon your life. I had to do that at a major turning point in my life in my late thirties.
My true faith and my true beliefs are based on what the Bible says about the person of Jesus and about His Church. He said, “…I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.” (Matt. 16:18). My faith is not divorced from my political /world views. My faith informs my political/world views. I also read extensively in both the fiction and non-fiction genres on matters of faith, history, culture, and social structures. I truly believe God wants us to understand the world and social system in which He has placed us. That is why I read.
In the final analysis, my politics, which are mine, not someone else’s, must line up with what I read in the entirety of the Bible which I read every single day for at least thirty minutes a day. My life also must line up with what I believe. Again, to quote Marilynne Robinson, “Christianity is life, not a doctrine…”
I’ve often found myself out of step with others fellow believers in matters of politics. That is ok with me because I am not a follower of some man nor do I wish to follow some man-made doctrine. I generally find myself voting as a political moderate, but in the last years I am finding our political landscape is far from moderate everywhere I look. That is why I must more and more lean into my faith to inform my political actions when it comes to speaking with others, writing, and voting.
Christianity is about love and justice, the love and justice of God as lived out in our midst by the Word made manifest in the person of Jesus who was fully God and fully man. I am called to follow Him and walk in love while showing justice and mercy.
I see no love and no justice in the current administration in the White House. Under Donald Trump I have never seen love and acceptance and grace and mercy on display. I have seen no empathy, no regard for the citizens he has a responsibility to care for and serve. He seems to delight in and shows partiality to those who sow chaos. He favors doing favors for those he expects to do favors for him. He is not a truth teller. He is not a truth seeker. He only is self-seeking and self-serving. I believe he is anti-social and a threat to the democracy which I hold dear.
Let me be clear, I am not speaking just about Donald Trump when I write these words. I am speaking of Trumpism. I believe that those who continually spread his conspiracy theories, embrace his toxic messages, and refuse to explore who and what they are really supporting when they support and rally around Trump and Trumpism remind me of those locked in cult mentality. They are complicit in supporting his anti-social and bullying ways. I pray they can be released from the clutches of this demonizing, demoralizing, anti-democratic philosophy.
My vote is for truth, for love, for justice, and for supporting the high ideals upon which this nation was founded. My vote is for the Biden/Harris ticket.
