IS IT A SIN TO VOTE FOR OBAMA AND THE DEMOCRATS?

[nadinbrzezinski]

With the recent proclamation of a Green Bay bishop that Christians who vote for someone supporting the gay or abortion agenda is putting their soul in jeopardy, there's been an increase in the amount of email in my inbox asking my take on whether it is a sin for Christians to be Democrats.  I think a lot of people assume this is a difficult subject for me to address.  I hate to disappoint them, but it's not.

I recently read an article from a self-proclaimed "Christian Democrat" explaining why they would be voting for Obama, and to a larger degree, supporting the Democratic Party.  I am intentionally not linking to the original article for a reason.  The article was full of the very kind of "fine-sounding arguments" that Paul warns us in Colossians to be on guard against.  Given the sorry state of biblical Christianity in America, I know that several of these arguments could easily ensnare and trap a lot of confused Christians -- and I won't willfully provide a potential stumbling block to any believer.

It should be an axiom for Christ followers that while our faith should inform our politics, our politics should never inform our faith. But this particular author, as is often the case with Christian Democrats, has made an a priori commitment to supporting the Democrats and then seeks to find faith-based reasons to justify it. But here's the uncomfortable truth such individuals must confront: while it's certainly true that not every Republican is worthy of our support as Christians, any individual who runs under a platform that justifies the legal slaughter of innocent life made in the image of God is an unacceptable choice. Period.


.

http://onenewsnow.com//perspectives/peter-heck/2012/10/29/is-it-a-sin-to-vote-for-obama-and-the-democrats

Yup, I am a sharing person.

Problem is people believe this shit.

[NightWatcher]

1. my response, "I dont wear Magic Underwear and I dont believe in hell"

[nadinbrzezinski]

3. I know, I know, but this is not comming from the campaign

But the religious right. Remember, fundies pledged to write in Christ, which is all kinds of funny.

[NightWatcher]

6. I hope they all write in Jesus' name. There's even a site that claims 1.5 mill are pledging

to do so.

That's gotta be 1.6 mill that R$ doesnt get

[nichomachus]

11. I could support him

I agree with most of his policies. I'm not onboard with the "pluck your eye out" thing or selling everything I have (which isn't much), but the rest is OK.

The only problem is that he's a myth, but heck, no candidate is perfect.

[nadinbrzezinski]

12. RLOL.

Thanks for the laugh.

They are writing in a damn commie.

[Raster]

7. pleaase, please, please may all the fundies write in "christ"

Everytime a fundie writes in "christ" an angel gets their wings...and the asshole from the rethuglicans loses another vote.

[skeewee08]

2. NO it is not, ask the rethugs what scripture in the Bible

says this? Also ask them is it a sin to vote for a Mormon?

[nadinbrzezinski]

8. I get their emails t times twice and three times a day

Trust me, tip of iceberg does not start to describe it. But I need to be aware what the far reaches are saying to each other. I wonder what crap I'll get today with the afa mailer. Another source of quite frankly, surprise.

[Fresh_Start]

4. Another loud pro-birth voice

ignoring all the anti-life activity of the right.
Everything from war mongering to death penalty to dangerous pollution to unqualified support for guns.

[nadinbrzezinski]

10. But of course

[LTR]

14. Didn't you hear?

To the fundies, murder is wrong unless you do it to dark-skinned people.

[cbrer]

5. Was this Bishop asleep for the first 8 years of the 21st century? nt

[nadinbrzezinski]

9. Yup

[Light63]

13. I am a Catholic, a practicing Catholic.

And here is my personal belief at election time.

I am not for abortion nor against it. When I vote for the President of the United States, I am voting for a person whom I believe possesses an honest, thoughtful, neutral, caring, compromising attitude, someone who I can place my complete trust in caring for EVERYONE in our country, just not only my fellow Catholics. For someone who trashed the less fortunates behind doors, I fail to see an honest person in Romney. In Romney, I succeed in seeing a person who is flying with the wind. Whichever direction the wind blows, he will follow it! Whatever matters that his constituents want to hear, he will have no problem of telling them that even though whatever he states are lies and go aganst his very own belief. For a man who has no conviction or principle, how could he be elected to be the POTUS!

In Obama, I can see an honest and caring person who will handle ALL social issues, not just abortion, for EVERYONE. Regardless of what the Green Bay bishop stated, I will be voting for Barack Hussein Obama to be re-elected as the President of the United States on November 6th, 2012.

[Volaris]

38. as a fellow Catholic, here's mine...

"Being pro-choice as a matter of political position ALLOWS me to be pro-life personally as a matter of consequence, and the reverse does NOT, and while that may not really matter to YOU, it sure as hell matters to someone who doesn't want MY faith used as a template for National LAW, and becasue I respect the Right of that Person to worship as they see fit I don't want my faith used that way."

Also, we might be a majority Christian Nation, but we only get to BE that becasue we run a SECULAR GOVERNMENT that values FREEDOM (of ALL) religion. (so fuck off)

Also, lets say you get what you want, and Roe gets overturned. What Morality is there in that? Robbing banks is illegal. You don't rack up any moral credibility for comming to me and saying, "Guess what? I DIDN'T rob a bank today!!" Well, no shit you didn't, and NOT becasue you beleive theft is wrong, but becasue you know that twisting the titty of the Justice System is BAD for you. Your reason for NOT robbing banks is not Goodness, or High Moral Character, it's SELFISHNESS, Self-Preservation, and fear of prison, pure and simple. Now, if robbing banks were made LEGAL tomorrow, and you come to me next tuesday, and say, Guess what? I know robbing banks is legal now, and the reason I havent done it is becasue I beleive there is a high Moral imperative against theft of any kind for any reason", NOW you gets points from me for being a demonstrably Moral Person. In other words, its not that anyone CAN have an abortion in America that makes you somehow not noble, it's that you can (and DO) chose NOT TO that makes you more "noble" than the rest of us, at least in terms terms of Morality as YOU define and understand it.
And if SOME of us are less noble than yourself, well, them's the breaks buddy, and you are just going to have to live with it.

They usually go away after that.

[srichardson]

15. Wow!

If this is the belief of the Christian community then I no longer wish to be considered a Christian democrat. Just call me a democrat. This article disgusts me at the very core of my belief system. And once again the Christian republican assumes that those in poverty those on food stamps are there because they are lazy and simply choose to be there. How ignorant can people really be. I'm done with these types of people.

[nadinbrzezinski]

17. Welcome to du and fundies of all stripes...are nuts.

[get the red out]

16. How about voting the way pedophile supporters say?

Is that a sin? To vote for people that an institution that covers up for serial child rapists tell you to vote for?

[nadinbrzezinski]

18. Of course not

God understands.

[Kurovski]

19. No it's not a sin, but it's a shame to be so godammed stupid.

[nadinbrzezinski]

20. Just sharing from the fun emails I get

Tip, iceberg...you know the rest.

[Kurovski]

21. I understand.

Mean people promoting the peace to be found in accepting christ.

[nadinbrzezinski]

22. One news now is not as crazee as the American Family Association

Which is scary all on it's own.

[Downwinder]

23. When they declared me a bastard,

I figured I had to do my duty.

[RoseMead]

24. Good think I'm an atheist, then.

I won't have to worry about it either way.

[Autumn]

25. THANK GOD I AM A SINNER

and I will sin over and over and over. And I will rejoice in the Lord every time.

[L0oniX]

26. Most Christians are poisoned by doctrine.

[nadinbrzezinski]

29. This is comming from the far fundie right

So, no, not fair to say most Christians.

But we must be aware that it's out there.

[mstinamotorcity2]

27. When I vote

for President I don't vote for personal beliefs. I vote for political ones. I believe that a President should represent America. Period.

[kelliekat44]

28. It would be a sin not to.

[n2doc]

30. When God comes down to tell us directly, I'll believe it

Otherwise, this could be Satan speaking, couldn't it?

[nadinbrzezinski]

31. Now that you mention it

Beware of false prophes and false churches in the last days.

[mmonk]

32. I belong to a Church run by the Franciscan friars.

Here is their view:

"Our Christian tradition teaches that we are to treat the poor with dignity and to prioritize the poor in our policies as a society," the organization said in a press release on Thursday. "At a time when millions are struggling financially, it is degrading to talk about the 'dependency' of people hurting in this economy, as Gov. Romney did recently."

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/08/09/mitt-romney-franciscan-friars-poor_n_1760580.html

[nadinbrzezinski]

33. I take it these Friars are NOT part of the far

Fundy right where this piece hails from.

For the record, they are a loud minority, but a powerful one.

[mmonk]

37. Yep. Our church even participated in a Gay Pride festival In Durham.

I think the bishops feel they can't move on an 800+ year old order.

[Aristus]

34. If it is, I'll see you in Hell...

Go OBAMA!

[nadinbrzezinski]

36. I am leading the way

[Motown_Johnny]

35. Is it a sin to vote for a Bishop in a faith that does not believe in the Holy Trinity?

I would say "Yes", but who am I to judge?

[Turborama]

39. "the legal slaughter of innocent life made in the image of God" ~ How many million "Christians"

...who go along with this train of thought protested against the invasion of Iraq and the "slaughter of innocent life made in the image of God" ?

[nadinbrzezinski]

40. To the credit of a Hawaii far right preacher

One that I can think off. This guy is consistent in his pro life, anti war and anti death penalty stance...

But that be...drum roll...one.

[quaker bill]

41. The real "sin"

of Sodom and Gomorrah was not all the colorful stuff you hear about from the right, it was that they became so transfixed with greed avarice, and hedonism, that the community failed to care for the sick, widowed, and orphaned. The rightwing loves to interpret this tale as mass failure of individual morality. But read in context, all the curious bits are strung together to describe a community that had lost its way as a people, not a collection of persons. If it were persons, judgement would have been indiviual, judgement in this story was applied collectively, against a people who failed to care for one another collectively.

In this context it would be far more a sin to vote republican, and indeed it has always been against my religion to do so, even when I considered my self an agnostic.....