Yes, I have very much stepped over the line on this one.  I can see some of you wince as you read this.  However, I can’t deny the truth of a logical argument.  If you feel that I am in error please respond with a logical argument of your own.  Here goes…

The argument:  If the Democratic platform supports and promotes unbiblical ideas, then Christians should not support its candidates.  The 2008 Democratic platform does support and promote unbiblical ideas.  Therefore, Christians should not support its candidates.

The Democratic platform supports and promotes unbiblical ideas

The 2008 Democratic platform does support and promote unbiblical ideas that are of importance to the Christian.  The two that I want to discuss are marriage and abortion (obviously, this is not an exhaustive treatment of neither the platform document or the bible).  First, on pg. 52 of the 2008 Democratic National Platform, it reads “We support the full inclusion of all families, including same-sex couples, in the life of our nation, and support equal responsibility, benefits, and protections. We will enact a comprehensive bipartisan employment non-discrimination act. We oppose the Defense of Marriage Act and all attempts to use this issue to divide us.”  What is the statement saying?  It says that democrats support a rejection of the biblical understanding of marriage, which promotes marriage of a man and a woman.  It says very clearly that democrats oppose the Defense of Marriage Act, which defines legal marriage as the union of a man and a woman.  This is contrary to the bible’s overall teaching concerning marriage.  Specifically Jesus quotes Genesis in Matthew 19, “He answered, “Have you not read that he who created them from the beginning made them male and female,  and said, ‘Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh’?  So they are no longer two but one flesh.”  Not only this but the Old and New Testaments both call homosexuality a sin.  My point in this post is not to call attention to the sin of homosexuality.  If I did, I think it would only be fair that I talk about sexual ethics in general, which would include heterosexual sin.

As for abortion, on pg 50 of the Democratic National Platform is a statement in support of the “unequivocal” availability of abortions.  It states “The Democratic Party strongly and unequivocally supports Roe v. Wade and a woman’s right to choose a safe and legal abortion, regardless of ability to pay, and we oppose any and all efforts to weaken or undermine that right.”  I could not be any more concisely thorough on the biblical understand than Andreas Kostenberger when he writes in the excellent book God, Marriage and Family, “Abortion is not a practice condoned by Scripture, both on account of its general teaching regarding the value of human life and on the basis of specific passages.  Both testaments teach that children are a blessing from God (Ps. 127:3-5; Mark 10:13-16) and regard the killing of children with particular horror (e.g., Ex. 1:16-17, 22; Lev. 18:21; Jer. 7:31-32; Ezek. 16:20-21; Mic. 6:7; Matt. 2:16-18: Acts 7:19).  God is shown to be active in the creation of human beings from the time of conception {here he includes several Old Testament passages and a couple of New Testament}, so that human procreation in fact represents “a co-creative process involving man, woman, and God.”  He then lists Psalm 139:13-16 .

Christians should not support its candidates (those who support unbiblical ideas)

First let me say that Christians in general and Baptists in particular love religious freedom and oppose creating a theocracy.  As these two issues, marriage and abortion, become increasingly legislated away from the biblical ideal, opposition to them becomes increasingly difficult.   I am not speaking about personal courage but rather legality.  If it becomes a crime to call homosexuality sin and abortion murder, then the attack is on the gospel.  The gospel must never be compromised.  What the Lord considered sin a thousand years ago is still sin today.  Culture does not dictate truth, God does.  Why would Christians want to support individuals who represent them in making laws for the city/county/state/country when those laws offend, undermine, and destroy beliefs that are of supreme importance to the Christian?

The fact is, we should not.  Christians should not support candidates who will undermine the beliefs that they hold sacred.  Christians should vote.  They should vote from their Christian convictions.  Sadly, most church going Americans do vote from conviction, but it is far from biblical or Christian.  God is not glorified when I condone sin.  Therefore, as I live to do all things to the glory of God, it cannot include a willful vote in opposition to His Word.  Soli Deo Gloria!