My residency, although in this wordly kingdom at the moment, is ultimately in Heaven. And so wherever I reside – although an alien and stranger here – I am at home with God.

you said, in reference to killing the unborn: “To those who are not voting, or voting for Obama, I’d like to hear what makes you think it’s OK not to do what we can, however small, to stop this.”

my reply: it’s actually not ok to refrain from saving the lives of the unborn. we should do that. problem is … (1) voting republican hasn’t and won’t accomplish this no matter how often we blindly follow christian radio pundits and ignore their history of success on this issue, (2) it’s also not ok to refrain from ending the loss of civilian lives and teenaged lives fighting a “war” that punishes those other than the initiators.

my point?

neither of those candidates are truly pro-life.

how can a christian justify voting for someone who ignores the sanctity of the lives outside the womb?

(1) Who am I to know how to solve these massive problems or even to choose the best person to deal with them? I am praying for the election, but I am not voting in part because I know I know way less about and spend a lot less time studying these things than a lot of other people. So I’m taking part in this election through prayer and deferring to the wisdom of the voters in the sovereign hand of God.

(2) By not voting, I want to show my family and friends that as massively important as issues like abortion and poverty are, there are things ten thousand times more important.

~abi

I am a single reason non-voter. I believe in the sanctity of ALL life – whether that life is a child or an enemy on the battlefield. As someone who is heavily into non-violence and non-aggression I could never vote for someone who would have to send people to kill/murder other people. As President – it is a must because he must protect the self-interests of the State. As a Christian – I reject those self-interests and believe that my allegiance is to Christ alone and to the Kingdom of God (which is why I stopped saying the Pledge of Allegiance and only stand silently during the National Anthem out of respect for others).

I reject the fallacy that as a Christian it is my God ordained duty to vote. For people who scream sola scriptura – where is that in the Bible? I pray for my leaders, pay my taxes and give them my obedience to the point where it contradicts with the Law of God. But the rest of my time and energy go to service to the Kingdom (one cannot have two masters after all).

And not voting does mean that I lose my right to complain – but I would never complain in the first place. I can still call sin “sin” though – and instead of complaining about things and can go out and make a difference. But to somehow say that to be an American Christian that I must vote and that somehow it’s disobedience, rebellion, or whatever not to is misguided to say the least and stupid to say the most. I live my life according to the Sermon on the Mount – not according to Enlightenment ideas of how a worldly government should be run.

Blessings.

And since you want the rest of us to “use our brains,” do you think those of us who don’t think that’s acceptable just aren’t as smart as you?

To those who are not voting, or voting for Obama, I’d like to hear what makes you think it’s OK not to do what we can, however small, to stop this. Personally, I don’t want to hear pro-Obama Christians (or non-voting Christians) be shocked and dismayed if and when it happens. A non-vote, or a vote for Obama, enables it. I’d love to know what other issues are important enough to trump this one.

Because I didn’t like my choices, I wrote someone in that I believe would follow God’s wisdom in running our country.

Although we don’t always like the choices in front of us, we need to be thankful we live in a country that allows us to make one. Not all of the world gets as many choices as we do.

…a great read that opened my eyes to many things about my faith: Unchristian. http://www.unchristian.com/

I think every Christian should make themselves aware of the issues brought up in this book…they are very relevant to this political atmosphere.

Just to add to the conversation another twist.

This is a great blog post.

http://www.upper-register.com/blog/?p=237

This year will be my first time voting and I have decided that a clear conscience on all fronts is the way to go. When I read Chuck Baldwin calling Bush/Cheney too liberal I knew he would have my vote.

I get tired of people automatically equating Christian with Republican.

I get tired of being pigeonholed so that when talking to people about politics, you get “labeled” as “Not pro-life” or “liberal”.

I get tired too.

I vote for Christ. I vote that we ourselves start making change happen in our communities and churches and families. Christ allows us to make the change we need and if you want to see less babies killed each year, then you better help make a difference in your community. Not just voting for a candidate who might be pro-life. That will do nothing.

(plus, most republicans are annoying)(Someday I might move to the east coast or to France.)

“As president, John McCain will strongly support funding for promising research programs, including amniotic fluid and adult stem cell research and other types of scientific study that do not involve the use of human embryos.

Where federal funds are used for stem cell research, Senator McCain believes clear lines should be drawn that reflect a refusal to sacrifice moral values and ethical principles for the sake of scientific progress, and that any such research should be subject to strict federal guidelines.”

This election, I believe it is critical that we vote for McCain, not because he’s so wonderful, but on the off chance that we might avoid the disaster that Obama will inevitably bring.

I am not wasting my vote, apathetic, ignorant, or lazy, I just can not in good conscience vote for either candidate.

Obama is pro-choice, McCain is going to continue with Bush’s Foreign Policy and still want to start more wars. He is more aggressive than Bush and will most likely cause more damage in the long run.

Unfortunately, being pro-life and anti-Bush-Doctrine limits my options here, so I will pray and hope that in four years, the States will provide it’s country with better options.