Who are you planning to vote for?

[Paidion]

Prime Minister Harper has fulfilled his promises in the last election, in spite of the fact that his government is a minority. I hope the Conservatives come in with a majority this time.

I think Mr. Harper is the only party leader who can keep Canada from a depression.

I intend to vote Conservative on October 14.

[SteveF]

What do you think of Harper?

Hi Matt

I see positives and negatives in the job Harper is doing. I don’t want to delve into Canadian politics too far…..unless you want me to. Even though he claims to be a Christian I don’t entirely support his ideology or methods. He has done a pretty good job though.

Someone once told me that Philip Yancey said “He feels like a Conservative when he’s around Liberals and feels like a Liberal when he’s around Conservatives”. I don’t know about you but I can relate to that.

For example, I was the only person in a small church I was attending who questioned Bush for going into Iraq and wouldn't say it was a “just war”. I thought he was acting too fast by not waiting for the UN to finish its inspections. I was essentially told this was a failure to support a Christian president. My response was, can a Christian never be wrong?

On the other hand, my liberal leaning in-laws were dead set against Bush going into a sovereign country. I expressed my concern along those lines as well but said I could not be categorical because I wasn’t privy to the intelligence and couldn’t say one way or the other for sure. I was seen as a dedicated right winger. (I’ve since come to see the invasion as a mistake)

With Sarah Palin, I was concerned early on about her apparent lack of knowledge on Federal and International issues. I am now convinced that she is, as one Conservative columnist put it, “out of her league”. I am also bothered by the fact that as a representative of Evangelical Christianity she has resorted to deceit, lies and slander just like other politicians. I don’t think Christianity “wins” in these circumstances. I’m longing for the day when Christianity is not mentioned in the same breath as War and dirty politics

[Jason]

I think voting conservative is a good idea and that's what I support. However, I can't stand all the one-sided retoric coming from the right. The left is demonizing mccain in like manner. The right says obama wants to kill babies and the left says mccain wants to kill your children, wives and husbands in war. Neither side has accurately represented the opposing candidate and this makes me think "politics as usual." Although I'm conservative myself (fiscally and socially) I can't even listen to conservative talk shows any more. George bush is staunchly against the practice of abortion and yet, after 8 years in office the practice is just as legal as it was before he took the oath. In other words, massive amounts of babies were exterminated under the leadership of a conservative president so why cry about obama? Does the right actually think mccain will stop the practice of abortion? Give me a break. Most of us didn't think mccain would approve a fiscally irresponsible bail-out bill either but he spearheaded it. Partisan politics are becoming a joke.

*end of rant*

[Paidion]

George bush is staunchly against the practice of abortion and yet, after 8 years in office the practice is just as legal as it was before he took the oath.

How about the horrible procedure known as "partial birth abortions"?

Was it not because of President Bush's stand, that this form of infanticide was criminalized in the U.S.A.? There's already been a court case in which the law has been tested, and the Federal Government won.

[Jason]

How about the horrible procedure known as "partial birth abortions"?

Was it not because of President Bush's stand, that this form of infanticide was criminalized in the U.S.A.? There's already been a court case in which the law has been tested, and the Federal Government won.

You're right about that, but there are liberals who think partial birth abortion is a horrid practice as well and most forms of abortion are still quite legal. Maybe I was expecting more from a conservative president after 8 years since this is probably the issue that got him elected.

[schoel]

I think voting conservative is a good idea and that's what I support. However, I can't stand all the one-sided retoric coming from the right. The left is demonizing mccain in like manner. The right says obama wants to kill babies and the left says mccain wants to kill your children, wives and husbands in war. Neither side has accurately represented the opposing candidate and this makes me think "politics as usual." Although I'm conservative myself (fiscally and socially) I can't even listen to conservative talk shows any more. George bush is staunchly against the practice of abortion and yet, after 8 years in office the practice is just as legal as it was before he took the oath. In other words, massive amounts of babies were exterminated under the leadership of a conservative president so why cry about obama? Does the right actually think mccain will stop the practice of abortion? Give me a break. Most of us didn't think mccain would approve a fiscally irresponsible bail-out bill either but he spearheaded it. Partisan politics are becoming a joke.

*end of rant*

Jason,

I echo your sentiments here. What you described is one of the main reasons why I struggle regarding who to vote for, especially this time around. I get the feeling from the Republicans that many of them (probably enough to really prevent change) pay lip service to pro-life issue with catch phrases, but do nothing about it. I'm becoming convinced of the corruption of both of our major parties and wonder if it is appropriate to just not vote. Perhaps it is better to pray more and vote less...

Dave

[Paidion]

Dave,

The main way in which God answers prayers is through His indwelling Spirit working within His children. I think that includes even which way to vote. So I urge you to pray about it.
Then, if you still feel that both parties are bad or negligent, pray some more, and get out there and vote for the least of two evils!

[TK]

i tend to agree with paidion.

christians SHOULD vote, if for no other reason than that there are many non-christians who WILL vote.

TK

[schoel]

The main way in which God answers prayers is through His indwelling Spirit working within His children. I think that includes even which way to vote. So I urge you to pray about it.
Then, if you still feel that both parties are bad or negligent, pray some more, and get out there and vote for the least of two evils!

I agree that all Christians should pray regarding for whom they cast their vote. I'm offering prayers regarding that.
However, the idea of voting for the lesser of 2 evils; is that really better than not voting at all? A candidate that I voted for as the lesser of 2 evils will probably do other things that I find evil.


Are we placing too much faith in the political process to affect real change? (the below quote can be found with its context at Greg Boyd's Blog Entry: On the Campaign Trail)

The tragic truth is that the church in America is profoundly broken. Instead of addressing our own massive shortcomings and sin, however, many leaders are trying to get us to focus on fixing Caesar! We aren’t doing what we’re called to do, in part because we’re so busy trying to get Caesar to do it! We’re ignoring the log in our own eye while trying to find a speck in Caesar’s! We’re doing very little of what Jesus called us to do and spending a lot of time doing things Jesus never told us to do. Instead of bleeding to transform the world through the self-sacrificial power of the cross, we’re trying to transform the world through the self-serving power of the sword. Instead of feasting at the banquet of God’s humble, servant love, we’re joining in the world’s scramble to scarf up a morsel of power that falls from Caesar’s table.

Folks, for people who profess to follow Jesus, this is pure insanity! It’s just that this insanity has been going on for so long (basically since Constantine’s “conversion” in the fourth century) that many find it to be perfectly normally — indeed, for many, its the epitome of “taking a stand for vtruth and righteousness.”

How we need to be freed from the illusion that we’re doing anything kingdom by voting a certain way every couple years! How we need to wake up to the truth that we vote for or against the Kingdom every day of our life. We vote by how we spend our money and time. We vote by where we live, who we hang out with, the kind of car we drive and the kind of clothes we wear. In the Kingdom, we vote with our lives, not in a booth expressing our opinion about what Caesar should do.

Dave

[schoel]

christians SHOULD vote, if for no other reason than that there are many non-christians who WILL vote.

Are we in a battle against non-christians? I thought they were victims of the enemy, and not the enemy themselves.
I'm not sure I understand what you mean...

Dave