One Issue Politics...
I was recently pointed to this article written by John Piper on the challenge of deciding who to vote for when there are some issues for each candidate that you disagree with and some that you agree with. Especially when it comes down to moral issues. Should I vote for a candidate who seems best fit to run the country even though I might have some serious disagreements with their stance on various moral issues (Roe vs. Wade or stem cell research for example)? It's a tough choice and one that I have not found a simple answer to.
Basically, Piper talks about how there is no single issue that, if supported by a politician, automatically makes them the best choice. However, he states that there may be single qualities that, if held by a politician, would immediately disqualify them from any chance of being elected. He gave one example of being racist against African-Americans. Automatic zero chance of being elected. He draws a comparison with marriage and how there isn't really anything that automatically qualifies a man or woman to be the perfect soul mate. But, everyone has their list of qualities that they would not tolerate. Smoking would be an example for me. Nothing against smokers but I would not date someone who smoked. Interesting food for thought...
Basically, Piper talks about how there is no single issue that, if supported by a politician, automatically makes them the best choice. However, he states that there may be single qualities that, if held by a politician, would immediately disqualify them from any chance of being elected. He gave one example of being racist against African-Americans. Automatic zero chance of being elected. He draws a comparison with marriage and how there isn't really anything that automatically qualifies a man or woman to be the perfect soul mate. But, everyone has their list of qualities that they would not tolerate. Smoking would be an example for me. Nothing against smokers but I would not date someone who smoked. Interesting food for thought...
posted by Matt at 2:06 AM
4 Comments:
One other thing to consider is how often we pray for our politicians. I was speaking to the principal of QTC and he mentioned that he was speaking once with a Christian politician who said, "You get the politicians you pray for..."
I don't know if you've noticed, but Australians love to knock their politicians. Perhaps it's time we started taking the lead and praying for them instead :)
Interesting way to think about it matt. I definitely agree with Mr. Piper. :)
not the focus of your post, but can I point you to abort73.com for a really important read?
Steve, I think you're spot on about prayer. So quick am I to criticize our leaders. How difficult is it to lead a country where you probably have as many different opinions on every single issue out there as there are people. Definitely need to remember to support them in prayer.
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