Letter to a Christian Voter

Dear Christian Voter,

As you no doubt have heard, this year’s election is of great importance.  Some say it may very well affect the future of the Christian Church here in America.  I  would tend to agree with these statements.  We are definitely at a crossroad as a country, and as a community of faith.  However, I believe these statements to be true not because of the candidates running, but because of the people voting.  Specifically, Christian voters like yourself.

I decided to write this letter, after much thought and prayer.  It is my honest hope and desire that you would read through this, and have an open heart and open mind.  Please put aside partisan politics.  Please consider this my plea to you, and my appeal to your better judgement.  This letter is not intended to guilt you into something, and it is not intended to accuse and condemn you.  I simply felt that I could no longer be silent, and needed to share what I believe, in the clearest terms possible.

As in any election there are issues at play this year that will affect Christians, and will affect Christian causes.  I believe it is reasonable and justifiable to be concerned about this election.  However, the one thing that I believe will affect the Christian Church in America in a truly lasting way, more than any one political platform or partisan idea, is wrapped up in this question:

As Christians, who (and what) will we support?

Right now, the entire country, and the world, is watching us in this election.  They see Donald Trump, and they are reading, hearing, and witnessing on a daily basis the indefensible things he is professing and representing.

Christianity stands for something.  It represents Jesus Christ.  It is a faith-based system of beliefs that celebrates love, peace, joy, hope, self-control, sacrifice, humility, and total dependence on the love and goodness of the God we trust and serve.  Or at least, that is what we claim.  But in the past year, as Christians have chosen to support and even defend Trump,  I have seen Christianity being associated with, and supporting:

• Racial Discrimination/Racism
• Mockery of the Disabled
• Sexual Assault
• Greed and Corruption
• Sexual Objectification of Minors
• Sexual Objectification of Women
• Unabashed Arrogance and Boastfulness
• Fear Mongering
• Rampant Adultery
• Vilification of Immigrants
• Vilification of Refugees
• Lack of Repentance (Unrepentant Sin)
• Sexism and Misogyny
• Prejudice and Ignorance
• Invitations to Violence
• …and the list goes on, and on, and on, and on…

So, please tell me: How can these things be supported by Christians? 

How can Christians support (and even defend) a candidate who has professed and exhibited everything I just listed?  This is the question we should be asking ourselves.  THIS is the issue that will define the Christian Church in America.  How far will the values of Christianity be stretched, before they are completely broken?

For at one time you were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord.  Walk as children of light (for the fruit of light is found in all that is good and right and true), and try to discern what is pleasing to the Lord.  Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them. Ephesians 5:8-11

Justifying the Unjustifiable

Now, those who support Trump would say that things are not so simple!  You can’t just say “Don’t vote Trump” when there are other concerning factors in play.  However, it appears that Christians have become great ethical gymnasts.  They are ready and willing to twist, turn, and stretch the truth in order to turn it into something that vaguely resembles a justification for their support of a candidate who, to all other discerning eyes, appears to be in direct opposition to the goals, values, and beliefs that they hold to be most vital.  Although there are various justifications people may choose in supporting Trump,  here are the 3 that I hear most often from Christians who intend to vote Trump for President:

1. What about Abortion?  At least Donald Trump is Pro-Life!
2. What about the Supreme Court?  At least Donald Trump has said he will nominate conservative Justices!
3. What about Hillary?  I’m not saying Trump isn’t bad… but Hillary is way worse!

First Justification: What about Abortion?

Countless pages could be written on this topic, and I cannot cover all the details and points in this single letter, but I will do my best to summarize my thoughts.  I myself am Pro-Life, and my past votes have been strongly influenced by a candidate’s stance on the issue of abortion.  I believe abortion is wrong.  I do believe it is an important issue, and a heartbreaking one.  Christians who are Pro-Life hold this position because we believe that all life, even life in utero, is sacred, and worth protecting.  I am well aware that many Christians make the issue of abortion THE deciding factor on whom they vote for and support.

It is true that Donald Trump now says he is Pro-Life.  And it is true that Hillary Clinton is Pro-Choice.  As I will explain later, this letter is not to be misconstrued as an appeal to vote for Hillary Clinton.

However, voting for Donald Trump solely or mostly because of his stance on the issue of abortion is misguided, and a false hope.  Up until quite recently, Trump has publicly professed in interviews to be “very pro-choice” , supported Planned Parenthood, and in the past has even gone so far as to say that he was “OK” with Partial Birth Abortion and would not support a ban on it.  Even today, he does not subscribe to a “hardline stance” on abortion, as he says it should be allowable in certain cases.  Now, I am not here to argue the finer points of the abortion issue, I am simply trying to present a case that shows that Donald Trump may not be the Pro-Life Champion that he wants you to think he is.

I believe Trump realizes that the Pro-Life voting bloc in our country is sizeable and dedicated.  He sees that aligning himself with this group of people would be a shrewd move politically, and would benefit him tremendously.  I believe Trump also realizes that the issues related to abortion and the Pro-Life movement are vitally important to Christian voters.  I do not believe these issues are vitally important to him.

Why do I say this?  Well, if the Pro-Life movement was important to Donald Trump, wouldn’t you think he would officially list it as part of his written platform?  You would be wrong.  I went to donaldjtrump.com, to read his official stance on abortion, and I found… nothing.  Not one mention of abortion, Pro-Life, or the sanctity of life.  You would assume if the issue of abortion was indeed important to him, it would at least warrant one mention.

Additionally, during his official speech, accepting the GOP’s nomination at the RNC this year, Donald Trump did not say one word about abortion or about being Pro-Life.  Not one word.  Why is this significant, you ask?

It is significant because the last time a Republican Nominee for President DID NOT mention the issue of abortion during their official GOP Presidential Nomination Speech was in 1980!  For the last 36 years (!) the issue had been brought up by EVERY nominated Presidential Candidate during their GOP acceptance speech… until this year, with Donald Trump.

Trump saying he is Pro-Life clearly benefits him now, while he is courting conservative voters.  It does not benefit him after this election, when he would have to spend time, and political capital to try to make progress for a Pro-Life cause.  I think history shows us that Donald Trump does things that benefit Donald Trump… everything and everyone else is secondary.

On a slightly different note, I would like to say that while I personally feel the Pro-Life cause is worthy of Christian support, I feel that some of the passion and dedication to the cause is misplaced.  It is invested in politics, when it should be invested in personal relationships with people.  I don’t think trying to legislate morality is particularly effective or appealing.

Example: I would love it if everyone was a Christian, just as I would love it if there was never another abortion.  But I obviously cannot change your heart and force you into Christianity by pursuing political means to accomplish that goal.  Christianity requires a change of heart, not a change of laws.  In the same way, I can try to stop you from having an abortion through politics and court rulings, but that won’t change your heart, or the heart of the issue.  I would love to see Christians spend the same amount of time and energy, and pour the same amount of passion into people on a relational level as they do on the issue of abortion on a political level.  I think that if we focused on people instead of politics, more than any law we would try to pass, or political figure we falsely put our hope in, we would help make an actual difference in decreasing abortion in our country.  I would rather change your heart than change your laws…maybe then I could change your mind.

Second Justification: What about the Supreme Court?

Even if Christians do feel Trump’s support for abortion is wavering, they usually fall back on an argument involving the Supreme Court.  Basically, this argument says that although Trump may be objectionable (he is), and although his stance on conservative issues (like abortion) may not be as strong as Christians and conservatives would like (they aren’t), at the very least he has said he will appoint justices to the Supreme Court that DO care about these issues.

Now, in order to justify this objection, several uncertain assumptions must be made.  The first question being: Who is to say Donald Trump will follow-up on his promise to nominate conservative justices?  It is confusing to me that Christians will say they object to Trump and his behavior, they agree his statements are indefensible, but they still trust him to follow through on his word in appointing conservative justices for nomination to the Supreme Court.  A man with questionable character and poor judgement is probably not a man you want to blindly trust and follow, especially in areas of great importance.

But let’s go ahead and assume Trump would in fact try to do what he says upon election.  Let’s assume (however risky) that Trump would appoint conservative justices.  The next assumption we must make is that he would have more than one vacancy to fill.  The oldest judge on the Supreme Court is Ruth Bader Ginsburg, at 83 years old.  She is known to be a liberal judge, appointed by Bill Clinton.  She has expressed her desire to serve as a Supreme Court Justice until she is 90.  Despite health concerns (including cancer, which she beat) in the late 90’s, she appears to be in fairly good health today.  I also find it hard to believe that she would voluntarily retire while someone like Donald Trump is serving as President of the United States.  Other justices are getting older as well (Kennedy is 80, Breyer is 78), but there is absolutely no guarantee these justices would retire or pass away (which seems a bit morbid to even discuss) during a four-year presidential term.

But, again, let’s go ahead and continue to say that all this will happen.  Let’s assume that if Trump were President, and he actually DID keep his word, and there actually WERE 3-4 positions to open up on the bench during that time, even then, we still have further assumptions to tackle.  Let’s also say that a nominee from a President Trump would be confirmed and installed… which is in no way a guarantee.  We are then left to assume that these judges actually would be making conservative rulings.  Again, history shows us that this is not always the case, and it is a dangerous assumption to make.

Let’s take Roe v. Wade as an example.  The assumption is that liberal judges make liberal rulings, and conservative judges (primarily judges appointed by conservatives and Republicans) make conservative rulings.  This seems logical, but is false.  In 1973, when the Supreme Court made their decision on Roe v. Wade, and ruled in favor of Roe, thus legalizing abortion, 6 out of the 9 Justices were actually considered “Conservative”, and appointed by Republican Presidents.

In fact, 5 of the conservative Justices voted in favor of legalizing abortion, while only 1 voted against it.  The ruling was 7 to 2, in favor of Roe (which legalized abortion).  Of the 2 justices that voted against this decision, only one was a Republican appointed Justice, and the other was appointed by a Democratic President, his name is Byron White.  This fact does not support those who would argue that a Supreme Court filled with conservative justices would make conservative decisions.

But I suppose you could say that was a long time ago, and that the conservative movement, and even the Democratic and Republican Parties have changed a lot since then.  Right?  Well let’s look at a more recent example of when a very “conservative” court chose to rule in a way to continue to keep abortion legal.

In 1993, the Supreme Court ruled on the case of Planned Parenthood v. Casey.  This court case dealt with things like informed consent, spousal notification, and other issues directly involving abortion.  Many believed that the Court would not only rule on this case, but take this opportunity to either uphold or overturn Roe v. Wade, which they did.  By this point in 1993, the two Justices appointed by Democratic Presidents who ruled in favor of legalizing abortion in 1973 had retired, and they were replaced by conservative Justices, appointed by Republican Presidents like Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush.  In total, 8 of the 9 Supreme Court Justices at the time of this ruling were “conservatives”, appointed by Republican Presidents.  The ONLY Justice appointed by a Democrat who was serving on the Bench at this time was Byron White, who, if you remember me mentioning earlier, had already voted AGAINST legalizing abortion in the ruling on Roe v. Wade in 1973.

You would think this would be a great opportunity for the Court to actually make a difference in the legal realm in concern to the legality of abortion!  Well, the Court did rule on whether or not overturn Roe v. Wade, and even though the clear majority of Justices at the time were “Conservative Justices”, they chose not to make abortion illegal.  In fact, they upheld and affirmed the original Roe v. Wade decision, thus keeping abortion legal.

I say ALL this, to say this: Putting our hope and faith in a flimsy promise of a man who does not share your values, to try to accomplish something that may or may not happen (history shows us NOT), is a poor reason to defend a vote for Trump.  It is based on weak assumptions, goes against the facts of history, and is based in shaky logic and questionable moral reasoning.

Bottom Line: This is a very dangerous “The End Justifies the Means” argument. 

My trust is not in politicians or Justices, it is in Jesus Christ.  I am not afraid of the future of our country because God is bigger than any Supreme Court Nomination, or President!

Some trust in chariots and others in horses, but we trust in the name of the LORD our God.

Psalm 20:7

Third Justification: What about Hillary?  Trump may be bad… but Hillary is way worse!

Let me be clear: I am not saying you should vote for Hillary Clinton.  Hillary Clinton is a politician.  She has lied, she has been morally objectionable, and she has supported ideas, values and issues that are not in line with what Christianity stands for.  Make no mistake; Hillary Clinton is not a savior or champion for the Christian cause either.

However, I am focusing on Christian support for Donald Trump, and am speaking out against it because recent polls and surveys show that only between 2-3% of Christian Evangelicals support Clinton, while anywhere from 55-78% of Christians have professed support for Donald Trump.

Christians have been saying that Trump is bad, but Hillary is WAY worse.  To me, this justification for Trump in contrast to Hillary sounds an awful lot like something I was taught when I was a small child.  To anyone who says that are voting for Trump because Hillary Clinton is “worse”, I’d say:

Two wrongs don’t make a right.

I don’t hate Donald Trump.  I hope Trump is indeed a Christian.  If he is not, I hope he becomes one.  I do believe we should forgive Donald Trump, and I believe it is not our job to judge him.  I also believe we should forgive Bill and Hillary Clinton… but that idea seems to be rather radical to a lot of Christians.

But I also believe that we should not excuse sin and harmful behavior, especially when it poorly reflects Jesus Christ and our Christian faith.  I am offended that Trump is being equated with Christianity.  I hate that good people who I know and love are being deceived by him.  I hate that the cause of Christ could be harmed by Christians supporting his actions.

Along the lines of support for the person, but rejection of his actions, I have heard the following statement:

“I don’t support Trump, but I am going to vote for the Party and the Platform (Republican).”

Two problems with this statement:

1. A vote for the Republican Party Presidential Nominee is a direct vote for Donald Trump, and is in every way a show of support for him.  There is not a more tangible and direct show of support for a person than casting a measurable vote FOR that person.  A vote is a vote of confidence.
2. Donald Trump’s Platform does not necessarily equal the Republican Party’s Platform.

A vote for Trump is a vote for Trump’s Platform, not the Republican Platform.  I believe this statement has been evidenced by the numerous Republican and Conservative politicians who have come out against Donald Trump and have said they do not support him and that he does not hold to or represent their values.

A Problem, and a Suggestion

Up until now I have pointed out a problem.  Namely, that Christian support of Donald Trump is unjustifiable, damaging, and unacceptable.  But the problem still remains that if I apply the same standards to Hillary Clinton, she also becomes unacceptable and unworthy of my vote.  So what do we do?  Instead of just proposing a problem and leaving it at that, I thought and prayed about what possible solution there could be.

I believe that we as Christians need to do something.  We need to say that the two candidates that have been presented to us do not deserve our vote, and are therefore unacceptable.  We need a statement.  We do not need to compromise our beliefs by falling in line, we need to stand up for them and make them known.  Especially in the case of Donald Trump.   Make no mistake: A vote is support for him, and all that he stands for.  Silence is support for him, and is passive allowance and acceptance of his actions.

I propose a boycott:  Don’t vote for either candidate.  Christians love boycotts almost as much as they love church potlucks.

I know, you are saying, “Not voting for Trump is the same as voting for Clinton.”  I don’t subscribe to that reasoning.  Here is why:  Not voting for Trump is not supporting Trump.  Not voting for Trump is trusting God, and not giving in to the rampant fear that has been forced on us by the Trump campaign.  I refuse to be held captive by fear.

God is bigger than this election.  In God, I put my trust.  In Jesus Christ I put my faith and my hope.  I do not hope in politics.  In fact, Jesus himself was basically apolitical.  He did not care about politics. He cared about people.  He loved people.  He died for people.

I am not going to vote for a presidential candidate in this election, because I don’t want to readily offer my support and acceptance of either one of them.  I don’t want to compromise and slowly let my values and morals erode away.  But I still wanted to try to make a statement.  I don’t want someone like Donald Trump EVER trying to represent Christianity again.  So here is what I decided:

When I vote this election,  in the space provided for a write-in Presidential Candidate, I am going to write in a simple and widely known phrase.  I am writing in something that I believe expresses why I don’t have to vote for Trump or Clinton.  I am writing in:

In God We Trust.

Because, that is what we should be doing: Trusting in God.  Not trusting in Trump, not trusting in Clinton.  Not justifying the unjustifiable.

And no, I am not suggesting we elect God as President.  And yes, I know a phrase is not an actual candidate.  But I believe it is a way I can make a statement.  It is a statement we see every day, but probably forget.

I encourage you to not let your fear control you this election.  I’m not saying you should do the exact thing I am doing.  But wouldn’t it be incredible if we could make this statement affect this election?  If people were talking about the phrase ‘In God We Trust” instead of clinging to fear and depression?

What if Christian voters didn’t vote, and instead chose to write-in this statement?  They do count write-in votes… they don’t count towards electing an unofficial or undeclared candidate, but they are tabulated nonetheless.  In all but 7 states at least some form of write-in option is available.  If enough In God We Trust votes were actually tabulated that it somehow warranted a mention in the media, think of how that could bring glory to God.  It could show how His people trust Him, and do not feel the need to cower to fear and false political rhetoric.   I am willing to forgo my right to vote in this Presidential election, and instead use this platform, this single write-in line, to make a statement that I feel is more important and valuable than any partisan politics or false political promises that I could ever be presented with.

Dear Christian Voter,

You will make a difference in this election.  Please let it be a positive and worthwhile one.

#InGodWeTrust

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in Him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. -Romans 15:13

October 17, 2016April 20, 2017 by Kyle Categories: Christianity, PoliticsTags: Abortion, Christianity, Christians, Clinton, Election, Faith, Hillary, Justification, Letter, Love, Politics, Religion, Supreme Court, Trump, Trust, Voting 2 Comments