ThoughtStook.com

A Theological Perspective on Presidential Candidates

Posted by Jonathan | Filed under Politics, Religion

Last October theologian Wayne Grudem wrote and article on Townhall outlining why he supports Mitt Romney, and why voting for a non-Christian should not be an issue for Christian voters.

I’ll start off by saying, that I am pleased that Grudem making the distinction that Mormon’s do not hold the same beliefs as Christians. Unlike recent populist preacher Joel Osteen who stated in a recent interview with Chris Wallace that “from what I’ve heard from Mitt, when he says that Christ is his savior, to me that’s a common bond.” And I agree with Grudem that the Bible does not have a prohibition on non-Christian being rulers, or even that Christian must elect other believers. In fact I believe it’s more irresponsible for voters to vote for someone just because they state they are a believer. The Bible makes it clear that we can not know the heart of a man and must look at his actions. It is maddening to me that Evangelicals want to vote for Huckabee on the basis that he is a fellow Christian. If he is a believer, I look forward to worshiping God with him eternally, but I’m not voting for him for that reason. Instead voters have a responsibility to look at what a candidate stands for politically for the benefit for our country. A commenter on Grudem’s article made the point this way:

Phileo writes:
…”I voted for GW Bush twice. I did not vote for him BECAUSE he was a Christian; I voted for him because the alternative was a loopy-environmentalist-whacko in one election and a pretentious-wannabe-war-hero in the second election.If the next election pits a Mitt Romney against a socialist-adulterer-enabling-pandering-shrill-sounding-socialist-abortion-rights-militant, guess who I’ll be voting for?”

It is with Grudem’s support for Romney based on his qualifications as the best conservative candidate that I take exception. In his article, Grudem supplies nothing, but the campaign fluff that can be found on the Romney website. I’m glad that Romney was at the top of his class at Harvard, and that he is successful in business, no one was saying that the guy was stupid. But his political positions in the past and his proposed policies are far from conservative. He is perceived as a political flip-flop because he has made campaign promises that are not consistent with his record as Gov. of Massachusetts. It does not matter how exaggerated the flip-flop is just like a small lie is the same as a big lie. A lie is a lie and a flip-flop is a flip-flop.

On the position of Sanctity of Marriage, Romney opposed same sex marriages, but barely, but up a defense when it was time for him to make the policy change.

On taxes: He did not raise taxes, but he did raise government fees. Governments fees are the backdoor tax. Simillar to an executive order that he will control as President, it’s a way to get what the government wants even if it does not go through the legislature.

Now, I’m not saying that Mitt is bad guy. With the exception of maybe Hillary Clinton, most politicians are nice people in person. What I am saying as a candidate who is trying to convince Republican voters that he is the best conservative choice for President of the United States, he is a far cry from Fred Thompson and several other presidential candidates.

Mr. Grudem, thank you for clearing up the confusion on Christian being required to vote for other Christians, but on the issue of the best conservative candidate you should take a closer look.

Powered by ScribeFire.

Popularity: 95% [?]

Tags: Christian, Conservative, Fred Thompson, Politics, Religion