I hesitate writing this because it opens me up for some, if not a lot of, criticism. Something I have been struggling with for a long time is how many in the Church, especially among evangelicals who automatically identify themselves as Republican no matter what. I also understand that mainline protestant churches generally identify as Democrat. Catholics are a mixed bag. I believe this is something that is very dangerous for both the church and the state. I understand for many people that their identification often centers around the issue of abortion and/or gay marriage. While these issue are important to many, when voting solely on these issue you can purchase a whole litany of other positions that you may not agree with that may or may not be Christian and/or Biblical. A trend I have noticed is that when a person is born again the next stop is changing or renewing their voter registration. I have touched on the hot button issues of abortion and Gay Marriage but what about monetary and fiscal policy, the role of the government in social services, use of the military. Unfortunately in this day in age the Republican party has been see as the party carrying the mantle of the Church and they have exploited it to the Nth degree. I used to be the person that I just described, I believed in the Republican party based on some of my beliefs and those around me within the church. Upon closer examination I realized that the party did not represent a large part of what I believe in. But the thing that drove me away was not any particular issue, which there were, but how much they tried to exploit my belief in God and Jesus to gain my vote. Many of the people who ran on "moral" and "family" values lived lives that did not reflect that, it was just an easy platform to stand on that they never had to deliver on. They may have said they would outlaw abortion and prevent gay marriage to represent thiers beliefs, but I saw no fruit of the spirit coming from within in them, no love, compassion, or fire for justice (not revenge). They were used the support they gained from the hot button issues to do a litany of other things that many of the people who voted for them accepted because, "they reflect my values." I reject that.
Now I am a registered Independent, my voter registration says so, that way I pick the candidate or party that best reflects, as a whole, what I believe in and want to see accomplished, sometimes it is a Republican, sometimes it is a Democrat, sometimes it is neither(by the way I a big advocate of a legitimate third party to fix this problem) . I now judge candidates like I judge pastors. Not by the words that come out of their mouth, although they matter, but by the genuine love that comes from their heart and the actions that it produces in their life and others. Are they about reaching out to more people and helping them or are they about a narrow agenda that serves only a few and alienates the rest.
