Why We Will Be Voting with Our Bible in Mind this Time Around

As strange as it may sound coming from a Christian website, we never took faith into much consideration when voting. It was a factor, of course, but it wasn’t as important as policy to us. This time, with the 2016 Presidential election season really starting to heat up, we are reversing course and making the Bible the single most important factor in making our decision. Things have changed and so must Christians.

The reason is that President Barack Obama has proven that the faith or lack thereof as displayed and followed by the White House is extremely consequential for the path of the country. It may have been naive to think otherwise, to believe that the faith of the American people was secure and that a single person did not have enough power to shape it for the country, but we were clearly wrong. The deterioration of the Biblical perspective is what’s at stake. We get that now.

It isn’t that the President forces conversions (at least not yet). The President sets the tone for the nation and over the last seven years we’ve seen that tone shift in a terrible direction. It isn’t that the faith of those strong in their convictions were shaken by the President. It’s that the most vulnerable of Christians have allowed the secular world to creep into their worldview. We can see this in the rapid shift towards acceptance of gay marriage. We see it in the political correctness that seemed to have faded from the late 90s until 2008 but then resurfaced and expanded very quickly. We see it in the way that churches have shifted in their perspectives. Tolerance is paramount. Avoidance of anything that might be labeled as discrimination has changed not only the way that the Bible is taught but the doctrinal descriptions of the Will of God that have changed.

In short, the office of the President of the United States has systematically changed the atmosphere to the point that Christianity as a religion is being changed in this country. As we’ve said before, we do not believe that Christianity is in decline. Those who were lukewarm or “social Christians” are exposing their true perspectives which makes the numbers seem gloomy. However, we contend that the level of faith is not changing but that the true levels of faith are being exposed. One might see this as a good thing and it very well might be. However, it has also made it possible for the faithful to be more easily shaken by the trends in the country.

Example Rather than Policy

It’s important to understand that we do not believe in an American theocracy. The separation of church and state was designed to keep the state our of the church even though most seem to think it’s the other way around. The only way that a theocracy will work is when it’s the ultimate theocracy when Yeshua reigns on the earth after his triumphant return. Otherwise, no man nor group of men are capable of guiding the faith from a position of worldly leadership.

The reason that we want a President who is guided by the Bible is because their leadership of the country expands beyond laws and actions. It’s in the values they demonstrate, the words that they say, and the general direction of the country’s personality as represented by the President that we see the greatest need. President Obama didn’t have to pass laws against Scripture to diminish the people’s attention towards it. He didn’t do much from a political perspective to allow gay marriage to be the law of the land, but his presence and perspective worked to sway the mindset. Gay marriage would not have made it through the Supreme Court had a Bible-driven leader been in power.

That’s just one example, the most prominent, but the shift in the country’s worldview has had much greater effects than just the Supreme Court ruling.

We must have the next President as someone who actively, openly, and proudly declares his belief in Jesus Christ as his Lord and Savior. We need someone who has read the Bible, who still reads the Bible, and who asks the Lord to guide his actions.

Keep in mind that there are very few ways that a President can truly change the way that the country is allowed to operate from a faith perspective. It’s strange that a President’s perspective on abortion, for example, is always an important factor for many. The reality is that no President since Roe v. Wade has done anything to truly affect the abortion laws. The next President will not be able to, either. It’s a moot point, but for some reason it’s still considered to be important to voters.

Restrictions can be added or removed by the government, but the thought that any President could have Roe v Wade overturned is utterly silly. It would take a monumental effort that is unrealistic at this time regardless of a President’s perspective.

Where the President has power is over the way that the country expresses its faith. President Obama has made it clear that faith is not something that he espouses nor supports. Therefore, the country’s attitude has shifted. It can shift again with the right person in the White House.

Religious Liberty

The one active policy component that must be considered is religious liberty. The protection of our rights to worship as we please is clearly being taken away. This is not the forum to go into those details. You either see it or you don’t. If you see it and realize how important it is to stop this trajectory before real damage is done, then you must vote Republican. We are not those who believe that party affiliation is more important than the individual’s perspective, but on this particular issue it’s clear that the perspectives have been divided along party lines.

Republicans are simply more likely to defend religious liberties than Democrats. As far as the Presidential contenders, all of the major Republicans have indicated that they will defend those liberties, so that portion alone is not a deciding factor. The other elements of their perspective on the Bible are definitely deciding factors.

Our Perspectives on the Candidates

At this point, we’re not ready to endorse a single candidate, but we do lean towards a couple and we lean away from several. Rather than break it down for all of the candidates, we’re going to focus on the five who realistically have a chance of winning the nomination.

• Donald Trump: It should be very obvious and go without saying that Donald Trump is not given to spiritual leadership nor would he allow the Bible to guide him. Based upon what we’ve seen in the polls with many evangelicals liking Trump, it’s clear that it must be said. You can like the way Donald Trump acts and talks. You can believe that he’s going to be good for the economy. You can see him as the solution to the illegal immigration problem. Those things are fine. What’s not fine is to be blind to the fact that the Bible does not actively influence him at all. He’s made it clear that he doesn’t read it, that faith is barely a blip on his radar, and that he will give much more credence to his own will than anything else. This is a problem and evangelicals should strongly consider not voting for him.
• Ben Carson: Some have expressed concern over his chosen denomination. This shouldn’t be the case. He seems to be led by the Holy Spirit if such things can be judged by words and actions as seen through our eyes and heard through our ears. More importantly, he feels like a man that reads his Bible. It may seem insignificant or anecdotal, but we should learn to trust our feelings if those feelings seem to come from the Holy Spirit.
• Marco Rubio: There are some question marks with Rubio. He professes to be faithful, but what we’ve seen is a little suspect. Unlike Trump, we aren’t clear on where the Bible stands in Rubio’s mindset. Perhaps it’s the singularly self-centered manner and unbridled ambition that have us questioning. Either way, we are neither hot nor cold on Rubio. We will, however, be watching since it appears that he has a real chance of winning.
• Ted Cruz: In many ways, Cruz is exactly the opposite of Rubio. We have no doubts about where his heart is based upon both his words and his actions. He’s an evangelical Christian through and through. Of all of the candidates, he’s the one we’re currently most comfortable with as President. We’re not ready to endorse him since Carson is also a possibility, but he’s our leading candidate at this time.
• Jeb Bush: It’s not fair to compare him to his brother and father, but it’s inevitable. Both of them espoused faith but their histories tell a story of possible lukewarmness and potentially even worse. Jeb seems to be more anchored in faith, but after fool me once and fool me twice, it’s unwise to allow the country to be fooled a third time.

It really doesn’t matter what we say. You must look at the candidates closely, pray about them, and let the Holy Spirit guide your vote. It’s our hope that you will make this the most important component when making your decision. For us, it’s really the only factor thanks to President Obama’s two disastrous terms.

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