Here are two major issues that make my position difficult. I'm not saying I think have an air-tight position here, but what follows is my current response to these issues. This post represents my public wrestling with some serious issues.
1. People fought and died so that I could have the right to vote or not vote.
2. The notion of civic duty.
In response to number one...
...
Okay, actually, I don't really know. Part of me feels very strongly about recognizing and honoring the sacrifices of those who have fought/fight in defense of our country. What those men and women have done is not something considered lightly or easily ignored. And I'm not ignoring it. At the same time, another part feels quite strongly that violence is never an acceptable solution (more on pacifism and politics later). I don't want to glorify violence, so it's very difficult to know exactly how to react to the sacrifices of previous generations. At the very least, they fought so that American people could have a choice as to how they respond. And, as I noted in the previous post, I am not apathetic. Apathy probably does neglect their sacrifice; I'm not willing to say that my choice not to vote because of my religious convictions does.
As an aside, the idea that I wouldn't be able to state my views if it weren't for those generations that worked and fought to make this happen is interesting. Yes, I suppose so. But if they had worked and fought and failed, and we were living in a country where we didn't enjoy certain "freedoms," wouldn't most people hold a view of governments and politics similar to mine (ie, the church moves regardless of governments and politics)? Yes, those people made it possible for me to hold these convictions publicly, but it's not like I wouldn't hold them otherwise.
In response to the second issue of civic duty, I say this. What exactly is civic duty? I'm going to need a clear definition before being able to respond in full. To work from generalities, though, I do not think that rend unto Caesar means Christians should vote. Let's not load our guns with only half the bullet, go ahead and shoot the whole verse!
Then he said to them, "Give to Caesar what is Caesar's, and to God what is God's." (Matt. 22:21)
I think you can go a couple of different directions with this one. First, it's not wrong to vote. I'm not saying Christians should not vote. I'm saying I don't vote because of certain convictions that I have. Voting is fine. My wife votes, my family votes, you probably vote. As I said in the previous post, I'm an idealist on this issue. I also like to challenge conventional thinking. So, for one, voting is not wrong.
At the same time, let's think about what Jesus truly intends to say in this passage. Once again, the Pharisees have come out to trap him with a tricky question. It seems that some things never change. The teachers of the Law knew that if they wanted a tricky question, they could pick from one of many in the political realm. I'll save the details for someone else, but Rome and Israel were not real tight in any way except geographically. So this is a question of significant political ramifications. Answer pro-Rome and the Jews will stop listening; answer pro-Jews and the Romans have a potential political revolutionary who they would be very interested in silencing.
So how does his answer get him off the hook. He basically goes pro-everyone. If it belongs to the government, give it to the government. That is follows its laws, pay its taxes, etc. Some would say vote. If it belongs to God, give it to Him.
And this why I don't see voting as a civic duty that must be done. I'm much more interested (and quite frankly, much more scared) of the second part of that classic civic duty Scripture. What should I be giving to God? The answer of course, is everything. Everything I do, everything I say, everything I have... it ALL goes to God.
So, if I were to vote, I guess I'm not really concerned with civic duty. Being a good citizen (see Romans 13) is just a part of being a good Christian (as well as avoiding getting kicked out of Rome again). Being a good citizen doesn't happen for its own sake or for the sake of "civic duty." No, in all things, I have one goal, one purpose, and one duty in this life: to glorify God in everything. (I have written before about the American farce of "certain unalienable rights," but let me just say that I believe that there are probably fewer rights in God's kingdom than there are in America. Right to bear arms? Uh.... Right to the pursuit of happiness? Uh....)
All that to say this, if I were to vote, it wouldn't be because of civic duty. It would only be because I felt that voting would somehow help me carry out my objective of "rendering unto God." And therein lies the real problem.
Up next: Destroying The Christian Platform
*Just a reminder: I'm not posting any comments. Comment wars are probably inevitable with what I am writing, and I don't want support wars of any kind. Ha. No really. If you want a response from me, put your email address in the comment that you post. I will see the comment and respond, but your comment will not appear here (I love talking about this, so please engage me in conversation). If you don't want a response, but just want to speak your mind, don't leave your email address or post something on your blog. Thanks.
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