Posted on 06/21/2012 9:36:35 AM PDT by SoFloFreeper
According to the US Constitution (Article VI), "No religious test shall ever be required as a qualification to any office or public trust under the United States." So, given the way the Supreme Court has interpreted the Constitution, Mormons are not eliminated from the presidency. Of course, there are no Constitutional prohibitions forbidding a citizen from voting for or against someone because of their religious (or irreligious) beliefs.
So, what should an evangelical Christian do in the coming presidential election between Barak Obama and Mitt Romney? I cannot speak for others, let alone for all evangelicals, but I can tell you what one evangelical voter is going to do and why. Here are some of the main principles that come into play in my decision.
Second, we do not live in a black-and-white world. There is a lot of grey. So, on the question of good, we don’t have a purely good or evil choice in this election. There is both good and evil in each choice. In such a world, even if one were faced with a dilemma between voting for a known Devil or for a suspected witch, he should not despair. He should vote for the suspected witch! To restate the old adage, even a quarter of a loaf is better than almost no loaf at all. Whenever both options appear to have significant evil, we ought to vote for the one which has the greater good. For me, Romney wins on this criterion.
Three, Martin Luther once said that he would rather be ruled by a competent Turk than an incompetent Christian. Likewise, on the issue of life, it would be better to vote for a Pro-Life Mormon than for a Pro-Abortion Liberal Christian. After all, the right to life is a basic constitutional right. In fact, the right to life is the right to all other rights. The dead don’t have any rights. Abortion has already taken some 50 million American lives and Romney is certainly a better bet to stop this continuing holocaust than Obama who favors even partial birth abortions.
Fourth, there are other issues that are important—character counts. In the character contest, from what I know of the two candidates, Romney wins on personal moral character. Both his individual and political integrity appears to be much better than that of his rival who, contrary to expectations, has turned out to be an all-too-typical Chicago politician, as is evidenced by his leftist leaning appointees and his questionable political tactics.
Fifth, another matter on which we can judge candidates is the economy. Which candidate do I believe would be best for the economy, that is, to reduce the gigantic national debt and produce more jobs? Both candidates have considerable public records to review on these matters. Having done that, I believe hands down that Romney would fit the presidential bill best.
Sixth, when it comes to the issue of the Supreme Court, we have a very important choice in the coming presidential election. On economic, religious, and moral matters, the Supreme Court is split. There are four votes for most conservative issues and four votes for most liberal issues. The next president can easily tip the scales by one appointment! This may be one of the most crucial things the next president of the United States does. If applied to the Roe v. Wade abortion issue, it could turn the tide! We know what kind of people Obama has and will appoint, namely, left-wing liberals. Romney will almost certainly do better than this. I am counting on and voting for him to give the highest court in the land a conservative majority. This alone with be worth voting for him.
Seventh, there is the issue of Americanism. If there is any office in the country that demands being a good American, it is the presidency of the United States of America. No, I am not speaking of blind patriotism. But when I think of an American president, I think of someone who is 100% American. I think of someone who makes me want to rise and sing, “I am proud to be an American!” I would be less than honest if I said that I get this feeling when Barak Obama speaks for our country. I get it much more when Romney speaks.
Of course, there are to be sure other qualifications for president such as experience, knowledge of foreign policy, health-care, immigration policy, the environment, education, size of government, the military, the right to bear arms, private enterprise, etc. Although a case can be made for Obama in some of these areas, in my book the decided advantage goes to Romney in most of these areas. And so far as I can see, Obama does not have a significant advantage in any of these areas.
As for the seven criteria listed above, the first one is a washout, and Romney is the unanimous winner of the other six. So, despite my disappointment on the religious issue expressed in previous posts, and given the circumstances and the choice of either Romney or Obama, I have decided that a vote for Romney is the best thing I can do for the future of America.
If for Romney in 2012, yes, but if for Harry Reid in 2016, no.
I love the Martin Luther quote. Here is more about Geisler: http://www.normgeisler.com/about/default.htm
That has nothing to do with the individual - zip zero nada nothing
The individual may use ANY criteria they chose as to who they will vote for or not vote for.
The Bible tells us that we will have to stand for our words spoken in life... I think our votes will be tallied also.
LLS
Better to vote for someone who has a religious belief and practices it than to vote for someone that has no belief in God and no moral compass at all except for self aggrandizement.
Romney's problem is that he's Obama’s ideological twin — or at least first cousin....
Too bad there's no Pro-Life Mormon running this year.
Under no circumstances will I ever stand before my Maker and explain that because he was the lesser of two evils, I supported a baby-killing cultist who directly or through his organization proclaimed that:
In my case, if asked to uphold one cultist or the other, I will always support neither no matter what the cost or penalty.
I don’t see how Romney’s religion is really all that important. It’s his ideology, which is firmly progressive, that I can’t stand.
That being said, I’m not sure where the notion that Mormon = hard-core conservative comes from. At least as far as elected officials are concerned, the Mormon ones seem to be overwhelmingly centrists/leftist.
If we vote in Romney this time and let the GOPe win then I really fear who they will put up next time. We constantly vote for who they put up and each time they are less and less conservative. Next time, Mayor Bloomberg could be the candidate and you will be preaching the same exact thing. Vote for Bloomberg....I can see it now.
You be sure to let me know when we finally get one to run for President.
We’re voting for the government office of President of the United States not the spiritual position of Pope, President, Bishop or what have you. Ideally, I’d like a president who openly expresses his fidelity to the Yahweh God of the Bible and prays to seek His will in America’s affairs.
However, more important is to find the most competent government executive to face the enormous challenges our country faces. In that regard, we see that the preent chief executive is incompetent and needs to be removed. If that means replacing him with a RINO with questionable spiritual views, that’s still better than the status quo.
Zak,
back at ya.
ampu
It goes hand in hand with Luther 2 kingdom theology, theology of the right and left hand.
Should a Christian do everything possible within a Republic’s electoral system to deny the Presidency to an adherent of Black Liberation Theology - that thinks they need to “kill” any God who is not “for us” (Blacks) and will “accept only the love of God which participates in the destruction of the white enemy.”?
A nice question. One that seems, on the surface, to be a valid one.
But...
Let's take the SAME premise and turn it around:
Should a CHRISTIAN Vote for a Member of a FALSE religion (as defined by christianity) for President?
Too strong? Then how about, "Should an CHRISTIAN Vote to place a known heresy believer into the Highest Office of the Nation, the freest on Earth, that has In GOD we trust on it's coinage?
I would hope that WHAT they 'believe' in ain't...
1. Islam...
2. Voodoo...
3. Marxism...
4. MORMONism...
5. (You get the idea...)
LLS
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