I am a single-issue voter in this election. Like me, love me, hate me, I don’t care. So long as a politician affirms the practice of abortion I cannot vote for him or her based on other considerations. May God keep us from the day when we have no other option. The practice of abortion is despicable and has turned us into a culture of death. We have lowered ourselves to the ranks of other (unnamed) previous and present regimes and nations that in our perverted pride and haughtiness we still find some reason to look down on. In the mean time, we make all our decisions personally and politically based on what is good for us and that’s mostly our bank statements, portfolios, entertainment choices, and sex life. That’s why we become more outraged, anxious, and ready for action and change when the stock market dips, slips, or falls than by the fact that down the street at the clinic the trash cans are filling up with dead babies.
We must ask ourselves: how different are we than the other nations we have judged? Are we any better for conducting our business as a democratic republic and accepting the horrible decisions of the various branches and institutions of that republic than if the horrible decisions had been foisted on us by a dictator? No, unrighteousness is not made righteous by popular vote, democratic or federal government processes. I digress.
Thus, I cannot vote for Barack Obama based on other issues and I am very disturbed by those who otherwise claim to be pro-life that will do so. Obama’s position is not a matter of debate or opinion; his record is clear: he is pro-abortion. There are a lot of other reasons to not support Barack Obama, such as his near socialism view of government, his lack of experience, his professorial manner, and such, but this is the issue that decides my vote.
On Obama’s position, see these posts and read for yourself:
Justin Taylor refers to the work of Robert P. George: Robert P. George: “Voting for the Most Extreme Pro-Abortion Political Candidate In American History is Not the Way to Save Unborn Babies.”
Dr. Al Mohler refers to George’s works as well as his own excellent comments: The Abortion Question and the Future.
I highly recommend that you read these posts and if you are on the line on this question think about it! Whether you like it or not your vote is a moral issue, not merely a political one.
3 Comments
October 16, 2008 at 9:55 am
Jason,
You sound a lot like me on this issue. I’m pretty animated about it and I agree with you completely – you are right on.
Chad
October 15, 2008 at 4:11 pm
The George article is great. I think the issue has been largely glossed over, and there are many who are unaware of his far, far left stance. Thanks for posting about it.
October 15, 2008 at 4:07 pm
I agree with you 100%. According to the Christian worldview, the purpose of government is defined very narrowly: it is God’s arm for the punishment of evil-doers and the praise of those who do right. In a word, the purpose of government is justice. That is what matters to God, and thus, that is what should matter most to those who claim to be His followers.
If killing innocent and defenseless human beings is a moral injustice (and all agree it is), and if killing the unborn results in the death of an innocent and defenseless human being (the science of embryology is quite clear that the unborn are human beings from the moment of conception onward), then abortion is a grave injustice. Any politician who wants to keep abortion legal, then, is not fit for public office. Indeed, a vote for him/her is a vote for injustice.
Obama’s record is clear. In the words of Robert George, Obama is not just pro-choice, but pro-abortion. Not only does he not want to make abortion illegal, but he has done everything in his power to make sure abortion is unrestricted. Obama’s extremist stance on abortion is justification to reject him as unfit for public office.
By no means is this analogy exact, but think of Hitler. Let’s say we had the opportunity to vote for him in an election. Would his stance on the killing of Jews disqualify him from being elected to office? Of course it would! He killed some six million Jews, the same number of people who are killed during a four year tenure of a President through abortion. Hitler may have had the best economic policies, the best foreign policies, etc., but his support for the killing of millions of innocent people trumps every other quality he may have had.
One might say, “But that is different!” How so? The only thing that differs between the murder of Jews in Europe and the murder of babies in America is their size, location, level of development, and degree of dependency, none of which are morally relevant to their moral status as members of the human race. Abortion is the defining issue, particularly for the office of President.
If we had a situation in which 1.3 million 6 year olds were being murdered by their parents in this country, a Presidential candidate’s position on the topic would take front and center stage. But when the human being is tiny and hidden behind a veil of flesh, we are told to not be so concerned about the issue. Nonsense! Abortion is the decisive issue of our day, and while a candidate’s view on the issue may not matter much for some levels of government, there is no office in which it matters more than the office of President (because he nominates Supreme Court justices, and only the Supreme Court can overturn Roe v Wade). I don’t see how anyone who opposes abortion can vote for a pro-abortion candidate (assuming one of the candidates is pro-life). It’s not about party; it’s about valuing and protecting human life. That’s more important than the war, and more important than the economy. It trumps all other issues.
I am about to make a bold statement, but I will stand by it come hell or high water. Those who vote for Obama—whatever the reason may be—are morally culpable for doing so. It’s not that voting for Obama in particular, or for the Democratic party in general is sinful. The sin is in voting for the wrong causes, which the man champions. A vote for Obama is a vote to extend legal abortion in this country, and that is morally inexcusable. Remember, the purpose of government is justice, and abortion is the greatest injustice in this country.
Those who throw their morality to the wind to vote for Obama because of the color of his skin are being racist. They are no less racist than the person who refuses to vote for Obama for the color of his skin. One should vote for a candidate because of the things he stands for, not his skin color. Likewise, those who throw their morality to the wind to vote for Obama because they think his economic policies will benefit their wallet, are prostituting themselves. Only a prostitute sells out her moral principles for the sake of money. I am just as concerned about my wallet as the next guy, but what matters more to me than my financial security is the 1.2 million unborn children who are being unjustly murdered every year in this country. It’s high time Christians take their moral values seriously, and apply their theology in the voting booth.
Jason