i'll try to keep this short.
first of all, i have to say that i was a little disappointed at the lashing out that jon received for "announcing" that he was *gasp* voting for Obama.
my title comes from phrases like "i do not understand how any bible-believing christian could..." and "as someone who claims to be a christian..." used in the comments to jon's blog and in discussions i've had (i'm sure jon has to) with family/friends/church members about the election. people, people, people. phrases like this, used in such an attacking sense, is no way to argue your point. do we really want to open that can of worms?
- "As a bible-believing christian, I can't see how you could ever ________ " (fill in the blank with any sin, real or made-up). Can anyone live up to that standard?
making blanket statements like this not only implicitly questions someone's (in this case, jon) salvation, but does great danger to your argument as it can be turned right around in your face with just about anything attached to the end of it.
overall, most of the arguments i hear or read against obama are really, fundamentally, political. we, as christians, like to make ourselves believe that we ride this moral high-horse on every issue we face when, the truth is, if mccain were pro-choice, most right-wing/conservative/christian/evangelical people would still vote for him. how does this happen? how diluted have we become in this political game that we can be convinced that sarah palin is absolutely qualified to be vice-president, or as some wish, president? and you say obama is inexperienced?? are you kidding me?
but i digress. to break down the entire election to one or two issues is, in my mind, not the best way to make this decision. this is just my opinion here. i'm not attacking anyone. the bottom line, for me, is: we are not voting for a pastor, we are voting for a president. i want to vote for the person i feel would do the best job as president. period. . . being pro-life does not qualify anyone. being black or white does not qualify anyone. being young does not qualify anyone. being old does not qualify anyone. being a veteran does not qualify anyone. none of these things, alone, will be the deciding factor for me. i feel i must weigh them (and many more!) all together and see who wins (in my mind).
going back to the abortion issue. we, as "pro-lifers", christian or not, will never change this country to our side through politics. thirty-five years have passed since roe v. wade. twenty-four of those years have been under a republican administration. a lot of good that did! the only way to gain any ground in this issue is to try and "foster a climate in which we can reduce the number of abortions and also keep the moral -- rather than legal -- debate alive." just trying to win political games won't do it. it's about tone and moral leadership, not law. i agree with frank schaeffer (quoted above) - "this will be more possible in an obama era, not a mccain one."
to sum it all up. vote. not for someone who aligns with one or two of your beliefs, but for whoever you feel will do the best job.
i'm ryan wade, and i approve this blog.