Thoughts for Election Day

Here are some helpful thoughts for election day from a book by Carl Trueman, called Republocrat: Confessions of a Liberal Conservative.

"Politics in a democracy is a whole lot more complicated than either political parties or your pastor tell you it is; treat it as such--learn about the issues and think for yourself."

"When it comes to listening to the news, Christians should be eclectic in their approach and not depend merely on those pundits who simply confirm their view of the world while self-evidently using terminology, logic, and standard rules of evidence and argumentation in sloppy, tendentious, and sometimes frankly dishonest ways...."

"Now, let me go on record and say that I am happy enough not to be walking around, looking like an extra for a low-budget movie about Elton John’s early career; I enjoy having nice, new things and not being stared at for all the wrong reasons as I walk down the street.  My point is rather this: be aware that not all the effects of capitalism are unconditional goods, consistent with the gospel and with the Christian mind-set; we need to be as self-aware of the impact of this way of life as that of any other."

"Christians are to be good citizens, to take their civic responsibilities seriously, and to respect the civil magistrates appointed over us.  We also need to acknowledge that the world is a lot more complicated than the pundits of Fox News (or MSNBC) tell us.  We must never engage in the kind of inappropriate behavior of those who carry around pictures of our appointed leaders as criminals, or who scream mindless abuse at those with whom they disagree.  Christian politics, so often associated now with loudmouthed aggression, needs rather to be an example of thoughtful, informed engagement with the issues and appropriate involvement with the democratic process.  And that requires a culture of change.  We need to read and watch more widely, be as critical of our own favored pundits and narratives as we are of those cherished by our opponents, and seek to be good stewards of the world and of the opportunities therein that God has given to us."

"We need to avoid this marginalization of the voice of Christians in politics by realizing the limits of politics and the legitimacy of Christians, disagreeing on a host of actual policies, and by earning a reputation for thoughtful, informed, and measured political involvement."