PODCAST: Neither Right, Nor Left, Nor Religious

Using the Sermon the Mount as the foundation pastor Mike Erre makes the case that Christianity is a political entity that is part of a kingdom that is now and not yet--Jesus has come, but evil has not been defeated. As a result, as witness bearers to the kingdom of God we are called to be dinstintcly Christian in our politcal involvement. Note that there are two swear words in the podcast.

BOOK: The Ballot and the Bible

Despite the decline in American church attendance quoting the Bible in the public square still holds cultural sway. Each year presidential hopefuls reference Matthew 5 and the city on a hill while those whose political party is in power appeal to Romans 13. One of the most recent egregious examples happened in June of 2020 when President Donald Trump posed in front of St. John's Church in Washington D.C. with a Bible in hand for an awkward photo-op. When asked if the Bible was his he replied, "It's a Bible." These examples show people using the Bible, and it's cherry-picked verses, as political props--and it's been happening since the beginning of the United States. In The Ballot and the Bible Kaitlyn Schiess asks us to peer through the lens of traditional and contemporary American history to examine how Americans have used the Bible for both good and bad in the public sphere while asking the reader to examine their own tendencies to manipulate the Bible for their own political beliefs.

SERMON: The Concept of Kingdom Voting

Using a football game with two teams (the warring ideologies of culture), officials (Christians), a rule book (the Bible), and a crowd (the people of the world) as analogies for how Christians should engage in politics Oak Cliff Bible Fellowship (Dallas, TX) pastor Tony Evans preaches from Joshua 5:13-15 as he details a distinct perspective God has on voting. Go 24 minutes in to start the sermon.

BOOK: Reclaiming Hope

In the introduction to Reclaiming Hope Michael Wear provides a fitting definition of reclaim which includes recovering a wasteland. Most Americans, no matter where they stand on the political spectrum, would agree that our current political climate is a wasteland. The means always justify the ends--especially if it humiliates and defeats the opponent. Compromise is blasphemy. Partisanship is king. Simply put elected officials and the voting public have lost hope.

SHOW: How should Christians vote?

Holy Post host Phil Vischer begins by digging into the conservative and liberal labels that have morphed into ideologically constrained camps that vote according to party instead of personal conscience before finishing the 7-minute video with helpful advice on how Christians should vote. Hint--it starts with rejecting tribalism.

ARTICLE: How Christians Should Think About Voting

Founder and president of the Center for Christianity and Public Life Michael Wear says that American political parties put an improper moral burden on its people. Political parties are incentivized to cater to the public as a brand rather than appeal to the voters on specific issues. This strategy results in people believing something because they are part of a political party instead of educating themselves on specific issues. With that in mind, Wear suggests three concepts to consider while voting: Jesus is not confused about how our politics works, Christians don't go into politics for self-interest alone, and listen to others particularly those that disagree with us.