This morning I had the opportunities to read over the “Voting All Your Values” election guide that was put out by Sojourners. Sojourners is an organization that I have blogged about quite a bit in the past, and it is an organization I deeply respect. They are highly political, thought not explicitly partisan, and they do a great job of encouraging Christians to care about political issues beyond the standard foci of the religious right.
As I looked through the guide (which you can find in pdf form here), I was encouraged by the way that Sojourners is able to speak courageously and Christianly about a number of important issues. Too often our political discourse is narrowly focused and lacking anything even remotely resembling nuance (though this is certainly the case in more secular political circles as well), and the political stances we take very often fail to heed the call that God gave to the Israelites in Babylon to “seek the welfare of the city…” (Jeremiah 29:7).
What Sojourners often does, and certainly does with this guide, is help raise our collective consciousness about biblical issues. They have continually opposed the war in Iraq, and they oppose preferential treatment of American companies in Iraq. They oppose nuclear proliferation. They want to actually seek to reduce abortions by preventing unwanted pregnancies and better providing alternatives. They want to abolish the death penalty. They want to create secure borders while treating immigrants as image bearers of God. They want to strengthen marriages and families without scapegoating homosexuals for the breakdown of the family. They want to care for the environment. They want to make ending global poverty a priority.
We need more Christian voices that are willing to speak up on those sorts of issues. Whatever your political affiliation, I encourage you to take a look at Sojourners “Voting All Your Values” guide as you prepare to cast your ballot this November.
1 Comment
October 20, 2008 at 5:23 pm
Awesome, thanks Brian. As an politically ignorant voter, voting for the first time, I will definitely read through this.