Controversial questions?
Unable to sleep lastnight and condemned to the forces of gravity, I lay necissitated and motionless on my bed considering and reflecting upon those thoughts that lay dormant at the back of my mind, as yet untouched and unsubjugated to review.
As I flicked through them, I stumbled upon something that kept me up considerably longer than I had hoped.
Compelled as I was, I resolved to post in the morning what I was then turning over.
I had begun to think about the subject of governance, and what seemed to me an issue both as compelling and frustrating as there has been in a while.
As a believer, what am I looking for in a national/international leader?
I'm talking big picture politics.
I have no answers; only questions.
Is it right to simply throw my vote straight at the candidate that professes the most spiritual background? The guy that beats his chest hardest over his faith and beliefs?
What about backing a non-christian to govern as opposed to the chrisitan politician?
Is it possible that God has gifted the non-christian more in this role than the believer?
Is it right to elect a candidate on the basis of his spiritual beliefs despite a deficiency in experience of International Politics and Macro-Economics?
If this is so, are we therefore implying that a non-christian will never be as effective a leader as a believer and therefore inferior in his or her ablility until they accept Jesus as their Lord and Saviour?
If we nevertheless elect the lesser gifted christian as leader, are we doing a diservice towards the people that need the help the most? Jobs? Economy? Etc.?
Does being a christian automatically make you the better candidate in these circumstances?
Those are my questions.
Whenever the next election happens, I shall be sure to be making my decision based upon a good hard review of the candidates, and not so much upon what "religious leaders" are telling me to do.
That may be very British, but that's me.
By the by, I'm not a huge fan of Princess Tony, but I do have to say I admired him from a distance during the last campaign. Focusing on African debt removal and poverty relief seemed like a breath of fresh air. And, you know, Jesus had quite a bit to say on the subject of taking care of the poor and needy...
As I flicked through them, I stumbled upon something that kept me up considerably longer than I had hoped.
Compelled as I was, I resolved to post in the morning what I was then turning over.
I had begun to think about the subject of governance, and what seemed to me an issue both as compelling and frustrating as there has been in a while.
As a believer, what am I looking for in a national/international leader?
I'm talking big picture politics.
I have no answers; only questions.
Is it right to simply throw my vote straight at the candidate that professes the most spiritual background? The guy that beats his chest hardest over his faith and beliefs?
What about backing a non-christian to govern as opposed to the chrisitan politician?
Is it possible that God has gifted the non-christian more in this role than the believer?
Is it right to elect a candidate on the basis of his spiritual beliefs despite a deficiency in experience of International Politics and Macro-Economics?
If this is so, are we therefore implying that a non-christian will never be as effective a leader as a believer and therefore inferior in his or her ablility until they accept Jesus as their Lord and Saviour?
If we nevertheless elect the lesser gifted christian as leader, are we doing a diservice towards the people that need the help the most? Jobs? Economy? Etc.?
Does being a christian automatically make you the better candidate in these circumstances?
Those are my questions.
Whenever the next election happens, I shall be sure to be making my decision based upon a good hard review of the candidates, and not so much upon what "religious leaders" are telling me to do.
That may be very British, but that's me.
By the by, I'm not a huge fan of Princess Tony, but I do have to say I admired him from a distance during the last campaign. Focusing on African debt removal and poverty relief seemed like a breath of fresh air. And, you know, Jesus had quite a bit to say on the subject of taking care of the poor and needy...
posted by Larph at 02:18
3 Comments:
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Ralph,
Excellent post and important questions. I think that you are asking the core questions that need to be asked by Christians, especially in the Western world, where conservative/liberal seems to be the only narrowly defined options, with Christians leaning to the "right".
Thankfully, at long last, many evangelicals are beginning to engage this question, moving beyond the conservative/liberal dichotomy and the two issue voting (abortion & homosexuality), into more thoughtful arenas.
While I did not followed the last Brit election closely, I cynically wondered if Tony's emphasis on those issues were more a reflection of winning back the votes after jumping in bed with George W. However, be that as it may, at least he gave it the attention it deserved.
Peace,
Jamie
P.S. You might want to turn on word verification to block out these spams.
yeah what he said!
you're coming home soon! Yay! just in time to tell us all about your feelings ;)
see you soon
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