Vol.1 No.11

Q. I will soon be 18 years old and have always looked forward to voting. But now some of my Christian friends are telling me that it is wrong for Christians to vote. I have been brought up to believe that it is a Christian’s duty to vote. Does the Bible say anything about this?

A. The conflict on voting seems to rest upon two major principles. On one hand some say that a Christian has a God given responsibility to exercise his vote to make sure the best candidate available is chosen as his representative. On the other hand, some are just as convicted that they are responsible for the actions of the one that they vote for. If that person is to vote legislation that will be contrary to God’s will, then they believe they stand responsible.

I take an in between view. I believe every citizen should register to vote. While I do not believe that they should vote in every election or for every issue, I believe that every Christian has a responsibility to vote for issues that are significant in the life of the country. For example, if there are issues to vote on involving religious liberty, public health and temperance, or protection of citizens, I would feel a responsibility to vote.

I also believe that a Christian should not affiliate himself with one particular political party. To vote rigidly according to a party is to take away our right to evaluate. It is actually implying that one party is ordained of God and the other is not. It is also appropriate for Christians to exercise the prerogative not to vote for any candidate in an election if they come to the conviction that a candidate does not stand for the true pathway that a Christian would follow. While there are no easy answers to this question, I hope that these guidelines will at least give some help to you.