Is it a sin to fail to register to vote, to vote, to be involved in the political processes of our country?
Is it a sin to vote for the wrong candidate?
About William Thornton
William Thornton is a lifelong Southern Baptist and semi-retired pastor who served churches in South Carolina and Georgia. He is a graduate of the University of Georgia and Mid-America Baptist Theological Seminary. You may find him occasionally on Twitter @wmgthornton.
Shortest article in SBCV history…but far from being the most frivolous.
Not voting is not a sin, since it is nowhere commanded. I could envision voting for a particular candidate being a sin if that candidate is a moral monster.
Bill Mac said “Not voting is not a sin, since it is nowhere commanded.”
I’m not saying your conclusion is wrong, but that cannot be the whole story. Where there are no direct commands, Biblical principles must be applied.
Donald: Agreed, but I think one would be hard pressed to gather enough biblical principles to make voting mandatory.
I agree 100%.
The last few election cycles I have voted “selectively,” meaning I have only voted for candidates and issues that I could do so with a good conscience. I have skipped presidential elections several times.
This last presidential election I left that part blank. I was told by a few (not many) that not voting for Romney was a de facto vote for Obama.
But, I can’t in good conscience hold to the “lesser of two evils” ideology (maybe “lesser of two weevils”–points for the reference!). So if I have conscience objections to a candidate, (s)he will not receive my vote.
What conscience objections did you have with Romney?
Environmental issues, certain positions on gun rights, and the fact that I’m not sold on him actually being solidly pro-life among a few.
And, no, I’m not going to get into a detailed discussion at the moment on the first two items [other than to say the practical implications of my pro-life position (as it’s much broader to me than abortion) don’t allow me to tow the party lines of most conservatives] as that’s not William’s purpose to the question. 🙂
Fine with me. Since It has to with choosing not to vote, I thought was completely in keeping with William’s post. You were the one who brought Romney up, not me. 🙂
Master and Commander
1000 points to you
Love that movie, Andrew.
Braveheart
I think it would be extremely hard to argue biblically that there is only one course of action for this topic. If, for example, we ended up with Trump vs. Clinton:
-Some Christians would feel conscience-compelled to not vote
-Some Christians would feel conscience-compelled to vote for some 3rd party candidate destined to lose.
-Some Christians would feel conscience-compelled to vote for Trump, in order to try to prevent Clinton from taking office.
–Some Christians would feel conscience-compelled to vote for Hillary, in order to keep Trump from taking office.
I would be hard-pressed to find a biblical argument against any of them.
I vote in favor of this absolutely awesome answer by Andy Williams.
This would be my answer.