No Andy, Christians Shouldn't Vote For Democrats
In a recent viral video doing the rounds on the internet, megachurch Pastor Andy Stanley chides his congregation for making political orthodoxy a litmus test for salvation. His overarching point was very simple: it is wrong to assert that Democrats can’t be Christians. He goes on to falsely claim that conservative Christians are the majority in America (they are not) and that the natural progression of calling a group of people evil is to eventually call them “cockroaches” and “exterminate them” (a presumptive allusion to the Holocaust, and a record-breakingly quick application of Godwin’s law that everything on the internet ends up with a Nazi comparison).
Andy is wrong. Very, very wrong.
Whoah. Andy Stanley compares Christians calling Democrats 'evil' to German Nazi's calling Jews 'rats' and 'cockroaches', saying the next logical step would be to exterminate them. pic.twitter.com/UqmxV46Obn
— Protestia (@Protestia) July 3, 2024
When it comes to whether or not Christians speaking against the Democratic Party with strong language is Biblically appropriate or is likely to lead to what Stanley says it will, there are three questions we must answer:
First, is the Democratic platform evil?
Biblically, not only does evil exist in the world (Psalm 23:4), but there are also good and evil rulers (1 Kings 14:9). And does the Democratic Party fall into the latter category? Here are some quotes from their Party Platform which should cause every faithful Christian to say, “Yes.”
They believe in the ‘right’ to legal abortions at any stage of pregnancy:
“Democrats believe every woman should be able to access high-quality reproductive health care services, including safe and legal abortion. We oppose and will fight to overturn federal and state laws that create barriers to women’s reproductive health and rights, including by repealing the Hyde Amendment and protecting and codifying the right to reproductive freedom.”
They assault the Biblical concept of family:
“We will work to ensure LGBTQ+ people are not discriminated against when seeking to adopt or foster children…” Furthermore their recent actions have included:
- Stripping our school systems of their freedom to teach the Word of God
- Promoting an LGBTQ+ agenda
- Encouraging gender transitioning amongst children
- Discouraging parental rights regarding children’s healthcare, counseling, and identity.
They aim to strip private businesses of the right to follow their conscience:
“We will reject the Trump Administration’s use of broad religious exemptions to allow businesses, medical providers, social service agencies, and others to discriminate.”
They platform critical theory which categorizes and divides people by race.
“We will take a comprehensive approach to embed racial justice in every element of our governing agenda, including in jobs and job creation, workforce and economic development, small business and entrepreneurship, eliminating poverty and closing the racial wealth gap, promoting asset building and homeownership, education, health care, criminal justice reform, environmental justice, and voting rights.”
These are just a few of the Party’s stated positions that stand in opposition to God’s word and Christian moral teaching, and doesn’t include all of the non-official perspectives supported and actions carried out by the Democratic Party, such as open borders, the targeting of Christian organizations by the IRS and supporting Hamas.
Does Andy Stanley really believe that it is right, or at least potentially right, for a Christian to support such positions?
Second, do Christians have an obligation to call out evil?
Let’s do a worked example on this.
VP Kamala Harris said the following about abortion:“...So, the idea that someone who survives a crime of violence to their body, a violation of their body, would not have the authority to make a decision about what happens to their body next, that’s immoral… that’s immoral. And one does not have to abandon their faith or deeply held beliefs to agree the government should not be telling her what to do.”
So, according to the Vice President, the immoral thing is not whether or not a woman decides to murder the child in her womb, but the government potentially intervening to prevent that murder. Is that not as Isaiah says, calling evil good and good evil?
What is the Christian’s response to evil? According to Proverbs 3;7, we should “fear the Lord, and turn away from evil.” This should not be limited to merely some sort of personal morality, as though that existed. One way Christians can and should turn away from evil is by distancing themselves from political platforms and parties with such an extensive track record of violating Biblical morality.
Furthermore, Proverbs 8:13 says that, “The fear of the Lord is hatred of evil…” and surely being a member of a party which stands for such evil, or voting for such a party to rule our nation, cannot be considered as anything but disobedience to this Biblical precept.
Third, does US history validate the claim that Christians who stand boldly for Biblical morality will terminate their enemies?
This should be fairly simple to answer: No. Though imperfect, this nation, formed with the explicit recognition of its Creator, has a history of treating those with whom it has political disagreements comparatively well. Christians in general, though obviously influenced by the times in which they lived, have similarly been the most benevolent political leaders in their times, and done more to advance the value of life and human dignity of all citizens than rulers with any other religious worldview.
So if Christianity was to regain control of our nation, what would that look like? Well, it would look like a kind, gracious and ultimately blessed nation: ”Do not repay evil for evil or reviling for reviling, but on the contrary, bless, for to this you were called, that you obtain a blessing.” (1 Peter 3:9) That is not to say that we cannot use strong language to speak to issues, nor that there is no place for government to intervene and enforce good laws, but simply that recognizing something as being evil, as this verse does, does not mean the same as doing evil to one’s enemies.
To Andy Stanley I would say the following: the Christian position, and the path to a blessed nation, is not found in aligning with evil, but in resisting it, turning from it, and standing with good. Furthermore, when we see evil, we must not pretend that it does not exist, but neither is that some sort of call to repay it with further evil. Rather, we are to love evildoers, call them to repentance, and invite them to enjoy the fruits of a nation transformed for good by the Christian faith.
So, can a Christian be a democrat? Sure. But should they be? Absolutely not.