Wednesday, October 04, 2006

Rick Warren's 5 Points of Politics

I came across an old blog from 2004 at Katie's Beer, a Lutheran site. Click the title to see her post.

This is the text of a column Rick wrote in the Baptist Press News:

During the last presidential election in the United States, there were millions of Christians who didn't vote or weren't even registered to vote! To me, that is inexcusable when you consider what the Bible says about our responsibility as citizens and when you consider the many, many men and women who've given their lives to provide and protect our freedom to vote. The U.S. election of 2000 was a clear reminder that every vote counts, and that every voter has a duty to be involved. As church leaders, we know our congregations are not allowed to endorse specific candidates, and it's important for us to recognize that there can be multiple opinions among Bible-believing Christians when it comes to debatable issues such as the economy, social programs, Social Security and the war in Iraq. But for those of us who accept the Bible as God's Word and know that God has a unique, sovereign purpose for every life, I believe there are five issues that are non-negotiable. To me, they're not even debatable because God's Word is clear on these issues. In order to live a purpose-driven life -- to affirm what God has clearly stated about His purpose for every person He creates -- we must take a stand by finding out what the candidates believe about these five issues, and then vote accordingly. Here are five questions to ask when considering who to vote for in this election: 1. What does each candidate believe about abortion and protecting the lives of unborn children? 2. What does each candidate believe about using unborn babies for stem cell harvesting? 3. What does each candidate believe about homosexual "marriage"? 4. What does each candidate believe about human cloning? 5. What does each candidate believe about euthanasia -- the killing of the elderly and the invalids? Please, please do not forfeit your responsibility on these crucial issues! This election really counts more than most. Be sure to vote, and also be sure to encourage every Christian you know to vote on Tuesday. If you are able to vote early, do so. Then ask all your Christian friends on Tuesday, "Have you voted yet?" and pray for godly leaders to be elected.


I think the 5 points are all important, but they aren't the five most important questions in Christian politics. I think they are all on the level with the problems of poverty, and injustice. Personally, the I think the government should only determine the answer on 3 of the seven: abortion, embryonic stem cell research (ESR), and cloning. I think the latter two should be outlawed in toto, while abortion is something that no one should do or encourage, but should be legal under very strict guidelines. From a Christian standpoint I view abortion as a sin, but it's a legal quagmire. One of the unfortunate things is that ESR is linked to abortion, because if abortion is legalized because the state determines that the unborn are not alive yet, we'll have no legal grounds to block ESR.

I don't plan to vote myself, except maybe for school board when I have children, because our passion often leads us in the wrong direction. We tend to elevate issues over the truth of Scripture, making our political cause into the mark of a "true believer", rather than focusing on bringing glory to God through Jesus. This is something I've learned very recently, through my own actions and reactions and the blogs of many others. I hope to grow in my committment to God through the experience.

To be clear, I'm not saying that no one should vote. I just choose to stand back. I will stand up for issues that come with the Gospel, but I will do my best not to elevate them above their place.

"You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below." (Ex. 20:4)
Whether that shape is an abortion clinic, a starving child, or a cloning lab, we are not to elevate it above our God, who is above all, and through all, and in all.

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