Some of you may be
wondering why I have been so silent on this blog in reference to the political
race, particularly owing to my once avid involvement in politics, and my role
that I adopted in 2008 of "Republican Blogger in Exile." Shouldn't I
be itching to be doing my part to return Republicans to power? Not really. Why
is this? It is due to two main reasons.
First, in 2008, I
was a novice to Biblical studies: I loved politics, but knew nothing more about
theology than what I had learned in church. As I learned that Jesus was Lord,
and that that term had political ramifications, my entire way of viewing the
world changed. In response to this, my political positions started changing:
the US was no longer my chief entity that I needed to serve. Thus, in my
pursuit of King Jesus, my values shifted away from some Republican positions, I
softened on immigration, war (and military spending), watching out for the poor.
So, in many ways, I am no longer a Republican in exile because Republicans have
been booted from office, but rather I am now a Republican in exile because many
Republicans have exiled me from the party: “You don’t think freedom is worth
killing over? You liberal. And you don’t think we should deport all of the
illegal aliens? Why don’t you just become a Democrat?” It is important to note at
this point that I still consider myself a conservative, I just don’t toe the
line when it appears that my study of Scripture should lead me elsewhere.
Second, is the
nature of the 2012 election. I held my nose and voted for McCain in ’08. But we
had to go nominate another moderate? Romney may have truly changed his mind on
abortion and other issues that are near to my heart, but the timing was far too
politically expedient for me to believe it. Tie that to comments from Romney’s
campaign this spring that he was an “etch-a-sketch” candidate, and I simply do
not trust him. I do not believe he shares my core political beliefs, and I
honestly have no clue what he would actually believe and work on once he was in
office. In addition, let’s mention the elephant in the room: Romney is Mormon!
Those very same people who once made outlandish claims that Obama was a secret
Muslim (even though Obama has claimed to be a believer) are now the ones who
are willingly voting for a man who is part of a cult. And in many cases (such
as Billy Graham) the political support of a candidate is leading believers to
blur the line between orthodoxy and heresy. So, I couldn’t support Romney. Combining
not falling in complete lock-step with my party and being extremely unhappy
with their nominee leads to a great big “meh” about the election.
I believe
Americans have a responsibility to vote. I couldn’t vote for Romney. I don’t
want Obama to win either (which is why I have been almost completely silent on
this blog). So my solution for myself? I wrote in Barry Creamer, PhD. Your vote
is up to you: vote your conscience. Vote for who you think God would have you
vote. Regardless of who wins, Jesus is still Lord, he still reigns.
