How should Christians vote? – Denison Forum

Politics and religion certainly make for a combustible mix, and the Bible doesn’t provide Americans with a ready-made formula for combining the two. 

Jesus did say that you should “render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s; and to God the things that are God’s” (Matthew 22:21). But the Bible doesn’t speak directly to the workings of a representative democracy, and that can lead to some explosive disagreements about how to vote. 

When President Donald Trump suggested that if challenger Joe Biden were elected it would “hurt God,” a columnist for Religion News Service compared this year’s presidential race to the bitter campaign of 1800. Federalists like Alexander Hamilton, supporting incumbent John Adams, branded eventual winner Thomas Jefferson an atheist. Unlike Biden, who called Trump’s attack “shameful,” Jefferson didn’t respond. 

But faith can also elevate political discussion, appealing to what Abraham Lincoln called “the better angels of our nature.” In George Washington’s Farewell Address to the nation in 1796, he wrote, “Of all the dispositions and habits which lead to political prosperity, religion and morality are indispensable supports.” 

Just as in every other area of life, Christians should draw on biblical principles when deciding on the candidates or positions to support.

Are Christians Republicans or Democrats?

“While there must be the institutional separation of church and state, there can never be a separation of God and government,” Dr. Tony Evans wrote in his book How Should Christians Vote? 

Evans cited example after example of politics in the Bible, including “two books, 1 and 2 Kings, that strictly deal with the rule and reign of government leaders.” He added, “The greatest political statement in the Bible is the declaration of Revelation 19:16 that when Jesus Christ returns to earth to rule, He will come as ‘King of Kings and Lord of…