This Thursday, millions of Christians will go to the polling stations. Before putting a cross on the ballot paper, here are some things for them to consider
I’ve not decided who to vote for yet and, according to the polls, a lot of you haven’t either. One thing that we Christians have to consider is how the various choices match up to the ideals and aspirations of the Bible. And so I thought it might be helpful to examine where the parties stand on the pertinent issues.
My aim isn’t to assess “what would Jesus do.” If Jesus were alive today, not only would he not vote but there would be no election ”“ we’d all be far too busy dealing with the Apocalypse. Moreover, I appreciate that Jesus instructed his followers to “render unto Caesar what is Caesar’s”, which is often interpreted as a call to recognise some division between one’s personal faith and the will of the state. So I am not looking for perfection or imagining that Christians have a right to impose their views on everyone else. I’m trying to identify what’s important and where the parties stand on it. Using this excellent voting guide produced by the Christian Institute, I’ve tried to reduce it to four basic themes…
In the last election, the electorate sent a very clear message to politicians that we found none of them acceptable. It led to the need for coalition for the first time anyone much can remember.
What message will we send them this time? In five and a half hours time we will have finished voting.