Last week I issued an invitation for folks to communicate
their theological and ethical sources used to guide their voting practices. The
rules were (1) name no candidates, (2) speak no vitriol, and (3) keep it brief.
Here is how you responded to this
invitation:
Micah 6:8 is my guide: do
justice, love mercy, and walk humbly with God. Justice is fairness for
all. Mercy is compassion towards all. Humility acknowledges that I
don't know it all. I seek leaders who are inclusive, compassionate,
and willing to ask for help, seek consensus, work together.(Ann Larrabee,
Christ Tucson)
“In
the centuries following Jesus' death many sought meaning in the fine tuning of
the theological framework of faith. Saint Augustine cut to the bone with his
dictum: what he saw in Jesus' life was a preferential option for the poor.
These words will be with me as I vote." (Stu Cameron, Honorably Retired)
I consider the effect of my vote on
the next generation. I Timothy 5:8: “If any one does not provide for his
relatives, and especially for his own family, he has disowned the faith and is
worse than an unbeliever.” This would include political, social, and
spiritual provision as well as economic. (Joe Miller, Phoenix Orangewood)
Kant’s categorical imperative (whatever I do
must easily become universal law under which all can live) means that I will
not support a candidate or party whose only weapon is fear-mongering, because
the more they can make us fear the more they can control us. (Carol Schurr,
Immanuel Tucson)
Isaiah 2:4 4
"...Then they will beat their swords into iron plows and their spears into
pruning hooks." Therefore, during this election I am going to
cast my vote for candidates who are serious about gun violence prevention.
(Lesley Abram, St. John on the Desert, Tucson)
Matthew writes, "I was hungry
and you gave me food to eat. I was thirsty and you gave me a drink. I was a
stranger and you welcomed me." I will not vote for any candidate who bars
the stranger, or immigrant from our country. In Exodus 23:9 it is written:
"Don't oppress an immigrant. You know what it's like to be an immigrant,
because you were immigrants in the land of Egypt." (Lesley Abram, St. John
on the Desert, Tucson)
Thank
you to all who shared their thoughts through this public forum. (Next week I’ll
share the responses from Gilbert’s Young Adult Fellowship, so stay tuned.) I
encourage us all to frame our conversations with one another boundaried by our theology and ethics as we seek to express our faith
in Christ Jesus “on earth as it is in heaven.”
Looking forward to the Big Event and the
Ignite the Spark!
Brad Munroe
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