Welp, you saw the title of this post and clicked (or continued reading the email), so let’s just get right to it!
We’re about to be subjected to the 2024 presidential election cycle, and as our nation descends into a frothing rage at how we should NEVER elect a creepy old narcissistic womanizing man who uses power in obscene ways to benefit himself and his family members (the joke here is that I’m describing both Trump and Biden), I figure I’d go ahead and extol a third approach: conscientious abstinence. A fancy term I use for “Not participating isn the American political system.”
I personally made this decision in the run up to the 2008 presidential election, because I felt that the whole American political system was rapidly growing completely toxic and to participate in something toxic is to help it gain strength, and ho boy do I think I got that right 1000%.
A bit of context: I have a pretty good record of disengaging from things before they become useless or toxic.
Here’s just a couple examples:
First, I got rid of a landline telephone in 2003, well before most people. I saw that cell phones would make landlines unnecessary. I haven’t had one since, haven’t regretted it a single time.
Second, I banned anyone in my household from watching 24 hour “news” networks in the same year, 2003. They were far more tame back then, but I could see they were toxic. Indeed, today when I meet people who watch hours of these fake news channels (Fox News, MSNBC, CNN, whatever) I often find a terrifying lack of critical thinking skills. Again, I think my call there was solid.
If you’re thinking, “That’s stuff you quit in 2003 and 2008, what are you quitting now?” I can tell you that I’m almost completely off social media at this point (I deleted my facebook account in just the past month or so) and there’s some other stuff I’m side eyeing pretty hard these days…but let me get back to the point of this post.
I’m here to invite you to consider completely disengaging from American politics. And at the end of the day if you completely disagree with me…that’t cool! We can still be friends! But I’m a firm believer we should be willing to take a hard look at anything and everything we believe from time to time. Different viewpoints aren’t a threat, they’re an opportunity to grow, whether or not we change our own viewpoint.
In case anybody reading this isn’t aware, my basis for this decision is greatly influenced by the fact that I am a follower of Jesus. I’ve spent a very long academic career seeking to understand truths taught in the Hebrew and Greek scriptures, and to implement their wisdom into my life. I am definitely not always successful, but I’m trying my best.
So here is my reasoning for why anyone whose primary allegiance is to the Kingdom of God and not to any flag should consider NOT voting in 2024 or any other election. And let me once again be clear: I’m not interested in threats or manipulation to get you to agree with me. If you have a conviction that you need to vote, by all means, vote! You voting would not make you less of a Christian than myself or anybody else. I simply think disengaging from the political system is a wiser, healthier course of action.
There’s no scriptural support for democracy
At no point in Jesus’ ministry does he say anything in support of democracy. If you’re thinking, “Israel didn’t have democracy, so maybe Jesus didn’t know about democracy”…well, first of all, he’s Jesus. The scripture tells us that nothing was created unless it was through him. Pretty sure that includes the concept of democracy. Secondly, the Greeks rolled out democracy about 600 years before Jesus was born. It seems wildly unlikely that Jesus, living in an area controlled by the Roman empire, wouldn’t have, at least, heard of this concept.
Yet, at no point does Jesus even hint that this is a desire of his.
Plato was a strong critic of democracy, arguing that letting mobs make decisions is a terrible idea. With Jesus the crowds yelling “Hosanna” as he entered Jerusalem were manipulated into yelling “Crucify him!” less than a week later. When Jesus looked at crowed, he didn’t see people capable of self rule. He saw confused, helpless people who needed a shepherd.
After the resurrection, Jesus gives instructions to the disciples about their future. At one point, Jesus tells his disciples not to leave Jerusalem until they have received the Holy Spirit (which happened on Pentecost). This is actually a reconnection to the only form of government God ever prescribes for his chosen people: Theocracy. Theocracy means God is in charge of society. The Jewish people rejected this and instead demanded monarchy — a king. God viewed this as a rejection of himself, and warned them that the result would not be pleasant for them; that a king would abuse power and take whatever he wanted. All of this proved true, of course. Bad kings and queens eventually undid any work by good kings and queens and Israel was undone as any kind of political power. By the time we read about Jesus growing up in Israel under Roman occupation, it’s loosely organized around different religious groups and leaders, but mostly functioning as a strange outpost of the Roman Empire.
When Jesus tells his disciples not to leave Jerusalem until they receive the Holy Spirit, he is reinstituting Theocracy. Each person will be able to know and follow the direction of God himself. This is the ultimate authority in the life of any person. When religious leaders tell Peter and John to stop preaching the Gospel of Christ, they respond by saying they must obey God rather than humans. When the council in Jerusalem announces a theological direction regarding non-Jewish believers in Jesus, it is not on their political authority or status of their influence, but rather guidance from the Holy Spirit. Paul’s missionary career starts only when his local church receives direction from the Holy Spirit to send him out along with Barnabas.
The strongest case one can point to in the Gospel for a democratic practice is when the first seven deacons are chosen. However, there’s nothing to show this was a vote. It may be been determined through prayer. The absence of details means we don’t know, and a possibility cannot override the abundance of specific guidance to the contrary.
This also does not point to a mandate for Christians to attack or tear down democracies. Jesus and Paul both essentially teach, “Let the government govern. We have other concerns.”
America has frequently extolled the idea that democracy is critical for a better world. It is not. Jesus’ salvation, the truth in his teaching, and the power in his spirit are the only hope for a world which has always spun around the axis of power, violence and greed.
Politics divides, the gospel is about tearing down walls of hostility
The point of the cross, in Pauls teachings, is clear. Jesus died to restore us to God and to one another. Remember that Jesus taught us that the two most important commandments are to love God and love others, then he provided the means for us to live that out with his own blood.
Regarding the latter, Paul tells the church in Ephesians that a major function of the cross was to “break down walls of hostility” anywhere that animosity between peoples existed.
The current American political system is clearly about the opposite. Here’s one small example: in 1958, roughly 1/3 of people who identified with a political party wanted their child to marry someone in the same party. By 2016, that had doubled to 2/3. In research I personally did in 2021 regarding diverse churches, I found that in the aftermath of the 2016 election, most churches had lost most or all of one party, depending on stances they took. In one case, I spoke to a Pastor who was committed to not picking a side. His church closed in 2021.
Paul is adamant to the Galatian church that even the most divisive social divides in the world must take a back seat to those who become part of the Body of Christ. If, before deciding if somebody is your brother or sister in Christ, you have to ask what their political stance is, you are far from the Kingdom. But this has become the norm, at least in the US, as a result of a toxic political environment where differeing viewpoints are regarded as stupid and evil.
You may not treat others that way, but you are perpetuating a system which does.
Voting for the lesser evil is still voting for evil
I’m aware of some who would agree with my assessments, but feel it is important to vote for the lesser evil. Or, in some cases, vote for the person they feel will personally benefit them the most — usually in a financial sense.
To the second item, I’m not sure I could adequately respond. People who value personal benefit above all are clearly in violation of scriptural guidance to treat others as better than themselves. Caring about yourself first is not unusual in America, but it should be unusual for those who are part of the Kingdom of God.
To the first viewpoint: voting for the lesser of two evils, I have a simply question: why would you vote for evil? What teaching of Jesus supports you giving whatever small amount of authority, influence and validation you possess to evil?
The Big Picture (aka good eschatology)
One of the most important reasons to have a regular habit of reading scripture is that over the course of many years and seasons and even generations, it does not shift. It never adjusts to respond to the concerns of the immediate. It is always rooted in the eternal. The truths of a God who is above and outside time will anchor you so that storms cannot pull you out to sea or dash you against the rocks.
God’s timelines are long. In Ancient Israel, there was a king named Manasseh. Scripture tells us he was evil. He killed his own sons worshipping idols. Hard to get much worse. Neither Trump nor Biden has done that. Do you know how long he was king? Fifty five years. If you dislike Trump, imagine him being president for 55 years. If you dislike Biden, imagine him being president for 55 years. (obviously, both are elderly so there’s no chance.) There were many people who were born, lived and died never knowing another king. They must have felt completely abandoned by God to let this man do so much harm. And yet, Manasseh did not derail God’s plans. The kingdom survived. God’s people didn’t disappear forever. No leader could ever undo God’s plans and promises.
America is a temporary geopolitical construct. It didn’t exist for the first 18 centuries after Jesus’ earthly ministry. In the grand scheme, it’s not that important. There will not be an American section of heaven. It’s been an interesting and in many ways successful experiment, but it will not last forever. Sooner or later, it will go the way of the Roman Empire.
You have a limited amount of time on this planet. What do you want to do with it? If you want to do good, as an ambassador of heaven, I would strongly urge you to avoid a system built on foolish arguments — something Christians are forbidden from engaging with.
And instead of listing ways and places I have directed my energies to strengthen and expand the Kingdom of God in this world, I’d invite you to do this: pray and ask God to give you direction. Ask him how to direct your time, energy and focus when you stop giving it to politics, watching political news channels, and dumb social media arguments.
As long as God has us here, we are to be fighting against the systems which harm and destroy, not participate in them. We are to be fighting for people, not against them. We are to lead a life of sacrifice, not one seeking power and control.
You know what? I’m gonna backtrack and give you one good starting point as you pray and ask for God’s guidance. Read the Beatitudes. And look for ways to live a life in line with those instead of in line with people who just want to use you to get power and money and attention.
I know it’s a very different approach than what’s common in our nation today, but we are to follow the example of Jesus. He consistently refused to engage in political concerns and dynamics in his ministry. People tried to make him a king — he walked away. People wanted him to lead a violent revolt — he refused. People tried to put him at odds with Caesar — he sidestepped. He didn’t see engaging with politics as necessary to serve the kingdom. He seemed to feel it must be avoided. So if you’re doing what everyone else does, with all due respect, that’s not a healthy indicator. The systems of this world serve this world and the master of this world. The members of the Kingdom must look for directions from the King.
Let the petty tyrants fight for that which won’t last, we need to be focused on the right leader and the real goal.