iVoteValues Archives

An Unknown Future

Posted by: Kaylan Christopher on October 20, 2008 Featured Article •

So have you made your choice yet? The debates are over. The accusations are flying. The candidates are consistently bashing each other on the topics of energy, spending, taxes, and health care. It’s go time.

It looks like it’s going to be another tight race this year. So in this time of uncertainty, how should you respond? Wait in anticipation? Get out and act? I have two suggestions: pray and vote.

Pray first. Pray for the candidates. Pray for Americans. Pray for our government. Pray for God’s will to be done in this election. Then vote. As an American citizen, it’s your responsibility to get out and vote. And as I’ve suggested before, vote your values, not because you’re following the popular trend.

The Bible says, “Since no man knows the future, who can tell him what is to come? No man has power over the wind to contain it; so no one has power over the day of his death. As no one is discharged in time of war, so wickedness will not release those who practice it. … I know that it will go better with God-fearing men, who are reverent before God. Yet because the wicked do not fear God, it will not go well with them, and their days will not lengthen like a shadow” (Ecclesiastes 8:7-8, 12-13).

We don’t know our future. We don’t know the outcome of the coming election. And we can’t be sure of what’s going to happen when whoever is elected takes office and begins his “reign.” But we do know this. God is in control and He’s given us an opportunity to act in a way that is reverent and glorifying to Him.

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Should Some People Not Vote?

Posted by: Dwayne Hastings on October 15, 2008 Featured Article •

John Stossel, an ABC News reporter known for his work on the network’s 20/20 program, asked the question as he and his camera crew interviewed some newly registered young people at a rock concert: “Should some people not vote?”

While it is an intriguing question, the answer is certainly “no.” While many Americans cast their ballots in ignorance each Election Day, that doesn’t mean any voter should be disqualified because of their lack of understanding of the issues or the candidates themselves. In fact, who among us have not come to a choice on the ballot, particularly in the area of the retention of judges, and voted “yes” or “no” without forethought?

There have been times in our nation’s history when some citizens were denied their right to vote because of their inability to pay a poll tax, a lack of academic education, or their race or sex. Fortunately those times are behind us.

That said, it is our obligation to fully educate ourselves on the issues and the candidates before we vote. For those of us who claim to be Christ-followers, we need to insure that we consider the Bible’s perspective on the issues of the day as we ponder the candidates’ positions on those issues.

To help Americans in getting grasp on the candidates representing the two major U.S. political parties, we developed a useful resource that lines up excerpts from the platforms of the Democrat and Republican party. The Party Platform Comparison Guide, available for download at no charge and in a print edition (limited copies available for sale), contains no analysis or commentary. It is composed of direct quotes (without campaign rhetoric) from the two group’s position statements.

The question is not “Should some people not vote?”; but instead, “Why would anyone vote without knowing what the candidates believe on the issues?”

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The Lesser-Known Vote

Posted by: Cherilyn Crowe on October 15, 2008 Featured Article •

Every four years, three big events impact every American citizen:

We have an extra day in February.
We adjust our television viewing schedules to accommodate the Summer Olympics.
We vote for President.

But, many of us spend more time learning the obscure rules of sports we normally care nothing about than the people whose names we’ll stare at on the ballot on November 4.

By now, you probably know at least something about the candidates for President and Vice President. But, those aren’t the only votes you can cast this year. Every member of the U.S. House of Representatives will be up for re-election. One third of all U.S. Senators will be on the ballot. And, you will likely have some combination of state legislative races, amendments, or city races in your area. I always take great care in selecting who I want to send to Washington, but I also think the “lesser” races are just as important for all of us.

Why do these races matter to me? Jesus tells us the way we treat the “least” of those around us is very important, and it’s a reflection of what we think about Him (Matthew 25:31-46). Jesus also recognized the importance of the government leaders (like Caesar) in our lives (Matthew 22:15-22), but he directly dealt with the Sanhedrin (Matthew 26:57-67).

I also know that if I am going to get serious about making an impact in my world, following the international gold medal count won’t get me anywhere. My local candidates may seem like the least important people in this election cycle, but they are my most direct connections to the government. They are the officials I can actually talk to when I want to solicit support for a cause. They determine the zoning ordinances that decide what I can do to my house, business, and church. And, they could become the people on the presidential ticket. Sarah Palin began her political career on the city council, and Barack Obama served in his state’s general assembly. What if your local government official ran on the presidential ticket in the next decade…and you didn’t know if you had helped or hurt their early political career?

I was not always passionate about the so-called “lesser” races. The first time I exercised my right to vote, I went to the polls only informed about the big races. When I got to the booth, there were races and names I knew nothing about. So, I started selecting names that sounded interesting.

Then I stopped to think about it. What if I was a sheltered vegetarian who went to a McDonald’s for the first time. Imagine walking in, looking at the menu, and saying, “Well, I don’t know anything about these food options, but that word ‘McNuggets’ is kind of cool, so I’ll choose that.” Why would I order something I don’t believe in and end up with something I don’t support? I could have taken a few minutes online to find out the menu options before I got there—is that so hard?

I admit it can be more entertaining to learn about the strange rules of doubles ping-pong or the latest shenanigans in the presidential race, instead of what a “yes” vote means on a complicated referendum. But, the other people and issues on the ballot this year will shape your life in ways a President cannot. You have an extra 24 hours this year, so why not use some of that time to know the issues in every race? There will always be time to learn about team handball.

This commentary reprinted with permission from LifeWay Christian Resources. This article was originally published in Threads.

About the Author

Cherilyn Crowe is the senior producer for NewsChannel 5+ in Nashville, Tennessee. She produces a variety of topical and political programs, and she was also part of the media circus covering the 2008 Town Hall Presidential Debate at Belmont University.

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Sorting out the issues before Election Day

Posted by: Dwayne Hastings on October 7, 2008 Featured Article •

Before you step into the voting booth on Election Day, it is critically important that you and every voter get a good grasp of not only what the candidates are saying, but what they aren’t saying.

To help you in this regard and to cut through the clutter of campaign rhetoric, the iVoteValues.com team develops a nonpartisan Party Platform Comparison Guide. This resource, which we have published every presidential election year since 1992, is not a collection of quotes or voting records of the candidates. The next issue of this publication will be released in the summer of 2012.

It is built from sections of the party platforms that have been carefully excerpted. The resource contains no analysis or commentary. While the guide does not cover every issue, it does include quotes from the two party’s postion statements on a host of topics, from civil rights, human trafficking, illegal immigration, judicial appointments and stem cell research, among others.

Given that it is a balanced, nonpartisan resource, we believe it is well within the guidelines set forth under the IRS tax code for distribution within 501(C)(3) organizations, which includes most churches.

While the Party Platform Comparison Guide will give voters a good idea of where the two parties stand on a wide variety of subject areas, concerned voters should read the the actual platforms for themselves. Links to the platforms are available here. Unfortunately, time and space considerations do not allow us to reference the myriad of other political parties that are contending for the White House in this publication.

The Party Platform Comparison Guide is available in digital format and a limited number of the guides can be purchased, in 25-count bundles, from the ERLC by calling (800) 475-9127 or at the ERLC’s online marketplace, familybookstore.net.

To the best of our knowledge there is no resource like this available. Again, it is not a traditonal “voter’s guide,” as you may have seen in the past from other organizations. This resource was developed to give voters a straight-up, above-board glimpse at what the two major parties say on some very important issues. It’s worth a look!