Voting for a Reason (8-13-04)

Thanks to Ethics Daily for calling my attention to a book being sold in the SBC's LifeWay Christian Stores. More than anything else, the book tries to scare Christians into the ballot box. According to the authors, if Christians don't vote, or if they don't vote right, "we may well behold God's heavy hand a judgment crashing down upon our nation in ways we have never imagined before."

The more you are around Fundamentalist Christians, the more you see that they only have one arrow in their quiver. There are a number of reasons why Christians should be informed about political issues, be engaged in civic processes, and cast their votes in general elections, but fear of Divine retribution ranks so low that it is not worth mentioning.

The more you are around politically active Fundamentalists, the more you see that there is only one thing that concerns them. Why they are so fixated on biological processes related to reproduction deserves some thoughtful analysis and interpretation. At times, I see more similarities between them and the Taliban, as depicted in the film Osama, than differences.