Holy Voters, Christianity, and the Bible

There are many Christians out there that are espousing the view that voting for Donald Trump is not allowed by the Bible for the Christian. They contend that because Donald Trump does not hold the values, the lifestyle, or the character of a Christian, we cannot vote for him, no matter what. They are advocating that a third party, write-in, or no-show are the only viable options for the Christian in this presidential election. They are willing to sacrifice the election to the left-wing liberal candidate in order to stay true to their biblical principles. They contend that there exist nothing in the Word of God to justify a vote for Trump. From here on out, I will call them Holy Voters.

It must be said, that though this view sounds good, noble, and Christian on the outset, it is a very simplistic view of the matter at hand. It is dishonest, manipulative, and it is most definitely not Christian. There is Bible that is relevant in this matter. When tackling a matter like this, like tackling all Bible matters, one must always becareful to keep things in their context. All this is not as simple as Donald Bad, Hillary Bad, Me No Vote. We have to remember that all this has been a long process; and that there’s two phases to all this. First, we were in the nomination process, and second, the general election. We also have to remember, that these choices we have to deal with are within the constructs of a party system.

This is basically the way the party system works. People of like principles will enter into a pact where they coalesce their votes together in order to advance a platform that represents a consensus of the people’s principles. No one person’s principles dominate the platform. There has to be a consensus. Therefore, there has to be compromise. God forbid, right? These Holy Voters hear the word compromise and recoil, lament, and prophecy. No. Compromise is good in this context. Compromise is necessary. Husbands and wives compromise. Employers and employees compromise. Buyers and sellers compromise. There is nothing abnormal about compromise. So right off the bat, the Holy Voter’s concept of principles over party that they use to jusitfy themselves is simply deception. It’s called being a liar. It’s agreeing to coalesce their vote, agreeing to participate in the process, and then pulling out, breaking the deal, pact, understanding, word, etc.

#1 Revelation 21:8 …and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone…

[Disclaimer: Apparently a lot of Holy Voters don’t like me suggesting that they are liars and then quoting this verse. Before you blow a gasket, let me assure you that I am not condemning anybody to hell. That’s between you and God. I am only establishing how serious lying is to God.

I DO NOT believe that it’s my way or the highway. I DO respect other people’s Biblical viewpoints. This article is a reaction to the leaders of the #NeverTrump movement that are using the Bible to shame people into not voting for the Republican nominee. I am trying to demonstrate that their reasoning is flawed, they are not near as righteous, biblical, or credible as they think they are, and there is Bible to refute their claims. So before, you get all mad at me, please direct your anger to Deace, Beck, and Erickson for doing what you think I’m doing.

Please, I am well aware that Trump is a sinful man. I have never (I repeat) never defended Mr. Trump nor will I in this article. This is not a defense of Trump. It is a defense of the Bible. And don’t get so mad at the liar thing. Chill out. Remember the Bible says to let God be true and every man a liar.  Join the club.]

When one begins the process in a party, he is by definition putting party over principles. So at the end of it when the Holy Voter says, “Hey no we shouldn’t put party over our principles”, they are making themselves out to be liars, and going back on their word. They are disingenuous and fraudulent. You see, there are many commentators out there that boast that they are independents, and that they weigh the pros and cons of all sides and make a healthy choice. But in the process, they are commentating, complaining, and coercing in respect to the different party’s candidates. That’s a very dishonest place to put yourself. For example, one of the main reasons Trump is now the Republican nominee is because the GOP through the years have allowed democrats and independents to participate in our nomination process. This is the same folly as allowing these independent commentators in the process. These people have not entered into our agreement. These people have not pledged their vote and support. They don’t want to make the commitment, but they want to make the decision. These commentators have hypocritically participated in the entire nomination process, have discussed the candidates, vetted the candidates, and pushed their candidate, yet claim when it’s no longer convenient that the whole time that they’re registered independents and left the republican party years ago. The Holy Voter is just as deceptive and disingenuous. In their denunciation of Trump’s character to justify actions, they’ve exposed their own character. The Independent Holy Voter is a liar because he’s misrepresented himself the entire time. The Republican Holy Voter is a liar because he said he’d do one thing and did another. You might not think this a big deal. Just hold on.

The process of nominating a candidate eventually comes to the convention floor. Usually, at that point one candidate will have coalesced enough delegates to win the nomination outright. At that point, it is incumbent upon the losing candidates to endorse and throw their full support to the winner. It is also incumbent upon the supporting constituents to follow suite. That is the way a party is supposed to work. That is the advantage of parties. But when things get nasty, like they did in this 2016 cycle, the normal operation of a party becomes uncertain. Trump won, and many of the supporters of the other candidates, especially Cruz’s, held their support, and waited and contemplated exiting the party. This reaction was anticipated and condoned because of the debased manner in which Trump won, and he did nothing to span the bridge. However, in the end, a deals a deal. If Cruz would have won, he also would have needed all the supporters from the other candidates to get on board. Trump needs that today to win.

#2 Matthew 7:12 Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them: for this is the law and the prophets.

Yes, it’s the golden rule. This is where the rubber meets the road. Nobody may even care how you vote. There may be absolutely no one on this green earth that gives one iota of a thought as to whether or not you stuck with your word. God does however. “The eyes of the LORD are in every place, beholding the evil and the good.” Pro 15:3 Be warned however, it may be tempting to cast these scriptures and applications aside, but God might not. Consider the sins of Saul and the sins of David. Saul, after God told him to kill everything, saved some of the best of the spoil to honour God with in sacrifice. He was still going to kill them! But God rent the whole kingdom from him. David however raped a woman and murdered her husband. That seems worst to most, but God did not rend the kingdom from David. Why? It’s because of what’s inside. God judges the inside. David repented and Saul made excuses. What is the Holy Voter’s response to breaking this little simple golden rule? The Independent Holy Voter that engaged in the entire Republican nomination process is just a liar. But the Republican Holy Voter is not only a liar, but has placed himself against “the law and the prophets” in breaking the golden rule.

Of course, in the Holy Voter’s mind, they are not the one breaking the rules. It is everybody else that is wrong and they are the ones that are right. Why is that? This deception is rooted in their simplistic view of the Bible which takes them to such extremes. They may know their Bible, but their interpretation and application of it lacks sound critical method. For example, the most frequently used passage is in Exodus:

#3 Exodus 18:21 Moreover thou shalt provide out of all the people able men, such as fear God, men of truth, hating covetousness; and place such over them, to be rulers of thousands, and rulers of hundreds, rulers of fifties, and rulers of tens:

The Holy Voter insists that this is the end-all law of God advising his people how to vote in an election. In typical literal interpretation of the bible, the interpreter must first understand the context of the passage. First acknowledge what is going on, who, what, where, why, etc. Then, if the context allows, we can derive a more spiritual application or meaning. Let me warn you, if you go any further in reading this and you are beholden to Deace and Erickson and Beck, what you hear will initially irk you. I beg you to please keep reading. You cannot afford to be wrong. If you are a seeker of truth, a rational human being, and respect the Word of God, I beg you to prayerfully consider these next few points.

1. WHY? In this passage, Moses is overwhelmed by the work and needs relief. This advice is given to Moses in order for him to get relief, “so shall it be easier for thyself, and they shall bear the burden with thee.” So the primary reason the advice is given is to help a leader in his duties. So right off the bat, the Holy Voter has abandoned the primary reason for the advice in this passage. He is definitely not trying to help alleviate you. It almost as if they’re using this verse to put a yoke on you that you or themselves cannot bear.
2. WHAT? The people of Israel did not have free elections like we do here in the United States. Moses was not voted into office. Moses was appointed (for lack of a better word) by the Lord God himself. The people of Israel had no choice in this matter. So, the passage is regarding appointments, not elections. This is an important distinction because this only deals with the judgement and heart of one man, particularly Moses who was hand-picked by God, not a massive body of people of many hearts and many minds. That is a totally different matter. The Holy Voter has ignored the primary matter of which the advice was given in this passage.
3. TO WHO? This advice was given to Moses, not the people of Israel. A more direct application of this passage would possibly be to a President, not about a President. Or perhaps instruction on the form of a government. This advice is to a single person that appoints many people into leadership positions, not a body of people that elect a single person into a leadership position. The Holy Voter has got this backwards and cares not as to who this advice was primarily given in the passage.
4. FROM WHO? This advice was not given to Moses directly from God. It was given to him by his father-in-law, Jethro. This was not written on tables of stone up on Mount Sinai by the finger of God, nor spoken from the fire and smoke as the mountain quaked. In fact, this advice was given to Moses before Moses went up the mount where God actually gave him the Law. In the passage, this was simply man’s advice (good advice), and soon Moses would ascend the mountain, and get God’s advice, the Law of Almighty God. Exodus 18:21 is the inspired Word of God and profitable for doctrine, reproof, for correction, and for instruction in righteousness, but not the expressed moral Law of God. The Holy Voter cares nothing for this primary distinction.

So before the Holy Voter even opens his mouth, in his mind he has got why, who, and what all mixed up. These basic primary things must be recognized and established before we start trying to apply the verse and extract spiritual meaning from the passage. I’m not making this up. These are basic tenants of literal interpretation of the Bible. I’m no theologian, but I want to be an honest student of the bible in order to rightly divide the Word of truth. So the primary meaning of the text alone really takes the wind out of the Holy Voter’s viewpoint on this passage of scripture. I’ve really offered no interpretation to this point nor have I made application. I’ve simply addressed the  plain elements of the text as to who, why, and what. That alone is sufficient to prove that the Holy Voter is on shaky ground in his doctrine.

I am in no way, shape, or form saying that this verse is not applicable, or that we as Christians are not responsible to the clear implications of this passage. God forbid. I emphatically declare that every Christian must take heed to this verse, Exodus 18:21. Later on Jethro says, “If thou shalt do this thing, and God command thee so, then thou shalt be able to endure, and all this people shall also go to their place in peace.” (v23) And of course we know Moses did it, and there is no recording in the Bible of rebuke or dissatisfaction from God, or that it didn’t go well. So, what we can get out of this is the mind of God in these matters. Exodus 18:21 tells us primarily what God wants, what pleases God, which is for “…able men, such as fear God, men of truth, hating covetousness…” to be put in leadership positions. There’s other verses in the Bible that back that up. I’m sure the Holy Voters can quote a few.

Bring your attention, however, to the beginning of the passage. The bible says “Moreover, thou shalt provide out of all people able men…” First of all, it says thou shalt provide. Did you get that Holy Voter? It does not say thou shalt symbolize a potential for it. It says to provide it. What is the mechanism which is available to us in this country to do just that?

Remember, we cannot provide that outright as a single person. We do not have the authority like Moses did to do such a thing. Holy Voters are under the delusion that somehow we do. The mechanism in which God has seen fit for us in this day and age is an election, where not one but many people are tasked with determination of one single leader. And even then, these many people do not appoint anybody.  They nominate and then they vote. And the one person that wins the election (He does not win an appointment. Nobody wins and loses in an appointment), this person is now tasked with appointing THOUSANDS of leaders that will rule in this land. It is through this process that we as Christians can provide out of all people able men. You ought to praise God we even have a process.

So the question is: How through this mechanism, our vote, can we best provide out of all people able men to fill these THOUSANDS of leadership positions? How, through our vote, can we best please God? To play along with the Holy Voter and make this all about Trump is to ignore every word that you have just read. Take a good look at the following list of Presidential appointments and ask yourself this question. Ask this question because truly that is the question at hand concerning Exodus 18:21:

On November 8th, how will my vote affect the provision of all these appointments that will be made by the next President?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_positions_filled_by_presidential_appointment_with_Senate_confirmation

I have more scriptures I’d like to deal with, but I don’t have all day for this. I’ll cover more later. Yes, there’s more. God bless you all for taking the time to read this. I truly appreciate it. I love you Holy Voters. I was one of you, but I smelled death in the camp. This blessed book has got all the answers. I love this old bible. It’s the thrill of my soul. It’s a light unto my path and lamp unto my feet.