Can a person be both a Christian and a Democrat?

I'm always surprised when I hear this question posed, not only because the answer seems so obvious to me, but because the total opposite answer seems so obvious to the other person! For the record, I would like to state that my response to that question is a resounding, "Yes!".

Now, on to the issues.


Abortion
Firstly, I don't believe that abortion is the defining issue between Republicans and Democrats. There are actually millions of Democrats who would define themselves as pro-life. (In contrast, a good percentage of Republicans are pro-choice, showing that party affiliation itself does not define a person as "pro-life" or "pro-choice".) According to Democrats for Life,
"43% of Democrats agreed with the statement that abortion 'destroys a human life and is manslaughter'", and 50% believe that "in general it is morally wrong to have an abortion." Many Democrats are angry at the way pro-choice extremists have hijacked the party platform.

Although the label "Democrat" in no way equals "pro-choice", I do see a difference in pro-life Republican and pro-life Democratic attitudes towards the issue itself. Republican rhetoric tends to lean heavily on accusation for the deed, while Democrats seem to show more compassion for the woman in the position of making such a terrible choice. In my experience, Republicans see Democratic compassion towards a pregnant woman considering an abortion as making light of the evil of "baby killing". Not only is this unbiblical, but it hurts the position of Republicans, who are seen as cold-hearted and uncaring of women. Republicans are seen as valuing an unborn child with no earthly experience more than a grown woman with years of life experience. Some would argue that the woman's quality of life should be valued over that of an unborn child. I am not arguing that here. I am saying that, at the very least, every effort should be made to identify with the predicament of a woman caught with a life-changing, possibly traumatic choice on her hands.


Gay Marriage
I do not actually believe that there are many Democrats who are unequivocally supportive of "gay marriage". I put this in quotes to distinguish it from civil unions, because the gay community sees a big distinction there. To be given the right to marry would be to have their relationship publicly legitimized, while a civil union, although identical in content, has a second-class connotation. Both Hillary Clinton and Barak Obama are in favor of civil unions, but not marriage. (I do wonder why they make this distinction--I suppose it is to cater to those who would like to think of themselves as open-minded, but continue to be squeamish when it comes to the word "marriage". I don't think that, for them, there is a religious reason.)

I believe that Christians who hold a traditional view of Scripture (i.e., the majority of it being textually literal) cannot hold the homosexual lifestyle to be God's ideal. However--and this is where the difference lies--it is not the role of a secular state to dictate the lifestyle choice of those who do not hold Scripture in high regard. In fact, it is the duty of the state to treat everyone with equality and justice, regardless of their religious or family choices.

Of course, this does not include situations that are obviously harmful, such as abusive relationships. Some, such as Dr. Dobson, have argued that homosexual relationships are indeed harmful to everyone around them. I find his apocalyptic analysis to be at best speculative and at worst, dangerous. He seems to have very little faith in the power of good families, if he is so afraid at their imminent downfall. If the traditional family is indeed "better" than any other kind, I believe society will not be blind to that. But in the meantime, the traditional family is not going to collapse solely because a gay couple marries and moves in next door.

This is a much longer conversation, and cannot be fully fleshed out in summary form.


Secular Public Education (Separation of Church and State)
Very simply, to force religious ideas on those who do not hold them is, eventually, to have contrary religious ideas forced on you. The oppressor will eventually become the oppressed.

Immigration
I don't see how this a Biblical issue. Personally, I would like to see immigration quotas raised dramatically, so that it would be easier to get a legitimate visa into the US.

Social Welfare (including health care)
The arguments generally are whether it is the job of the church or the government to provide for the poor. I happen to believe one would fail without the other, and that they are both vitally important.

For Republicans, the argument usually comes down to the fact that 1) it is wrong for the government to tax my hard-earned money just to give it to those who haven't earned it, and 2) those who are taking welfare checks are working the system and don't want to become legitimate members of society. They quote Paul who saying, If you don't work, then you don't eat. I haven't seen any statistics on this, so this is pure speculation, but I have a hard time accepting the fact that everyone who gets welfare checks or food stamps isn't working. Sure there are those with flexible morals who like to con the system, but there are those people in every tax bracket. Potential misuse is not alone a reason to completely disband a program.

As far as biblical support goes, Israel itself had its own form of community welfare. Ruth was herself a benefactor. Israel also had laws against charging interest or selling food at a profit, and had a system for canceling debts.

Jesus's oft mis-quoted phrase, "The poor will always be among you" is in no way excusing our responsibility towards the poor. Quite the opposite! Jesus is commenting on the beautiful gift of worship the woman has lavished on him, and reminding his disciples of the many opportunities they will have to serve the poor in the future, after Jesus's short time on earth had come to an end.

Justice for the needy is, I think, the primary value of the Democratic party, and I find this to be completely in line with the God of scripture.


Capital Punishment
As much as some would like to say that the death penalty is quite obviously supported by scripture, I do not see it. Perhaps I'll blog on this later, but I think both sides are quite easily supported by various verses.



There are, I think, many other differences, but I'll leave it at this for now. Even if you (speaking to Conservatives) disagree with all of my argument, I hope I have made a case that a true, Bible-believing Christian can indeed hold all of these opinions.

Finally, I would like to point out that no set of beliefs can get one into Heaven. It is only the blood of Christ which saves.