Rondall,

Thank you for your response. I agree no party is perfect. You seem to assume I lean to the Republican Party, but I never said that. I identify with Christ, not a political party. I merely find the teachings of Christ to be incongruent with the Democratic Party more so than that of the Republican party. Here is just one example. Christ advocated that the Church be the source of benevolence for the poor, widowed and orphaned. Christ said that if a man asks for your shirt, give him your jacket as well. He did not however endorse robbing your neighbor because your neighbor was wealthier or more “privileged”. IMHO many people who vote for Democrats are well intended folks who have great empathy for the poor, but are very misled in the biblical way to help them. Christ did not give the disciples a free fish dinner, he told them how to fish. (Cast your net on the other side) Institutionalizing poverty and placing it under the auspices of governmental agencies is neither Christ like, nor logical if you are compassionate in deed as much as you are in word. Dividing Americans by race, gender, and socioeconomic class seems to be the go-to of today’s Democratic Party. Spending other people’s money and taking out loans on the back of future generations for social programs will never solve the issue of poverty.

If the church would arise and answer its call to be light in the darkness, rather than seeking to blend in with the status quo, then the widows, orphans, and impoverished would not only be well cared for and fed, we could eliminate a vast amount of government and burdensome taxes and channel that towards true charity and love for our fellow man. I was deeply offended by Hillary Clinton’s quip about us being a basket of deplorables, clinging to our guns and Bibles. That did not sound anything like Christ or Christianity to me. I could never support a candidate that expressed such disdain for those they wished to represent, and she is just one glaring example that comes to mind.

Bob, thank you for the response. I would say that I lean more democratic because of my faith not because of family history. Though, I do think that family history allowed me not to have certain preconceptions. No party is perfect, and there certainly are things about the Democratic Party that bother me. I would argue that I find in the democratic party ideas that are more consonant with Christ’s teachings than I find in the Republican Party. I wrote about it some here: https://www.faithonview.com/a-christian-democrat-heres-why/

I do hope at some point to dive into these issues more thoroughly. Maybe you can help me by suggesting a few areas that make you lean more Republican? Hopefully, I will be able to address those issues in future essays.

Thanks Randall. I completely agree.

Thank you for your thoughtful reply. I think it is always encouraging to others to read comments like this and find out they are not alone.

Right now, my husband and I are “Democrat” because voting in the Democratic primary (which we could do as unaffiliated voters in our state) automatically signed us up as Democrats. We have to go and officially unaffiliate ourselves again. We received backlash about that online from another Christian who somehow was able to get this information.

We spoke out against Trump and lost many friends. My husband is a pastor. We have watched as his peers in our area have increasingly intertwined the faith with politics in a “Conservative” direction (We completely agree with you that there is a difference between theological and political conservativism/liberalism, though sadly many Evangelicals have linked them together.) Being anything but Republican in the Evangelical world is very isolating.

Sadly, this is resulting in a disillusionment with the Church, especially among young people. My own college-aged kids are not immune. It is hard to find a place to worship that is theologically conservative and NOT broadly Republican among the congregants.

Thanks for the comment. I’m glad you enjoyed the essay. Always nice to hear from other evangelical Democrats!