Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

Skip to comments.

Should Christians Vote for the Vain and Boastful?
American Thinker.com ^ | October 27, 2020 | Ben Voth

Posted on 10/27/2020 9:06:32 AM PDT by Kaslin

Evangelical thinker, author, and Christian pastor John Piper stirred the Christian community and a larger public intrigued with how Christians may vote in the this election with his recent essay, “Policies, Persons, and Paths to Ruin: Pondering the Implications of the 2020 Election.”

Piper concludes: “I will not develop some calculus to determine which path of destruction I will support.” After rejecting the sin of boastfulness with a terminology diagnosed in the Greek with the term “eristikos,” he is willing to forswear voting on or in the Presidential election of 2020. Piper’s critique of leadership character is one of several made by other major evangelical thinkers like Max Lucado and Beth Moore. Piper’s thesis cannot be reconciled to the rhetoric and arguments of basic Biblical hermeneutics.

Piper complains early in the essay: “I find it bewildering that Christians can be so sure that greater damage will be done by bad judges, bad laws, and bad policies than is being done by the culture-infecting spread of the gangrene of sinful self-exaltation, and boasting, and strife-stirring (eristikos). How do they know this? Seriously! Where do they get the sure knowledge...” Piper is condescendingly stunned that Christians might vote in the current election given the tragic political character flaw of boasting that for him obviously precludes the task of voting for President. Piper does not provide biblical examples to support his thesis and offers only the well-worn hermeneutic that all sin is of equal offense in the eyes of God so boasting will be as “deadly” as abortion, according to Piper. In reality, the Bible is replete with human beings plagued with boasting character flaws and yet assigned to not only leadership but political sovereignty.

(Excerpt) Read more at americanthinker.com ...


TOPICS: Culture/Society; Editorial; Politics/Elections
KEYWORDS: americanstinker; americanthinker; benvoth; bethmoore; johnpiper; maxlucado; thepiouspiper
Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first previous 1-20 ... 41-6061-8081-100101-106 last
To: kiryandil

Well I wasn’t the first to utter it.


101 posted on 10/27/2020 5:08:43 PM PDT by Theophilus
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 89 | View Replies]

To: ohioman

Mathew 10
24 The disciple is not above his master, nor the servant above his lord.

25 It is enough for the disciple that he be as his master, and the servant as his lord. If they have called the master of the house Beelzebub, how much more shall they call them of his household


102 posted on 10/27/2020 5:13:18 PM PDT by Theophilus
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 90 | View Replies]

To: Kaslin

The Bible has a voting guide. See the following verse in Ecclesiastes:

A wise man’s heart inclines him to the right,
but a fool’s heart to the left.

Ecclesiastes 10:2 ESV


103 posted on 10/27/2020 5:44:39 PM PDT by Tommygun99 (I've gone to look for myself. If I should return before I get back, keep me here!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: ifinnegan
It’s odd that the nature of politicians and campaigners is to be vain and boastful yet only Trump is seen as this when he is in fact less so than standard politicians like Obama and Biden.

This is spot on. Compare the frequency of the word "I" in Obama speeches to its use in Trump speeches--as opposed to the use of "we." And The Donald also likes to hand out praise and credit to other contributors.

104 posted on 10/27/2020 5:45:11 PM PDT by Lysandru (Fnord)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 11 | View Replies]

To: job

I think you are indeed correct...


105 posted on 10/27/2020 7:19:18 PM PDT by NFHale (The Second Amendment - By Any Means Necessary.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 98 | View Replies]

bump


106 posted on 10/28/2020 5:30:13 AM PDT by foreverfree
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]


Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first previous 1-20 ... 41-6061-8081-100101-106 last

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.

Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

FreeRepublic, LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson