Christians and politics

heres a touchy one for sure. how should a Christian vote?? is there one right why? (no pun intended). again, i am not going to claim to have a ultimate answer, but here are some thoughts...

why do Christians vote right-wing (ie conservative or republican). many would vote this way because of their stance on social issues, like gay marraige, and abortion, etc. we clearly know that God does not want gay marriage and abortion, so they vote for these parties who will hopefully stop them from happening.

why do some Christians vote left wing? probably because they would tend to take care of the poor better, single mothers, and all these other groups that need help. a left wing party is way more likely to support these people, the same people that Jesus sought to help when he was on the earth.

then there are other, non-Christian reasons for voting a certain way...ie the specific candidate in your riding, whether you value less taxes or more programs, etc.

but based on the 'Christian' reasons, i will tell you why i am a crusty old right-wing type of dude. i believe that it is more important for the government to fight agiants abortion and gay marriage, etc, than it is for them to spend more money on programs. i am not saying that the programs are bad... but when i have to choose between the two, i value the social issues more than the programs. my reasoning is this... i think that taking care of the poor, the single mothers, etc is something more for the church to do than the government. (church being churches, Christian organizations, and individual Christians). i know that in a lot of cases this is not happening, so there is a place for govt. programs. but also keep in mind, even the conservatives have programs. not as many, but they still have programs.

another thing is that left wing parties not only do not try to stop abortion, and gay marriage, but they advocate them. so not only are they not doing something that i want them to, but they are doing exactly what i dont want them to. at least with the whole programs thing, right-wing parties do make an effort to help, but just dont do as much as lefties.

now that i have rambled on (get used to it, i just ramble, i am not looking for a published work here, but just to say a few things of the top of my head about issues, some big, some small), when it all comes down to it, i dont think that there is any one way that a Christian should absolutely vote. as long as they are voting according to their conscience, and what they beleive, go for it. although i do beleive that we will be held accountable before God for everything, so dont just go out and vote for the marijuana party or anything....