The Rev. Al Mohler, President of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, and former board member of Focus on the Family, warned Christians in a speech recently that not voting, or voting “wrongly,” is an act of unfaithfulness “because the vote is a powerful stewardship.”
He also urged Christians not to sit out the mid-term elections this November. His comments about the biblical positions on abortion, marriage and the value of male and female drew criticism on Twitter as commenters accused him of being an advocate for one specific political party.
Dr. Mohler spoke at the Family Research Council’s “Pray, Vote, Stand” Summit held in Atlanta, Georgia, last week. “We are in a time of war,” he told the assembled audience.
“We have 50 more years of work to do,” Mohler said, referring to the 50-year battle to get Roe v. Wade overturned. “The big battles are still to come” he said, describing the state-by-state political efforts that will be necessary to see preborn life protected.
And that requires Christians to vote rightly, the theologian said.
“Every single election matters. But every single election is followed by the next one. And faithfulness now is absolutely necessary, and frankly, just given the temporality of life, we have to give primary attention to faithfulness right now. 2022, in the United States, means votes matter.”
And then Mohler got to his main point:
“We have a responsibility to make certain that Christians understand the stewardship of the vote, which means the discipleship of the vote, which means the urgency of the vote, the treasure of the vote and they need to understand that insofar as they do not vote or they vote wrongly, they are unfaithful because the vote is a powerful stewardship.”
Some pastors on Twitter took exception to Mohler’s remarks.
One typical comment came from Dwight McKissic, Senior Pastor of Cornerstone Baptist Church in Arlington, TX. He responded to Mohler’s speech on Twitter: “You have a right to vote as you please. However, if one chooses to vote Democratic because of their compassion to provide a safety net for the poor at a greater capacity, take a much stronger position against police brutality, increased minimum wages = important life issues too.”
But Mohler wasn’t advocating voting for a particular party. Rather, he urged his audience to focus on the biggest issues at stake in the election – life, marriage, and the value of male and female. In fact, he pointedly criticized the 47 Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives who joined with all Democrats this year to pass the deceptively titled “Respect for Marriage Act.” That bill, yet to be voted on in the Senate, would enshrine same-sex “marriage” into federal law, and in the process punish religious dissent on the subject.
Mohler, the host of a popular daily podcast called The Briefing, defended his message that Christian voters should be focused on the sanctity of life, the holiness of marriage, and the value of male and female. He pointed out on Twitter that his argument for how Christians should vote is nothing new:
“If you are offended that I encourage Christians to vote FOR candidates who defend the unborn and support the integrity of marriage and to vote AGAINST candidates who support abortion and subvert marriage, that has been my message for my entire adult life.”
As the Daily Citizen has reported, on November 8 all 435 members of the U.S. House of Representatives are up for re-election, as well as 34 U.S. senators, 36 state governorships and more than 80% of state legislative seats. It’s critically important for Christians to make their voices heard in the voting booth.
As a 501(c)(3) charitable religious organization, Focus on the Family does not endorse candidates. We do, however, urge Christians to register to vote and to vote their values. If you haven’t registered for the November election yet, you can do so here.
Related:
Breaking: Senate Postpones Marriage Redefinition Until After Elections
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