Judie Brown
Negotiating your way to hell
FacebookTwitter
By Judie Brown
October 12, 2012

In just a few short weeks, our nation will be casting votes in both local and national elections. While some may act disinterested or think these elections hold little importance, we must realize that the opposite is true. Our country cannot, and should not, be run on policies created outside of God's law and with no respect or attention given to the truths taught by Our Lord. This will only lead to our nation's downfall. What do we do in order to cast a vote in accordance with these truths? Today's commentary addresses this.

Prior to the 2008 elections, Catholic Answers published an outstanding voting guide entitled Voter's Guide for Serious Catholics. This brief aid for Catholics who want to use the teachings of the Catholic Church to guide their political decisions was excellent the day it was released and remains among the best resources for anyone who is casting a vote in a few weeks.

Inspired by this booklet, American Life League posted a similar, but shorter, voting guide, and we continue to encourage people of every faith to become familiar with the principles that help us serve the Lord by responsibly voting according to truth and justice.

Getting back to basics means understanding that there are certain life or death questions that are not fungible — even in an election. Regardless of how we might favor a given candidate on any number of less serious and life-endangering questions, we must be sure that the individual is solid when it comes to how he or she frames a position on abortion, euthanasia, human embryonic stem cell research, human cloning, or same sex marriage. In each of these cases there is a clear biblical teaching that provides a framework for decision-making. In no case is there room for negotiating.

So why is this happening even in these crucial cases? In part, it is due to an improper understanding of the meaning of evil and the consequences of pursuing it. Ordained deacons and priests in the Catholic Church have not consistently taught the fundamentals of Catholic doctrine. It is the rare Catholic, for example, who graduates from high school with the ability to explain that "conscience signifies the perceptible and demanding presence of the voice of truth."

Further, were a high school senior able to explain this, chances are he or she would not take it one step further and explain that this is why God guides us, through what He has already written on the heart of every one of us [Hebrews 8:10], namely to obey His commandments and avoid any personal temptation to act in a way that is not pleasing to God.

Such principles seem so simple, but in today's complex world they are anything but that. As a consequence, Catholics have joined the rest of the general population in setting aside what God is saying while opting instead for what is exemplary of the gospels of tolerance and disobedience. This is how it has come to pass that so many in our midst talk about the aborting of a child in terms of a political issue.

By choosing not to accept reality and comprehend the truth that abortion kills a fellow human being, such individuals are free to "vote their conscience" — which often means voting for supporters of not only abortion, but also euthanasia and any or all of the remaining five non-negotiables.

Some wise commentators have written about the upcoming election in terms of the HHS mandate, which is said to be designed to rob us of our religious freedom. Others have warned against becoming "single issue voters," which is nothing more than a political red herring designed to confuse and obliterate the idea of voting according to God's laws instead of man's desires.

But is it not the case that there is only one question we need to confront when we cast a vote? Isn't it as simple as recognizing that a vote is a reflection of a man's integrity and love of truth? Of course it is.

Finally, let's be frank. Nobody really wants to negotiate his way to hell, does he?

© Judie Brown

 

The views expressed by RenewAmerica columnists are their own and do not necessarily reflect the position of RenewAmerica or its affiliates.
(See RenewAmerica's publishing standards.)

Click to enlarge

Judie Brown

Judie Brown is president and co-founder of American Life League, the nation's largest grassroots pro-life educational organization... (more)

Subscribe

Receive future articles by Judie Brown: Click here

More by this author

 

Stephen Stone
The most egregious lies Evan McMullin and the media have told about Sen. Mike Lee

Siena Hoefling
Protect the Children: Update with VIDEO

Stephen Stone
Flashback: Dems' fake claim that Trump and Utah congressional hopeful Burgess Owens want 'renewed nuclear testing' blows up when examined

Pete Riehm
Like our Commander-in-Chief, America is clueless, feckless, and powerless

Selwyn Duke
Did anti-white, DEI bias steal a state final spot from a white basketball team?

James Lambert
It’s time to get a Republican (like Steve Garvey) elected to the U.S. Senate in CA. It’s been 30 years!

Linda Goudsmit
Chapter 10: Objective reality is required for a free society

Michael Bresciani
Gay is OK, but trans for kids is on the skids – Have Americans now become judges of evil thoughts?

Linda Kimball
Nihilism…all that exists is matter and energy: The worldview that caused the collapse of Christendom and Protestant Amer

Peter Lemiska
China doesn’t need a Trojan Horse – It has Joe Biden

Rev. Mark H. Creech
Revelation Chapter 22: Getting beyond doubt, Billy Graham’s example

Paul A. Byrne, M.D.
2024 International Gift of Life Walk – NYC

Cliff Kincaid
Biden’s bloody revolution for America

Victor Sharpe
Senator Schumer enters the annals of Shame

Linda Kimball
Prayer against evil, insane Babylon
  More columns

Cartoons


Click for full cartoon
More cartoons

Columnists

Matt C. Abbott
Chris Adamo
Russ J. Alan
Bonnie Alba
Chuck Baldwin
Kevin J. Banet
J. Matt Barber
Fr. Tom Bartolomeo
. . .
[See more]

Sister sites