It wouldn’t be spring in Alberta without the gong-show we call a Provincial Election. Being that this is my blog, and I have an opinion, I shall share it with you. Gee aren’t ya’ll lucky.
Let us set up a summary of my political veiws, and then get to brass tacks.
I am a Christian. Yes, one of those. When I read my Bible I find it full of political theory. I read the Pentatuch looking for solutions to labour-law difficulties. Moses taught the world basic penal justice. I see in Samuel’s constitution a blueprint for how not to select a ruler. Saul was good looking, after all. In David the character of a ruler is seen, warts and all. His Psalms are many things, but they are always the prayers of a King. Proverbs is the rule for a man, and every part of wisdom is public. Isaiah And Jeremiah are who God gives in a time of great public sinning. Ezra is the rebuilder, who arms humble men to defend the city. Nehemiah serves two kings, one is Persian. Let us not forget how Daniel served many Kings. Nor how Jonah converted a barbarian warlord, in contrast to Ehud, who had a rather sharp exchange with his King…
We have more things given us in the New Covenant yet. Jesus teaches us to render unto the king that which is his, and bears his image. In the same breath we are taught by Christ to render our rulers unto God, because they bear His image. We are to pray for our rulers, to instruct them, to be quite and good citizens. Our real Kingdom is all Christ’s, our higher allegiance to him. No lawful allegiance is compromised inside that hierarchy, but we need to be clear who has the final say.
The end (telos, for all you Greek nerds) of all human history is the incorporation of the Kingdom of Christ all over the Earth, including as its members men from every tribe, language and nation. All political Power, Authority and Glory (Yes, Glory!) will be brought into the City of God. Read Revelation 21:24 if you think I am mistaken.
“the Kings of the earth will bring their glory into it… they will bring into it the glory and honour of the nations.”
Politics will be saved. Political Power and Authority and Glory will be saved. Christ has promised, and he is faithful.
Thus I return to my title. A vote not wasted is a vote cast in faith. We have no faith in the men we are voting for, or against, as they are men. We know they are full of caprice, envy, hubris, foolishness, imbecility. We know this because we are such ourselves, and the stock from which our rulers spring is no better than our own.
Our trust is in God. He has made us wise, by his Word and Spirit. Wisdom is to discern and know good and evil. No longer children as our father Adam was, we may ask for this Wisdom. Solomon did, and God gave it to him. So we may ask too.
Make no mistake, I say that we are wise, but I KNOW WELL THAT WE ARE NOT. If we were, we wouldn’t be in this pickle. Our trust is still in God, who has given us everything we need. If you have been reading your Bible at all, you see this.
Psalm 119 is a good prayer for a man on his way to a ballot box.
Brass tacks time. Who to vote for?
A Christian must weigh out the options and choose someone. Perfect candidates don’t exist, and the same goes for parties. Do some reaserch. All the parties put out a platform. Go read it. Someone who doesn’t read at least a couple of platforms isn’t voting responsibly. I looked at the PC, NDP and AP platforms in some detail, and gave a very cursory glance at the WRA. I went over the PC budget proposal that occasioned this election with a calculator and pencil.
A platform ought be subjected to scrutiny based on Biblical principles. I understand full well that not all Christians understand the Bible as I do regarding political theory, but I think we can all agree that the Bible IS the litmus test. According to your understanding of the Bible, how do these platforms stack up? I have Christian friends (who will likely read this) who vote for the NDP based on their Biblical convictions. I do not fault them for having Biblical convictions, I fault them for having the wrong ones.
The next thing that ought be judged is integrity. Will the various parties adhere to their platforms? Are they trustworthy? At this point a man needs to be abreast of recent history. How a group of people have acted is likely to be how they continue to act. Men are creatures of habit.
Third, does the math add up? If a party promises everyone else your money, or you theirs, is there enough dough to go around? Checking parties’ arithmatic can be an illuminating adventure. Money comes from somewhere, but wealth (which is distinct from money in classic economic theory) is never created by an act of parlament. Who is footing the bill? Must we have this great promised benefit? Is the pain worth the gain? Will the pain produce any gain? Will we have our socialist utopia where every man sits, starving under his own vine – which was ‘appropriated’ for the common good?
Last of all, I come to the point I often land on. Who is the candidate? Have I taken him out for coffee? Do I email him regularly with helpful suggestions? Can I pray for his welfare without feeling like I stuck a salt lick in my mouth? Is he a man of integrity? Does he know me? When he sees me in a room does he grimace and hide behind the tallest cowboy he can find, or is it all smiles and a warm handshake?
Of all people, we Christians ought to be able to provide solutions to this worlds’ problems. Do we? The Wisdom of God is given us in Christ. Better than complaining all the time about bad government, give better council. Your MLA will listen if he knows you. Trust and relationship get things done. Its not what you know, its who you know. We know Christ, and we ought to know our MLA.
Whoever wins this election on tuesday, it will make for something interesting.
I don’t trust the WRA. I can’t vote for the NDP because they promised to ruin me financially, raising taxes and killing the industry I work in. The PC’s are in the grip of public sector unions, and even though I think Prentice will be a fine Premier, his party is full of left-wing former high-school teachers. Sorry, I can’t vote for that.
I’m voting for a candidate, not a party. I’m voting for Mr. Tarant. I’m voting for Rory Tarant because I know him. He is a Christian, a bit to the left of me, but still on the same planet. I may not be too fond of his party, the AP, but I like him. He may even do a good job of it. On the plus side, if he doesn’t win the riding he will at least still be on city council, and still be doing good there.
I love Alberta. Spring always means elections…
thedonovan 