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The Evangelical Vote
by Wayne Turner
The media likes to divide voters up into voting blocks. I guess it’s easier to write a news story if you can lump people into categories. It appears that I’ve landed in the “white evangelical” category. Who put me there, and why did they do it?
Well, the “white” part of the tag is obvious, but what in the world do they mean when they call me an “evangelical?” The Greek word for “good news” is “euaggelion,” which is simply translated “gospel” in the New Testament. By the way, the New Testament was originally written in Greek. That Greek word transliterates into English as the root word for “evangelism/evangelist/evangelical.” So, evangelicals are good-news people, if you stick to the strict understanding of the word.
However, the dictionary definition goes into more detail with regard to the tag “evangelical.” Here’s what it says: “of or denoting a tradition within Protestant Christianity emphasizing the authority of the Bible, personal conversion, and the doctrine of salvation by faith in the Atonement.” Actually, that’s what the dictionary on my Macintosh says; let’s look at the Merriam-Webster dictionary: “emphasizing salvation by faith in the atoning death of Jesus Christ through personal conversion, the authority of Scripture, and the importance of preaching as contrasted with ritual.”
Hmmm…that’s a considerable expansion over the actual meaning of the transliterated Greek word, but I can’t say I disagree with either definition with regard to those being accurate descriptions of my own personal belief. So, I guess I must be an evangelical Christian. Each year there are countless surveys that describe evangelical preferences. As it turns out, we are a voting block.
Although, I can tell you from personal experience that we evangelicals don’t really feel very appreciated in the world today. As a matter of fact, we are most commonly viewed as part of the cultural problem rather than the solution.
Exit polls conducted in conjunction with the 2008 presidential election found that 26% of those voting identified themselves as “evangelical Christians.” Of those, 74% voted for McCain, and 25% voted for Obama. So, what does that say about evangelicals?
Well, here it is. Since we evangelicals view the scripture (Holy Bible) as God’s handbook for life, we take its precepts seriously. The Bible is not a big allegorical book to us; it’s literally God’s Word for mankind. And there’s one very important principle contained therein—the sanctity of life. God puts a very high premium on life from conception. The more you read the Bible, the more overwhelming that principle becomes.
When Christian people live out their view of the Bible at the polls, it turns out to be a vote for the candidate who is most likely to protect that unborn child right from conception. To evangelicals, that principle overrides all other considerations. Evangelicals are for the protection of the unborn child because God is for the protection of the unborn child.
Now, I know you thought it was more complicated than that, but it’s not really. Most evangelical pastors preach the sanctity of life as the single most important issue in every election. So, the candidate for life gets the bulk of the evangelical vote.
It’s simple: A Biblical vote is a vote for life.
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Fayette Bible Church
355 McDonough Road
Fayetteville, GA 30214
770 461 0138
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