>>>… as I attempt to live the principles of the Bible.

You also need to get beyond this very Mennonite notion that the Bible teaches
“principles.” The Bible does not teach principles. The Bible conveys Reality, it
reveals Truth, it delivers Commands.

Voting abstinence is an inference you are drawing from Biblical revelation;
specifically, two Kingdom theology and the many commands regarding
non-conformity to the world.

Good day :-)

>>Paul also makes room for individual consciences, in 1 Corinthians 8:7-13

I have to return to this because you are misusing God’s Word.

Paul made room for individual consciences at Corinth because the issue at stake had nothing whatsoever to do with the Faith. At issue was food sacrificed to an idol. Paul’s stance was this: “We are no worse off if we do not eat, and no better off if we do (v8).”

In other words, the apostle was saying, “I don’t care if you eat meat that has been sacrificed to an idol or not. And idol has no real existence anyway. Eat if you want;
abstain if you want. This issue bears no relationship to our Faith whatsoever. So do
what you want here. But if your eating such food disturbs the conscience of your
brother, then don’t eat it.”

That’s NOT your argument when it comes to voting. You are associating abstinence
from voting DIRECTLY to the Christian Faith. You are saying BIBLICAL conviction
prevents you from voting. That’s NOT the “take it or leave it, it doesn’t matter” stance
of Paul on the meat issue. To the contrary, you are saying that voting abstinence
DOES matter. You are saying such abstinence is a matter of faithful discipleship.

>>he said all this without accusing anyone, on either side of the issues,
>>of being unfaithful to Jesus.

Again, Paul did not accuse eaters or abstainers in Corinth of unfaithfulness to Jesus because the issue itself, eating food sacrificed to idols, BORE NO ESSENTIAL RELATIONSHIP TO CHRISTIANITY. It was non-issue to him. He didn’t care one way
or the other, unless a weaker brother’s conscience was disturbed.

You are saying the PRECISE opposite with regard to voting. Your abstinence IS a
matter of Faith. You draw your conviction from the Bible. There is an ESSENTIAL relationship, in your mind, between faithfulness to Jesus and not voting. That’s
your position, whether or not you are willing to own it.

It would be different if you said, “Voting really doesn’t matter one way or the other.
It doesn’t have anything whatsoever to do with Christianity. I just choose not to vote,
but it has nothing to do with my Faith.” But that is *NOT* your argument.

So when you write…

>>I have in no way determined voting to be unfaithful to Jesus.

That’s just not true. You HAVE so determined. That’s the VERY reason WHY
you don’t vote!!

So why then do you have such a hard time admitting the truth here?

Answer: because you don’t want to hurt the feelings of others who DO vote.

You’re just being nice :-)

Thank you, Tabitha. It’s good to hear from you.

And even though I vote (at times), voting definitely can easily distract from prayer; it can encourage one to trust in the government more than God.

All right. Thank you. I will attempt to explain myself clearly.

Not voting is an application of a deeper Biblical principal. It is a guideline, a limit, something I choose in order to remain faithful to the deeper principles of separation from the world and consecration to Christ. It is not a Bible command, but one aspect of my life, one choice, as I attempt to live the principles of the Bible.

I believe that I would be stretching this application far beyond its importance to say that anyone who votes is unfaithful to Jesus. It’s just not true.

In the same way, the Bible clearly teaches simplicity and modesty in dress, but to say that in order to live out this principle, every woman needs to wear a cape dress like me, or every man needs to wear button-down shirts like my dad, is stretching an application from useful to ridiculous.

When we study the life of Christ and the teaching of the apostles, we learn principles–God’s way of thinking–that, if we are serious about our faith, we must then apply in practical ways to our own lives. Culture does make a difference here. Individual conscience does make a difference.

For example, in Bible time culture, wine was a staple of the diet, although the Bible clearly teaches against drunkenness and wild partying. I choose not to drink alcohol of any kind, because too many people are harmed by it, and it is in no way a staple of an American diet. For me, it would be wrong. For Jesus, it was just fine.

Paul also makes room for individual consciences, in 1 Corinthians 8:7-13 and Romans 14:1-7.

The issues he talked about are issues that have never even entered my own life experience, but he made it clear that we must be true to our own consciences, and also be willing to give up some of our freedoms for the sake of our brother or sister in Christ. And he said all this without accusing anyone, on either side of the issues, of being unfaithful to Jesus.

Last try here :-)

About the middle of your post you wrote out three reasons why you don’t vote. If those reasons are drawn from your culture, then fine…your convictions have nothing to do with Jesus.

But if those convictions are drawn from the Bible, then they have EVERYTHING to do with Jesus and with loyalty to Jesus to boot.

So take your pick: is your voting conviction cultural or is it Biblical?

If it’s Biblical, then you’re endeavoring to be faithful to Jesus.

If it’s Biblical, then you have determined voting to be unfaithful to Jesus.

I’m not trying to win an argument here. I want you to support your convictions with COURAGE. And being “nice” dissolves courage like acid. For nice-ness is overly aware of men. Courage centers down upon God and His Word.

“If I were still pleasing men, I should not be a servant of Christ.” Gal 1:10

But you take the last word. I’m out on this one :-)

Thank you so much for your encouraging words.

I guess I was unclear. I have in no way determined voting to be unfaithful to Jesus. I look with respect at Christians who keep Christ first in their lives, whether or not they vote.

>>I know conservative Anabaptist-type Christians who actually
>>do go out and vote, and I respect their stand very much

You CAN’T “respect their stand very much” if you have determined from Scripture that
faithful discipleship requires abstinence from voting. To respect political action that you have determined to be unfaithful to Jesus renders you unfaithful to Jesus.It’s like talking
out of both sides of your mouth. God doesn’t like that.

Your caught in the Christian trap of being nice.

Being nice maintains friendships, but it won’t create a new world.

More toughness needed after all :-) Convictions are preserved by courageous expression.