Part 1
Bishop Robert Barron of Minnesota has a wealth of wisdom he has for years posted on his Word on Fire YouTube channel, as well as his personal channel. In one video four years ago leading up to the 2020 election, he touches on politics as it relates to the Christian voter. He said of the social values of Christianity, that it does not fit neatly into either of our political systems in the USA.
Consider these positions traditionally on the “left”: a deep concern for the poor; a concern for social justice; a concern for migrants, and those seeking refuge from persecution; opposition to capital punishment. Consider these positions traditionally on the “right”: religious liberty; conscience protection; opposition to abortion; also opposition to euthanasia; defense of the traditional family; opposition to transgenderism and gay marriage, and so on.
Abortion
Pope Francis recently was asked about the two candidates for US president on a journey back to Rome. In the contrast between Vice President Harris’ stance of pro-abortion and former President Trump’s stance to deport potentially millions of illegal immigrants, the pope stated that one should vote, and vote their conscience choosing the lesser of two evils. Pope Francis has in the past shown fallibility when making spontaneous statements to the press, and it seems that this time he has been generously diplomatic in his not picking one candidate or the other.
Each person must think and decide according to their own conscience.
From the Christian perspective, we understand that God forms the soul in the woman’s womb at the time of conception. It’s the same case with IVF, or in vitro fertilization, which is sort of a hack to, with a microscope and a lab, make a woman pregnant when the couple wants to have a child yet suffers from infertility. When the artificially joined egg with the sperm is placed back inside the woman’s womb, then the soul is formed.
So since abortion is the intentional taking of a human life, a soul that God had plans for, then that would be the greater of the two evils. An embryo is not just a clump of cells, as the godless perspective alleges. So as a Christian we must oppose abortion. Various situational dilemmas can be conceived and debated, and often are as an exercise to maliciously challenge faith and compassion. If someone has a bad situation and they believe that it’s an exception, then they have to make the best decision they can, one way or the other, and seek most importantly to be right with God.
Controlling the US Border
Under the previous administration the southern border was being secured and governments in Central and South America were effectively incentivized to handle their matters of crime and economy that had historically led people to seek to migrate north into the USA. Under the current administration the southern border has been swamped by people seeking to force their way north under the assumption that any refugee claim would be accepted, thereby allowing them to eventually become a citizen. Various NGOs were actively inviting people to migrate into the USA with open arms, without the express consent of the governed.
To properly control the US border you need leadership, funding, and manpower. The Biden-Harris administration has given us the opposite of leadership. It’s frankly success in the wrong direction.
Sanctuary cities and sanctuary states where the government doesn’t allow cooperation with the federal immigration authorities are, with the influx of illegal immigrants flown and bussed into their areas, suffering from indigestion.
The operating assumption from conservative pundits for years has been that Democrats want to give amnesty to millions of Hispanic illegal immigrants to make them US citizens and lifelong Democrat voters. The pope is not wrong in that people should have compassion on the refugee and the destitute family. However the USA has limited resources, and cities and communities have limited resources. It can be quite a burden to have your compassion being exploited. It is a particular moral question as to where you draw the line.
Climate Change
Climate change is a scam designed as a can’t lose power-grab to control people’s lives with an illusion of sincerity. The Tucker Carlson interview with Dr. Willie Soon, an astrophysicist formerly tenured at Harvard, back in January of 2024 closes the door on climate change as “an existential threat”. It’s all an institutionally corrupted cycle of scientists who just want to keep getting paid, and who grasp that dissenting opinions will prevent them from having a career. That’s why the climate change articles keep coming out, and the research keeps on coming. My post Why Climate Change Doesn’t Matter provides analysis in light of the truth of Data Point One. The planet isn’t what we save. We save each other. Seriously, God is in control.
To wrap up the discussion of the political spectrum as it pertains to Christian values as touched on above by Bishop Barron, you can’t check all the boxes by voting Democrat. You can by voting as a Republican.
Next: Democracy