Today the blog The American Jesus is running a synchroblog (i.e., other blogs are participating, so check the bottom of each post to see what other writers are saying) where various contributors argue for why you as a Christian should consider voting for this or that candidate. The writers and their posts are as follows:
Tripp York: Why Christians Should Not Vote
Josh Shope: Why Christians Should Vote for Barack Obama
Kent Landhuis: Why Christians Should Vote for Mitt Romney
Candace Datz: Why Christians Should Vote for Jill Stein
The website Think Christian did something similar:
Brandon Parler: Why I’m not voting
Anne Larsen VanderWeele: A Christian Vote for Barack Obama
Karen Swallow Prior: A Christian Vote for Romney
Jake Vander Ark: A Christian Vote for Gary Johnson
Kory Plockmeyer: A Christian Vote for Jill Stein
the archives near Emmaus 
Brian,
FYI, Brandon Parler’s post links to Candace Datz’s post. May want to take a look at the links.
Thanks for catching that. It should be corrected now.
Obviously your allusion to apolitical Christianity (and the politics of holiness) resonated well with me. I don’t hide my desire for Christian unity under a Messianic King!
That said your series of posts on US politics exposes the reasonable pragmatic question “How should Christian’s vote?” Since many Christian’s living in democracies -this is a reasonable question, one that does not warrant avoidance but a pedantic appeal to Christ’s return. That serves little purpose.
There’s a couple of ways of taking this:
1. What party should Christian’s vote for?
2. What should be the aim when Christian’s vote?
3. Should Christian’s influence their earthly government?
I personally think 1. is the wrong question. Many of your posts have pointed out that no party has a monopoly on ‘speaking for God’. That’s simply wrong headed thinking. (This seems especially clear in this US election *shrugs* (sorry if I say so as an outsider))
2. is more clear. Let’s ask a related question, What should be the aim of Christian’s in the world? To serve as salt and light perhaps? Therefore the aim of Christian’s voting should be to express their faith politically. Does this not mean there is ‘a perfect Christian political party?’ No. Just because the ear is not an eye does not mean it does not belong to the body. [1 Cor 12:16]. Fact is, Christian’s of political persuasions we personally reject play a God ordained role (one perhaps we fail to appreciate or under appreciate) but simply our rejection of their politics doesn’t mean their faith is insincere or their role NOT God ordained.
Take for example one Christian whose chief concern is the welfare of those under-privileged living in ‘some other part of the world’ against a Christian whose chief concern might be to rid the society in which she lives of unGodliness. Clearly there is going to be politic tension between two such positions simply because we are ill-equipped to see all the threads at play as finite beings. God isn’t.
That said 3. is clear. All Christian’s should ‘vote’, not necessarily for the same party, but based on their God-given conscience for the party/person who most furthers the ‘salt and light’ aspect to their faith with the faith that Christian’s not voting for their candidate are being sincerely driven by their faith to do exactly the same thing. Because all candidates are always imperfect, there will always be unChristian things each party, successful or not, brings to the equation that Christian’s can reject. Fact is, the title of this post should be “Why Christian’s should vote (not vote for __) because all Christian’s who vote are exercising Christ honouring influence (whether or not their candidate wins).