The link above will take you to an article that lists the Christian Coalition's top seven priorities for 2005. About half of them are socially conservative issues that didn't really surprise me. (Several of them actually angered me, but they didn't surprise me.) Two of them absolutely blew my mind.
The first is the CC's goal of "making permanent the 2001 federal tax cuts including the marriage penalty tax cut and increase in the child tax credit". The second is its goal of "passing reform of the Social Security program including optional private accounts". I am really confused as to how these are Christian issues. They are definitely fiscally conservative issues, but Christian?
And I'm not trying to say that either of those goals is particularly anti-Christian, but why do they need to be goals of "America's largest Christian grassroots organization" in the first place? Why is it necessarily a Christian aim to reduce this country's revenue by protecting the income of the absolute wealthiest? Why is it necessarily Christian to force change to the safety net that protects this nation's elderly this year, when the program is still solvent for decades to come? Why are these two tax goals so important to the Christian Coalition that they have made the Top Seven list for 2005?
I can find two references to the actual paying of taxes in the new testament: Matthew 17:24-27 and Matthew 22:15-22. And in both of these, Jesus seems to shrug and say, "Well, pay your taxes."
So what's my point? Well, I think it is this: if as a fiscal conservative you believe that either or both of those goals ought to be accomplished this year -- great; however, if you believe those two goals are worthy of our vote because you believe in Christ, I'd love to know why. (Seriously -- please post!) I think I've touched on this before, but if you vote based on what your faith tells you to do, I urge you not to vote for one party's agenda part and parcel because one Christian lobby tells you it's the Christian thing to do.
