That is the title of a new book by Tony Evans that I was asked to look at. Dr. Evans is the popular black pastor of Oak Cliff Bible Fellowship in Dallas. He is the author of many books, speaks at churches and other events all over the country, and is heard on 500 radio stations each day.
I read the book this evening. (It is a small book of less than 100 pages and I am a fast reader.) I don’t have the time to write a review of the book and really don’t see the point anyway. I do not recommend it. It is not that he doesn’t have some good things to say (“We must be careful not to drape the cross with the American flag”), but rather that the book is not specific enough about how Christians should vote and just assumes that voting is the right thing to do (“Christians who do not vote are shunning their responsibility to be a voice for righteousness in the public square”). Several times in the book he says: “Every voting choice you exercise ought to be for the candidate, platform, party, or policy that will best represent the values of the kingdom of God.” Okay, fine. But this seems to me that it will lead to voting for the lesser of two evils, which is still evil. And what if no candidate even best represents these values? To his credit, Evans does not come out and say “Vote Republican.” He says that neither party fully represents the values of the kingdom of God and you might vote for an individual Democrat, Republican, or Independent.
I highly recommend instead Electing Not to Vote: Christian Reflections on Reasons for Not Voting, edited by Ted Lewis.
9:04 pm on October 17, 2012
