Presbyter Chat: Pre-Nicene Christian Guidance On Voting And Candidates

Pre-Nicene Christian Television

Today’s question is about candidates, politics and voting. Does Pre-Nicene Christianity offer any guidance that we can apply to today’s circumstances?   ⁠THE EPISTLE OF PAUL TO THE ROMANS Page 89⁠ https://www.theveryfirstbible.org/ ⁠The emperor’s new senators⁠ by Christian Schaller https://www.blog.der-leiermann.com/en/the-emperors-new-senators/ ⁠Tacitus on the Transition from Augustus to Tiberius⁠ https://facultystaff.richmond.edu/~wstevens/history331texts/augtotib.html ⁠Did America Have a Christian Founding?⁠ https://www.heritage.org/political-process/report/did-america-have-christian-founding   ⁠Pre-Nicene Christian Ecclesia⁠ https://pre-nicene.org/   ⁠Presbyter Chat on Youtube⁠ https://www.youtube.com/@prenicenetv   ⁠Marcionite Christian Church⁠ https://www.marcionitechurch.org/

Transcript

00:00Time for another edition of Presbyter Chat, where your questions are answered through

00:06the prism of pre-Nicene Christianity.

00:09Now your host, Presbyter Darren Kalama.

00:12Hi and thanks for joining us.

00:15Today's question is, what does pre-Nicene Christianity and their very first Bible say

00:19about elections and political candidates?

00:23Is there anything we can apply to our situation today?

00:27Well in answer to the former, nothing, and for the latter, yes.

00:32We need to start with a little context and perspective.

00:35Many people have this idea about ancient Rome and Greece being bastions of democracy and

00:41a utopia for voters, but in reality things were much different in the pre-Nicene Christian

00:48era.

00:49By the time Jesus had arrived on earth in the 15th year of Tiberius Caesar, all major

00:55roles and titles were filled by decree.

00:59The only actual voting that went on would have been for very minor roles and offices.

01:05Basically think a village dog catcher.

01:08And the Bible reflects that reality of the time, reflects not much of anything in regards

01:14to voting and candidates.

01:17The closest anything comes to the subject would be a few passages in Romans written

01:22by the Apostle Paul, and these were passages written during a time when Christians weren't

01:28under severe persecution by Roman rulers.

01:32Essentially it was just Paul telling his church, look, just obey the authorities and pay their

01:37taxes, don't make any waves, just get with the program.

01:41But again, he was referring to or talking about rulers, not elected politicians.

01:48Christians had no say in who ruled them or what laws were created, but by and large they

01:53were more or less just left alone, merely having to endure the loud music and visual

01:59unpleasantries from the odd pagan festival now and again, but nothing that really struck

02:04at the root of their faith.

02:06Of course this would all change drastically by the end of the first century, but today

02:11our focus is on 29 to about 65 AD.

02:16And unlike the Jews and their Yahweh deity, which were governed by 613 Hebrew laws of

02:22their own making and largely exempt from Roman religious edicts for reasons that have yet

02:28to be fully explained and, strangely enough, mere circumstances today, the pre-Nicene Christians

02:35govern themselves with one overarching command, that being, love your neighbor as yourself.

02:42And it works as a maxim, but it's a little broad when dealing with the finer points of

02:48politics and policy.

02:50Now for that, we turn back to the Apostle Paul's original ten epistles.

02:55These are the letters with specific instructions on day-to-day living given to the new Christian

03:00churches that he established throughout the Roman Empire.

03:05And when it comes to politicians, candidates, and voting, the choice of which verse to apply

03:11is pretty clear.

03:132 Thessalonians 3, 14-15

03:17If anyone obey not our word by this epistle, take note of such, and have no company with

03:21him, that he may be ashamed.

03:24And yet do not regard him as an enemy, but admonish him as a brother.

03:29Now if a candidate tells you up front that they're promoting and defending ideas and

03:34agendas that are antithetical to your Christian faith, they are removing themselves from further

03:40consideration by you as a voter.

03:43But that was their choice to make, not yours.

03:47And if candidates from both parties hold these positions, they have both removed themselves

03:52from consideration, again, a choice made by themselves or their handlers, not by you.

03:59And as we just read in 2 Thessalonians, they are to be shunned as a result.

04:04This is not complicated.

04:07When the party decides to field a candidate that isn't anti-Christian, well, you can then

04:12feel free to vote again.

04:14You see, choosing the lesser of two evils is a false choice, in which evil becomes two

04:20sides of the same corrupt coin.

04:23Now America was not created in a hermetically sealed constitutional vacuum.

04:29It was founded on Christian ideals.

04:32And absent these cornerstone ideals and values, the constitution and the country will perish.

04:39The national identity will have been erased.

04:42And by voting for a candidate espousing anti-Christian positions, you're aiding and abetting the

04:48destruction of your own country by legitimizing these false choices.

04:52All right, let's go into dream sequence mode here for a minute.

05:01Would the Apostle Paul have voted for a candidate who promised to use Paul's tax denarii to

05:08fund abortions and genital mutilations throughout the Roman Empire?

05:13What about a candidate that showed allegiance to an anti-Christian foreign empire and promoted

05:19sodomites?

05:20Well, I think you know the answer.

05:22Now, it's said that most Western governments, America included, have been hijacked by Satan's

05:28parasites, the enemy of all mankind, as we read about in 2 Thessalonians 2.15.

05:35And in such a case, we can expect that no candidate will be fielded by either party

05:41that's worthy of consideration by Christians.

05:44A quick example would be, say, voting for your favorite flight attendant on a hijacked

05:50airliner.

05:51And in this case, Susie represents Coach and promises an extra packet of peanuts if you

05:57vote for her, whereas Debbie from First Class is campaigning on a platform of premium movie

06:05selections for all.

06:07Now, does it really matter which one wins the election?

06:11You're still on a hijacked plane.

06:13You need to work together and get control of the flight deck before everybody dies.

06:19And if Debbie and Susie don't help, well, they're part of the problem.

06:23And their election only serves as a distraction for the benefit of the hijackers.

06:28In other words, while you argue with each other, the plane is being flown into the side

06:33of a mountain and the clock is ticking.

06:36And of course, different people have different solutions to the same problem.

06:41Some still think they'll vote their way out of the problem and work within the two-party

06:46system to change things.

06:50Others form new political parties.

06:52Many have completely tuned out and dropped out of the system.

06:56And yet other Christians have banded together, forming their own communities and homeschooling,

07:03doing their best to shun a hijacked system and live apart from it.

07:08But in the end, all will have to make a choice.

07:11Either sit back and watch your last movie with an extra packet of peanuts, or kick the

07:16hijackers out and regain control of the flight deck.

07:21Choose wisely.

07:23May our Father's Holy Spirit find and guide you in these confusing times, and lift the

07:28veil from your hearts and minds.

07:31I'm Darren Calama, and we'll see you next time on PresbyterChat.

07:37To get your own answers through the prism of pre-Nicene Christianity, download The Very

07:41First Bible used on PresbyterChat.

07:44Free e-book at theveryfirstbible.org

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