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Social issues and the Republican Party

By Scott Tibbs, May 30, 2012

"Don't talk about social issues! Talking about social issues hurts Republicans. All that does is stir people up. We have to focus on the budget, and also on jobs and the economy."

We hear this nonsense every election, and while I disagree with the Republicans who are terrified of these discussions regarding whether they are helpful are harmful politically, that is not the point of this post. The point of this post is that I simply do not care about the politics of social issues or whether debating social issues damages the Republican Party.

While there are a number of topics that could be considered "social issues" (including gun rights) one of the specific social issues that some Republicans (and especially the Republican establishment) want to suppress every election year is abortion rights. They just do not want to talk about it. But my interest in opposing abortion is not political - it is theological.

I have been involved in the pro-life movement for the last 16 years, back to when I was in college. I have picketed Planned Parenthood, lobbied city and county government not to fund Planned Parenthood, supported anti-abortion candidates, marched in the Fourth of July parade, volunteered at the county fair and helped organize the annual Rally for Life. This is not because I am a Republican. This is because I am a Christian.

I am commanded to "rescue those being led away to death" in Proverbs 24:11-12 and the Bible says that murdering babies is a terribly wicked thing. In Jeremiah 32:35, God says that the murder of babies by burning them to death is so evil that it never even entered into His mind. Leviticus 20 provides a sobering warning to our nation about allowing the slaughter of the little ones made in God's image. Can anyone imagine Jesus Christ approving of the barbaric act of abortion?

Let's assume for a minute that debating the social issues hurts Republicans. (Which, again, I do not agree with.) What is more important for a Christian - obeying God or winning elections? What good is it to win elections if you cannot implement policy to fight the most important issues of our day? Popularity itself isn't something to be pursued, as Jesus warned in Luke 6:26.

Frankly, I am rapidly losing interest in debating whether or not we should debate social issues. I am simply going to do what is right, the political consequences be damned. I will not stand before my Father and say that I put the Republican party ahead of my loyalty to Him. The Republican Party will pass away, but God's word and His truth are eternal.