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To vote or not to vote?

David Lipscomb (1831 –1917) was a minister, editor, and educator in the American Restoration Movement. Lipscomb is known for many achievements. Some of his achievements include publishing the Gospel Advocate and the founding of Lipscomb University. Lipscomb was greatly influenced by the Restoration Movement minister Tolbert Fanning, the horror of the Civil War and Anabaptist teachings which underlay much of Restoration Movement thinking.


Why did Lipscomb object to voting? According to Lipscomb voting is a form of force and, thus, a form of violence. More, voting embroils the church in the conflict between the political parties. That is, the sight of Republican Christians fighting against Democratic Christians is a vision antithetical to the Kingdom of God.

Lipscomb wrote:

[T]o vote or use the civil power is to use force and carnal weapons. Christians cannot use these. To do so is to do evil that good may come. This is specially forbidden to Christians. To do so is to fight God’s battles with the weapons of the evil one. To do so is to distrust God. The effective way for Christians to promote morality in a community, is, to stand aloof from the political strifes and conflicts, and maintain a pure and true faith in God, which is the only basis of true morality, and is as a leaven in society, to keep alive an active sense of right. To go into political strife is to admit the leaven of evil into the church. For the church to remain in the world and yet keep itself free from the spirit of the world, is to keep alive an active leaven of morality in the world. If that leaven loses its leaven, wherewith shall the world be leavened? or if the salt lose its savor wherewith shall the earth be salted or saved? God has told his children to use the spiritual weapons, has warned them against appealing to the sword or force to maintain his kingdom or to promote the honor of God and the good of man. When they do as he directs them, and use his appointments, he is with them to fight their battles for them and to give them the victory. When they turn from his appointments to the human kingdoms and their weapons, they turn from God, reject his help, drive him out of the conflict and fight the battles for man’s deliverance with their own strength and by their own wisdom. Human government is the sum of human wisdom and the aggregation of human strength. God’s kingdom is the consummation of Divine wisdom and in it dwells the power of God.
 
It would seem that Libscomb's voice needs to be heard again within the Restoration Movement. For another take on this issue John Mark Hicks, a Restoration Movement historian and Professor of Theology at Lipscomb University, writes that for David Libscomb voting might be more evil than dancing.  I guess David Lipscomb never saw Footloose.

Adding a little update . . . here is an article from a graduate classmate of mine from Oklahoma Christian on Libscomb's view on voting. Good stuff. Click here to view the article.





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