Choosing a candidate

I am astounded that a recent political poll shows that 66 percent of “evangelical and born-again” Christians have indicated their support of John McCain for president. While they base their decision on the fact that McCain is pro-life, are there no other criteria by which they make their choice?

How can those people who embrace Christian principles in general select a man who had an affair and filed for a marriage license to marry his present wife before being divorced from his first wife, the one who saw him through his difficult days of recovery following his harrowing war experience? How Christian is that?

How do they find that moral example preferable to a man who has an exemplary family relationship, whose family models that which young families today are apt to seek to emulate?

I suppose the answer to that question lies in the fact that most of those reflected in the polls listen and view only the Fox network and listen to the likes of Rush Limbaugh; they never read or listen to anything out of their little boxes. They hurry to buy the latest books that attack Obama, even when the authors concede their purpose is to bring defeat to the Democratic nominee, and they justify their lies and innuendoes to that end.

Well, I guess I find myself in the 27 percent of “evangelicals and born-again Christians” who will cast a vote for Barack Obama. I will cast that vote after reading extensively about both candidates and studying the history of this great nation.

The primary responsibility of every Christian is to pray, read God’s message and, in the silence of the heart, seek direction in voting in the upcoming election. And have the courage to cast a ballot based on personal conviction, not on public pressure nor polling influence.

According to the polls, as an evangelical Christian, I am in the minority. But, I don’t mind. So was the man of Galilee.

JonLee Jeffreys
Dothan