It is interesting that Christians did not participate in politics until the Catholic Church (until Rome secularized Christianity).
If you want a defense then read the Early Church writings on their justification for abstaining from politics.
I'm not THAT interested. Besides, none of them lived in an even partial democracy where they were ever asked to cast a vote and so participation in their kind of politics would have been substantially different than what we are dealing with here in America.
How are you wrong?
Biblically.
Christians who suggest other believers should act against their conscious commit a sin against God.
This is not in dispute and so has nothing to do with why I am or am not wrong. The question is whether the reasoning that is directing your conscience is valid.
I actually like politics. My decision to vote is in no way a political decision. It is purely on religious grounds and personal conviction.
Refusing to vote is a political act, by definition. If you think it has no political impact, you need to think again.
Abstaining from voting is not voting for the majority. That is a logical fallacy. It is simply not supporting either side.
Saying it doesn't make it so. To see the falsehood of your claim here all one need do is to extrapolate it out. Would the democrats like it if all the Christians agreed with you and stayed at home on election day? Of course, they would love it! That would be millions upon millions of votes that they don't have to counter.
An interesting thing you being up is that you believe your political party constitutes the minority, yet you somehow think that the majority has to cheat to win in an election.
I didn't say a word about any political party. I know for a fact, however, that the Christian worldview is very much in the minority. Those who understand what justice is are very much in the minority. Those who understand that the government has no right to educate children are very much in the minority. And there a giant list of issues where the dividing line between majority and minority is razor thin in this country right now.
It's too bad that you've chosen to ignore my logic and instead of actually refuting it, simply declare out of whole clothe that it "does not work" as if you get to declare such things by fiat.
Also, you confuse not voting as being silent.
In the context of voting, not showing up to vote is being silent, by definition.
While I will not vote on religious conviction others don't because they hold the system does not represent their interest.
Again, I have yet, in twenty plus years of discussing this in various contexts, to ever have anyone present to me a single syllable of evidence that such a mindset make any sense whatsoever.
Currently if all non-voters decided to cast a vote against Trump, against Biden, and for some no-name dude then the no-name dude would win the election. More eligible voters refrain from voting than cast a vote on a particular side (66% of eligible voters vote....less if Trump was right).
Irrelevant to the point. We aren't talking about people who don't vote because they're too lazy or some other mindless reason. We're talking about people who intentionally refuse to vote for religious, presumably Christian, reasons.
That means there is a voice given those who abstain. It is a clear rejection of both parties.
And such abstinence greases the wheels of the majority. There's nothing a wanta-be tyrant would love more than for you to stay home on election day. The most evil candidate is the only one who can and does benefit by your non-vote.
Further, the system in America has a specific mechanism in place that allows the minority, even a very small minority, to have a voice. It's called "Primary Elections". During the primary, there are a great deal more people who run, especially in local races and people are encouraged to vote for the candidate that most closely voices the positions with which they agree. In such elections, Christian are almost certain to lose but that's because they aren't collectively smart enough to vote for the most righteous candidate but have instead been convinced to vote for whomever they think can win in the general election. If they'd drop that thinking, we'd win almost every time. Regardless of that, once the primary election is over, our personal opinions are more or less out the window and it just becomes an issue about fighting against evil. It become a mission to make is as hard as possible for someone to take power who has the intention of taking away your rights. And the primary weapon we have in the fight to preserve our rights and the rights of our neighbors is casting a vote against the worst of what is almost always two evils.
Anything else is just being a tacit ally if the worst evil and hastening the corrosion of liberty and justice.
When the righteous remain silent, Satan gets to take a holiday.
