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Tim Costello: an election checklist

1:00am Wednesday, 4th August 2010

After some of the most tumultuous events in Australian political history in recent weeks, we will be able to cast our vote on August 21. We have been told that this campaign is about moving forward – a number of times in fact – and we have been told that it is about an action contract for the nation. The main emphases by both leaders in this election campaign have been maintaining a strong economy, protecting jobs, and of course the issue of border protection. Most people watching the nightly news and reading about the election will be trying to decide what is in each party’s policies for them. And it is only reasonable to assume that people will do this. In a society where we are told that we are the most important person in the world, we are encouraged to vote accordingly.
What would Jesus say about this? While we cannot be so arrogant as to claim to have any certainty as to who Jesus would vote for, I have no doubt that there are certain Christian principles to follow when casting our vote. Just as we need Christians in all parties, likewise we need some biblical principles on how to vote (respecting though that Christians will weight them differently in casting their ballot). Former Prime Minister Kevin Rudd’s favourite theologian, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, said that the test of the morality of a society is what it does for its children. Our character is shown by how we treat our most vulnerable citizens. When we walk into the ballot box on August 21, let us keep in mind God’s preferential option for the poor and marginalised in our society. Let us ask ourselves which party will do the most for the poor.
Prior to a recent election in the US, the Sojourners community in the USA released a series of statements under the heading, ‘God is not a Republican. Or a Democrat’, in response to some alarming comments from leaders of the Religious Right. While the statements released by Sojourners were intended specifically for the US election, they apply equally to our own election in Australia. They are a very useful guide when we think of who to vote for on August 21. They are as follows:
• We believe that sincere Christians can choose to vote for any party for reasons deeply rooted in their faith.
• We believe that poverty—caring for the poor and vulnerable—is a religious issue. Do the parties’ budget and tax policies reward the rich or show compassion for poor families? Do their foreign policies include fair trade and debt cancellation for the poorest countries? (Matt 25: 35-40, Isaiah 10: 1-2)
• We believe that the environment – caring for God’s earth – is a religious issue. Do the parties’ policies protect the creation or serve corporate interests that damage it? (Genesis 2:15, Psalm 24:1)
• We believe that war—and our call to be peacemakers—is a religious issue. Do the parties’ policies pursue ‘wars of choice’ or respect international law and cooperation in responding to real global threats? (Matt 5:9)
• We believe that truth-telling is a religious issue. Do the parties tell the truth in foreign and domestic policies? (John 8:32)
• We believe that human rights – respecting the image of God in every person – is a religious issue. In our case, do the parties have a compassionate approach to asylum seekers? (Genesis 1:27)
• We believe that our response to terrorism is a religious issue. Do the parties see evil only in our enemies but never in our own policies? (Matt 6:33, Proverbs 8:12-13)
• We believe that a consistent ethic of human life is a religious issue. Do the parties’ positions on abortion, capital punishment, euthanasia, weapons of mass destruction. HIV/AIDS – and other pandemics – and genocide around the world obey the biblical injunction to choose life? (Deut 30:19)
When we vote on August 21, let us have the mind of Christ and take up the challenge to be people of hope instead of fear and put the interests of others before our own.