Should Christians Only Vote for Christian Candidates?

I supposed I'd rather have an atheist who is a competent cardiologist performing heart surgery on me than a God-fearing doctor who is incompetent. But since ideology so profoundly influences government leaders, this adage needs some serious qualification when it comes to politics.

Preliminarily, Christians should have a healthy skepticism on any candidate's claim to be a Christian. Few of us actually know any candidate personally, let alone be so close to them that our spirit can confirm the candidates' claims about being a Christian. It is possible that a candidate merely claims to be a Christian without ever experiencing God's saving grace.

Since generally we cannot testify to a candidate's salvation, there are but two things we can say about a candidate's Christianity. First, we can say that a candidate professes to love the Lord, and claims to be committed to living a holy life. Secondly, we can say that a candidate has a Judeo-Christian worldview that guides his policies.

This second point is extremely important. I think I would prefer a competent non-believer who had a strong commitment to a Judeo-Christian worldview governing me than an Evangelical politician who was a poor leader and basically incompetent in doing his duty.

If this is the case, the principle may be applied to denominational differences. To be sure, I would prefer a candidate who is a Spirit-filled and Spirit-led, Arminian Baptist who upholds inerrancy, practices feetwashing, and leans toward low-Church worship. To be sure, I have major disagreements on doctrine with some of the candidates and the doctrine taught by their respective churches. Specific doctrinal issues, however, rarely impacts political decisions. Affirmation or denial of the doctrine of the Trinity, for example, probably will not influence a president's approach to foreign policy or environmental issues.

On the other hand, a commitment to Judeo-Christian values will profoundly influence all kinds of policy. So, Christians should choose their candidates according to two broad criteria: 1) competence; and 2) commitment to a Christian worldview.