If one wants to go down the reasonable path of “well this is the system we have and we have to make the best of it,” there are still strict limits on who a person can vote for and there is no concept whatsoever that one must vote for a pro-gay, pro-choice Zionist because to not vote is “a sin.” If both candidates are pro-gay and pro-choice, which is the case with this upcoming election, it seems rather evil to tell people they have to support one of those candidates to lead the country.
There are third parties and we can help choose down ballot candidates.
The Orthodox Ethos website puts the follow relevant boundaries on morality as it relates to voting:
“Furthermore,
Orthodox Christians cannot vote for:
1. Those who are aggressively pro-abortion and support a law which has allowed for the murder of 60 million human beings since it was passed.
- a. Those who support abortion for any reason, or no reason, up to and - believe it or not for some - even beyond the moment of birth.
- b. Those who want the government to fund abortions, who will force Americans to pay for this grievous sin.
- c. Those who support physician-assisted suicide.
2. Those who endorse same-sex marriage as on par with true marriage, thus undermining Christian morality and furthering the de-Christianization of society.”
(Source:
https://v1.orthodoxethos.com/podcas...d-i-vote-st-paisios-of-mt-athos-is-your-guide)
I've already quoted St. Paisos in the "Why you Should vote thread." St. Paisos literally said if we don't resist evil in the political sphere, our ancestors will rise out of their graves. That means we
must vote. I would encourage you to read the links I've posted.
Trump and Harris are both pro-gay and pro-choice,
False - just because someone doesn't support a federal ban on abortion, which would result in even more abortions due to backlash, does not mean they support abortion. Getting abortion banned in individual states is a solid move that cannot easily be overturned, and, JD Vance said he wants to make it illegal for state citizens to travel to other states to get abortions. That would be a great next step as well.
Incremental increases of power to tighten the noose work 100x better than trying to rush for the touchdown. You have no sense of strategy, yet you think you are being morally pure. In reality you work for the enemy through rashness.
which I personally find makes them unelectable. To say this sentiment is “hatred of my neighbor” or “hatred of my country” is the sort of low-level, effeminate rhetoric that I don’t think most posters on this forum are going to be fooled by. This isn’t CNN, and the people here aren’t NPCs; it’s the successor to the RVF, which was a baptized sort of ROK. The people that have been around since those days are generally immune to preschool-level dialectical tricks and emotional manipulation.
Choosing not to vote because "my Neighbors aren't good enough" is form of pride, disdain, and arrogance that is not rooted in Love. There is no way to escape this phycological reality. It is indeed a form of hatred and should be avoided at all costs.
There is always someone you can vote for, even if you have to write-in Jesus Christ at the top of the ticket. But for down ballot races the votes matter much more and often times there are decent candidates to choose from. I see independents win in some states all the time, for example.
I understand the “least worst option” perspective, and why some people choose that route (I did this myself after all, having voted against Biden in 2020 by voting for Donald Trump). I haven’t seen any Saint or Council describe doing so as “a sin” so I would never suggest that it is, even though I’m at a place where I’m no longer comfortable doing such things. But if anyone tells you it’s a sin not to vote for a pro-gay, pro-choice Presidential candidate then I’m confident you can safely ignore that person’s opinion on both politics and Christianity.
Councils of course will be silent on the issue of voting, as the last council happened nearly 1000 years ago. In modern times the issue of voting was not considered important because apathy was never such a huge problem as it is today, however, I'm fairly sure there have been synods which have mentioned the importance of voting and civic duty.
Since apathy is killing us now, I bring up the fact that apathy is a sin to try and revitalize the spirit of people here.
