Because I’m Christian, I Voted for Biden
By: Mary Devries
Tags: Politics, Immigration, Justice, Religion, Election 2020

Because I’m Christian, I Voted for Biden

Only one presidential candidate, Joe Biden, acts according to Biblical values.

Photo by Aaron Burden on Unsplash

As a Bible-believing Christian, I’m not even the tiniest bit conflicted this election. As soon as my ballot arrived I marked it Joe Biden/Kamala Harris and put it in the mail.

I grew up in the church. I’ve read the Bible cover to cover many times. I graduated with a MA from an evangelical seminary. I attend church every Sunday. And I can’t escape the conclusion that almost everything Donald Trump says and does is the exact opposite of what the Bible teaches.

Let’s take the famous passage from Matthew:

For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’ “Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’ “The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’ Matthew: 25:35–40 NIV

I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat

Under Trump, food insecurity has greatly increased, even before the problems of job loss related to Covid 19. In December 2019, his administration approved rule changes to remove SNAP (Supplement Nutrition Assistance Program) benefits from hundreds of thousands of people as well as to cut one million children from free or reduced lunches. When Congress fought back, the administration continued to fight in the courts for these cuts even as the pandemic hit and hunger soared.

‘In a scathing 67-page opinion, Chief U.S. District Judge Beryl A. Howell of D.C. condemned the Agriculture Department for failing to justify or even address the impact of the sweeping change on states, saying its shortcomings had been placed in stark relief amid the coronavirus pandemic, during which unemployment has quadrupled and rosters of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program have grown by more than 17 percent, with more than 6 million new enrollees.” Washington Post, October 18, 2020

I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink

Under the Trump, administration evidence has come to light of border patrol agents routinely dumping life-saving water supplies left in the desert for migrants. Trump has never condemned this destruction. In fact, his administration has tried to prosecute Christians for trying to help.

Additionally, he has not only not offered help to localities that lack clean water such as Flint, MI, but has directed the EPA to slow down efforts to clean up lead pipes.

The Guardian reported in Oct, 2019.

Betsy Southerland, a senior EPA water official under the Obama administration, said the new proposals failed to boost the urgency of the country’s rules, issued in 1991, for cleaning up lead in water systems. “It’s really just like window dressing to try to make it look like they were being much more stringent by adding a trigger level. In fact, the real action level stayed exactly the same, and they lowered the percent of annual lead line replacements to 3% from 7%. That means full replacement will take 33 years instead of 15 years. That’s very disappointing,” said Southerland, who now belongs to the Environmental Protection Network, a bipartisan non-profit.

I was a stranger and you did not invite me in

When refugees from Central America, fleeing extreme life-threatening conditions which were often created or exacerbated by American policy past and present, legally seek asylum at the border, rather than invite them in, as Jesus would suggest, or even simply to treat them humanely, as common sense and human decency would suggest, the Trump administration has repeatedly treated them cruelly and inhumanely.

Trump allegedly suggested to advisors that migrants should be illegally shot in the leg to prevent border crossings. His administration instituted a policy of family separation that pulled children as young as nursing infants away from their parents and put them in cages without sufficient blankets, clothing, hygiene, or medical treatment. Thousands of these children have reported sexual abuse while detained. When family separation was ended many children could not be reunited with parents as the government had not kept records to facilitate reunification and many of these families are still separated today because of his administration’s actions.

In a White House meeting in Dec. 2019, Trump said, “We have people coming into the country or trying to come in, we’re stopping a lot of them, but we’re taking people out of the country. You wouldn’t believe how bad these people are. These aren’t people. These are animals.”

I needed clothes and you did not clothe me

Under Trump’s watch, children under government care were left without adequate clothing.

The New York Times reported in June 2019,

Children as young as 7 and 8, many of them wearing clothes caked with snot and tears, are caring for infants they’ve just met, the lawyers said. Toddlers without diapers are relieving themselves in their pants. Teenage mothers are wearing clothes stained with breast milk.

I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me

Trump’s care for the sick also leaves a lot to be desired. His administration continually seeks to overturn the Affordable Care Act without offering any replacement to ensure that preexisting conditions are covered. This has continued even during the global pandemic.

They proposed a rule that would allow any doctor to refuse to treat a transgender patient even if the treatment is totally unrelated to gender change and is necessary to preserve life.

They also changed a policy that allows immigrants to defer deportation while receiving life-saving medical care. The outcry over this defacto death sentence policy change was so loud that the administration had to walk it back.

During the Covid-19 pandemic, Trump initially downplayed the risk of the virus even while receiving regular briefings from experts warning him of its dangers. He failed to spearhead a strong federal response to testing and PPE procurement leading to huge costs and confusion for state governments and more importantly increased spread and the resultant avoidable loss of life. He continues to pay more attention to the politics of the pandemic than the science. The loss of life due to Trump’s mismanagement of the virus is immense.

And, rounding out the list of concerns from Matthew 25, the Trump administration has not been kind to prisoners either. The private for-profit prison industry has been a strong financial supporter of Trump donating to his campaign and holding their annual meeting at one of his golf courses. In return, the administration policies including tax cuts and expanded ICE detentions have benefited them enormously.

And that’s just six verses

This is just one short Bible passage of many I could pull out. Start reading the Old Testament Prophets and parallels to Trump and his administration abound. I ask anyone of faith who respects the teachings of the Bible to look long and hard at Trump and see if support for him is consistent with scripture.

The positive case for Joe Biden

But I’m not just voting against Donald Trump. I’m also voting for Joe Biden.

A lifetime spent in politics and the public eye has revealed Biden, while far from perfect of course, to be a fundamentally decent guy and a man of deep and abiding faith in God.

I’ll restrict myself here to just the issues from Matthew 25:35–45.

Joe Biden has a plan to fight food insecurity.

Joe has a plan for clean drinking water.

Joe has a plan for fair and humane immigration policies.

Joe has a plan to fight poverty in America.

Joe has a plan for healthcare.

Joe has a plan to fight Coronavirus

Joe has a plan for criminal justice reform

As God is my witness, I’m going to have to stand with Joe here.