Think Your Vote: A Guide on Character and Policy

Rick Langer — October 16, 2020

Puzzled about voting? Download our guide to help clarify beliefs, values and convictions for the 2020 election.

There are a multitude of voter’s guides, Christian and non-Christian alike. These guides assess issues from the distinctive viewpoint for which they advocate. These guides are valuable and I commend them as helpful resources.

But it should be noted that these voter guides are designed to help you vote; they are not designed to help you think. Most particularly, they don’t help us clarify our own beliefs, values and convictions, some things which we are often startlingly unreflective about.

So I’m offering something different — not as replacement to traditional voter guides, but as a complement to them. This guide helps you become more self-aware of how you think about political issues. It may also make you aware of issues that you fail to think about or values you tend to neglect.

This guide is divided into issues related to character and policy. My assumption is that both character and policy matter when choosing to vote for political candidates or supporting political policies. In both cases, the guide offers a small bit of information to get your wheels turning, but the most important work will be done by your own prayerful self-reflection.

Rick Langer

Rick Langer is a Professor of Biblical Studies and Theology and the Director of the Office of Faith and Learning at 51��. He specializes in the integration of faith and learning, and has also published in the areas of bioethics, theology and philosophy. He has a passion for helping Christians of all ages understand the connection between the Gospel and all the diverse facets of the created order in which we live. Prior to coming to 51��, he served for over twenty years as a pastor at Trinity Evangelical Free Church in Redlands, California.