Christians are called first to obey and follow Christ above all man made or government authority. Second, Christians are called to obey the civil magistrate, sin excepted. Where it becomes tricky is as Christians living in a democracy we are able to change the laws reflect what we believe is the will of God for the people. Because of the demographics of the States in America 200 years ago, many of the states did not event try to maintain a separation between church and state given the vast support of their constituents. There were state supported churches among the American states. The Constitutional separation of church and state was only at the federal level of the U.S. government. It used to be non-Christians, or even Roman Catholics were shunned so much they would have issues raising protests or demanding equal rights under the law. As the churches became more liberal, and the people became more diverse, that allowed more equal treatment on the State and local levels.

So how are Christians to vote? RJ Rushdoony was a major influence over American Christianity in the promotion of Christian Reconstructionism in the 20th century. His goal was to make the civil laws reflect God's laws as closely as possible. He saw democracy as a hindrance to a Christian society. The question is brought up again recently in what is called the Two Kingdoms Doctrine. What basically amounts to a libertarian view of how God works in the world.

Personally I am a protestant Christian of the Reformed tradition and a political libertarian though I would never say I believe in Two Kingdoms Theology. God rules over all spheres of life. The heart of the king is in God's hands. I also think there is wisdom in how the framers wrote the Constitution to restrict the power of government. I think this wisdom can be extended on the State level and further down the line to increase liberty and personal responsibility. I also don't think it's wise to do drugs, and find adultery, pornography, and fornication to be sinful. This doesn't mean I would vote to make these things illegal. The government has one tool to enact justice, and that is the sword. Forcing people to not sleep with one another or not put a substance in their body does not change their heart. I believe only the gospel and Christ himself can alter a person or a society to reflect God's morals and thinking. If 99% of people thought adultery was wrong and worthy of punishment, maybe we should have a law to enforce that ideology, but when we see the divorce rate at over 50% it is obvious to me that society is not prepared for that kind of law. God even suffered prostitution in Israel because the people were stiff-necked.

In other words, when society is ready to live like Christians, they won't really need the kind of laws Christian Reconstructionists would propose. As long as parents have freedom and authority over their own personal family I won't fight against humanism and liberal idealism and will instead promote Libertarianism. When the government starts reaching inside my home and inside my church I will consider fight or flight.

God bless America. May America be shaped by the gospel of Jesus Christ, and not the will of evil man.