Reviewed by Rod Benson, Baptist pastor and Director of the Centre for Christian Ethics at Morling College.

There are at least five kinds of voters among the Christians I know. There are those who don’t care at all about politics, whether due to apathy, or because party politics appears too confusing or corrupt, or because they see themselves as ‘above’ secular politics. There are those who are committed, for whatever reason, to a party they believe expresses either conservative or liberal political philosophy. There are those (usually of Pentecostal or fundamentalist persuasion) who simply know that God’s will errs on the side of a particular candidate or party. And there are those who ‘float’ from party to party, or from candidate to candidate, on the basis of their assessment of the party’s (or candidate’s) record or performance or platform.

This book will be most helpful to the ‘floaters’ who increasingly determine the outcome of elections in which swings in marginal electorates play so vital a part. But its discussion of issues is relevant to all.

Ray Gidoomal is a businessman, academic and public sector consultant. Born in South Asia, he came to Britain as a refugee from East Africa in the 1960s, and there became a Christian. Porter is a professional author, lecturer and broadcaster. But the book is really by Gidoomal. He echoes evangelical statesmen such as John Stott and Carl Henry in affirming that a biblically-rooted Christianity has a social as well as an evangelistic responsibility.

Gidoomal argues (in a brief appendix) why he believes Jesus would vote at all, by which he means “Does Jesus think his followers should have anything to do with secular politics?” Essentially he argues that Jesus believed in accountable government, and he assumes that voting is the basic way of holding governments to account. This section should have been longer and included as a separate chapter early in the book.

There is a chapter on making choices on the basis of biblically informed principles or moral standards. Much is made of William Temple’s contribution to the subject in his important 1942 book, Christianity and Social Order, and the Christian democratic tradition in Europe.

Central to the author’s concerns is the rise of the Movement for Christian Democracy (an all-party, nondenominational group), and its 1990 Westminster Declaration which articulates six guiding principles: social justice, respect for life, reconciliation, active compassion, wise stewardship, and empowerment. Each of these principles is expounded, and their practical political implications explored, in separate chapters. This is the heart of the book, taking up almost half its length.

There is also a chapter on single issue politics – often seen by non-Christians as the way in which Christians think, and the motivation for their voting behaviour. Gidoomal believes that Jesus was not a single-issue voter, largely because single issues concern far more than a single issue.

 How Would Jesus Vote? offers thoughtful comments on decision-making and a framework for evaluating specific issues. On many complex issues, though, individual voters are clearly not competent to objectively evaluate a candidate’s promises. Yet we must use our minds to the best of our ability, and make use of independent information and opinion, to assess contemporary political and social issues. And we must avoid the cognitive laziness (or sloth) that seems to me to plague large sections of the Australian electorate – and the Australian church. Subjectively, Christians may also pray for divine guidance. Prayer is indispensable in exercising Christian citizenship.

What this book won’t deliver is a list of the views we should have on all the important moral and political issues, or instructions on how to decide who to vote for. What it will do is help you think harder about what is important in the light of your understanding of biblical teaching, life experience, and what is possible in the present political environment.

I recall Norman Geisler once saying that he would rather vote for an outright pagan who had the right policies than a born-again Christian who had the wrong policies. I wholeheartedly agree. Politicians of any party who expect Christian votes merely because they are Christian politicians, or who court the Christian (or evangelical, or Pentecostal) vote because it apparently represents an easily defined and easily captured interest group, do not deserve your vote.

It is time we respected and rewarded politics, politicians and policies that have substance. Your vote is politically, socially and theologically important. How will you use it?

Published in Mosaic Vol. 6, No. 1/2, July 2004. Mosaic is the Quarterly Journal of the NSW & ACT Baptist Ministers Association, edited by Rod Benson.