Thread by @CrucibleOfThght

Why I voted for Kamala Harris as a Christian: After four intensive years of rethinking my doctrines and politics, I have concluded that my former right-wing positions on abortion, LGBTQ, racism, 2A, welfare, climate, and immigration were WRONG. Specifically: /1🧵

2/ For months in 2022 I studied abortion intensively, and for my own purposes I wrote a 53-page paper on "A personal framework for the morality of abortion" and in 2024 a 33-page paper on "Studies on the best ways to reduce abortions." Banning abortion is counterproductive; pro-choice, in all its complexity, is (perhaps paradoxically) in fact the best way to reduce abortion. Furthermore, the anti-abortion position is inherently harmful to huge numbers of women and families, and violates many things that pro-life people claim to value. You can find my papers linked here:
crucibleofthought.com/studies-on-the…

3/ In 2022 I studied gay rights and homosexuality and transgender issues at length, and wrote a 36-page paper about my findings. I and concluded that (contrary to evangelical teaching) the Bible does not teach that homosexuality or gay rights are wrong. Furthermore, I concluded that the anti-affirming position results in vast and deep harm to many people, including far too many suiçides and self-harm by people in unsupportive situations. Responses about the personal or societal harm supposedly caused by the gay or trans agenda are utterly unconvincing, and I've found them to be universally mistaken or outright deceptive, not to mention quite unChristian in their use of falsehoods in pursuit of an religious agenda. You can find my paper here:
crucibleofthought.com/coming-out-on-…

4/ In 2021 I spent months studying racism, as a white man raised conservative Republican, and realized that most of the anti-BLM, anti-CRT, anti-social-justice positions I had taken were actually opposed to the Gospel of Jesus and the Sermon on the Mount. Truly, a vast majority of those positions are based on easily-demonstrated falsehoods, and in fact quite a bit of clear and acknowledged direct lies by people like Christopher Rufo. Furthermore, I was completely shocked to discover how much American history had been deliberately twisted by evangelicals and white southerners to provide backstop for continued racist policies through the years like Jim Crow and redlining and many other toxic and government-backed ways used to re-enslave Black people. The amount of harm done to people of color in America is stunning and is not well understood by most Republicans, who honestly would rather not know about it, lest they become culpable for the harm. Far from being solved or settled by the Civil Rights movement, the harm and the toxic policies continue today, and Christians of all people should be deeply involved in righting the situation.

5/ In 2023 I spent significant time reading and studying on gun rights, and while I conclude that the 2nd Amendment is valuable, the right wing and MAGA worship gun rights more than trusting God for their protection, and opposing Jesus' consistent teaching on self-sacrifice (including not being willing to trust God with our possessions and the health and safety of our families). As a long-time gun owner, both handgun and "scary gun," and as one who enjoys target shooting, it's difficult to acknowledge that the best thing for my nation might well be an assault weapon ban, but I could not reach any other conclusion when I was humble about what I was learning. Incidentally, I also concluded that arming school resource officers actually increased gun violence in schools. Overall, the fact that the largest cause of child and teen deaths is gun violence should really rock the pro-life view, but it seems to be considered an acceptable cost of the 2nd Amendment; I find this view appalling as a Christian.

6/ When I study welfare and "universal basic income" and socialized medicine, I have a very hard time concluding that my former Republican beliefs about their horrible effects on society are correct. If I'm willing to sacrifice some personal comfort and income, and stop clinging so damnably tightly to what's "mine mine mine," then the tangible benefits across society are clear; when my neighbor prospers, I prosper too. My understanding of Jesus' teaching compels me to admit that taking care of "the least of these" is of paramount importance to the Kingdom, and the Gospels spend a fair amount of time criticizing those who cling to wealth and riches - and by any objective standard, I'm wealthy beyond compare even as a simple middle-class American. And lest anyone respond "but the government cannot force me to be generous," you're right. If you disagree with our democratically-chosen national policies on this matter, you're entirely free to move to a different nation that doesn't do this.

7/ When I think about immigration, I cannot help but conclude that the Bible is completely unambiguous about welcoming the alien and foreigner and sojourner, and quite a bit of judgement on Israel in the Old Testament was a result of their injustice against such people. The current Republican invective against such people is in absolute and direct opposition to everything the Bible says about such matters. And far too much of the rhetoric is about keeping what's ours - either our culture, or our stuff, or our money - at the expense of those who have literally NOTHING.

8/ Considering Israel, I've spent the last six months studying (and leading an intensive 12-week book study on) a 336-page textbook on the history of conflict between Israel and Palestine, and concluded that the United States and Britain are largely responsible for most of the mess over there, starting with interference in the 1800s. And current US funding and weapons for Israel continue to enable great human harm in the region, and allow human rights abuses on a massive scale. I cannot write off Palestinian lives and rights simply because I hold a different religion - my Christianity tells me that the Good Samaritan was willing to overlook theological differences to save his neighbor's life, and Jesus commended him as the better man in that parable than the religious leaders who avoided the wounded man. Furthermore, my theology no longer agrees with the evangelical conclusion that the state of Israel is essential to the return of Jesus. Israel is actually a completely secular state, with no relation to the people of Israel, which is what is meant by "nation" in the Bible, so any evangelical arguments about "those who bless Israel" are functionally meaningless in the debate of US support for Israel.

9/ Regarding climate change, I find myself opposed to the Republican position on climate, simply because the Bible is clear (to me) that man was given responsibility for the planet. A ruler should rule for the benefit of what they rule, not for their own benefit. My theology denies a soon-coming Rapture and end of the world; that viewpoint allows evangelicals to ignore the state of the earth since it would all end soon anyway. Instead, I conclude that humans will be around for a long time, and we're expected to righteously rule and maintain the planet and its people and resources, to give it back to God in at least as good a condition as God gave it to us. As such, I cannot accept the studied right-wing opposition to reducing harm to our planet.

10/ All of this study and the resulting conclusions have been deeply costly: shunned by my church, at odds with most of my family, upending to my faith and my politics. I knew this would be difficult, which is why I spent so much time and was so careful to document my journey. I have not come to these conclusions lightly. And despite the cost, I would not go back.

If you're wavering on these matters, I'll offer this advice: Give God your unconditional "yes" to change your mind about anything. There may be great pain in the process, but the end result is so, so worth it.

11/ When you put all these things together, I cannot find any way to vote for a Republican platform, and I absolutely cannot find any good reason to support a candidate who routinely and gleefully violates nearly every commandment and teaching of Jesus.

12/ I recognize that most Republicans will have answers against every point I raise above. I don't care; we're each responsible before God for what we've been given, and this is what God has shown me. But I reject the idea that I'm "unChristian" because I voted Democrat, just as thoroughly as I would reject any claim that a Republican is unChristian because they have arrived at different conclusions than me. Stop with the judgementalism, please.