Thread: Spurgeon's, "Of Two Evils, Choose Neither," Doesn't Help Us With Trump

Originally Posted by GodismyJudge

My view thus far, is that Trump isn't consumed with a spirit of anti-Christ(ian) hatred.

And we all know that the Democrats are going to be more aggressively pursuing that very thing.

Yep...they've already tried removing God from their party platform:

http://www.breitbart.com/big-governm...from-platform/

Originally Posted by krystian

Imagine our two families are miles from land in a sinking boat. Suddenly, out of the mist, come two boats to save us. One is captained by an adulterer; the other is captained by a thief. Which boat will you get into? You say, "Neither one. I'm waiting for the evangelical boat which is captained by a devout Christian who will end abortion." I say, "You're kidding, right?" You reply, "Both these guys are reprobates and I'm not going to choose between two evils."


"Of two evils, choose neither." Spurgeon's quote has been posted numerous times on social media by Christians who find themselves in a moral conundrum at the very thought of voting for either Hillary Clinton or Donald Trump. Here's the problem with Spurgeon's idea. Biblically, there is no such thing as a choice between two evils. Let me explain.

Moral philosophers and theologians have long spoken of the problem of "tragic moral choice," also known as the "incommensurability in values." The man on the street simply calls it "choosing between the lesser of two evils."

The best known example of tragic moral choice is the one about the Nazis during WW II. Do you handover the Jews you are hiding in your house knowing that your choice makes you complicit in their deaths? Or, do you lie and violate the Ninth Commandment? The Lutheran scholar, John Warwick Montgomery, has argued that such choices are unavoidable and of necessity cause us to sin...


...Now let's make sense of all of this. Imagine our two families are miles from land in a sinking boat. Suddenly, out of the mist, come two boats to save us. One is captained by an adulterer; the other is captained by a thief. Which boat will you get into? You say, "Neither one. I'm waiting for the evangelical boat which is captained by a devout Christian who will end abortion." I say, "You're kidding, right?" You reply, "Both these guys are reprobates and I'm not going to choose between two evils."

You see what you've done? For one, you failed to prioritize scripturally. The immediate priority is to save our families so we can fight another day. Scripture passages against thievery and adultery simply don't apply here.

Second, you confused an evil with a wrong. As bloody painful as it is for you to sit in the adulterer's boat on the way to dry ground, God doesn't view you as an adulterer. Neither does he view your choice to get your family into the boat as a "wrong."

Right now our nation is sinking. And two boats are on the way. God is not asking you to pick between "the lesser of two evils." He asking you to: (1) Prioritize what Scripture prioritizes. (2) Distinguish an evil from a wrong...

http://theaquilareport.com/spurgeons...us-with-trump/

In a pluralistic society I am just not sure with a plurality of issues at stake why Christians think along lines like this .

Funny thing is that most Christians will have no moral scruples about staying in Trump Hotels or wearing a Trump brand necktie thus strengthening his financial empire but when it comes to voting they suddenly become puritanical about voting for evil.

That said it is really sadenning that these are the two candidates the nation can offer . I mean really really sadenning

I keep being reminded of the John Calvin quote:

When God wants to judge a nation, He gives them evil leaders.


(or something close)

Originally Posted by krystian

Imagine our two families are miles from land in a sinking boat. Suddenly, out of the mist, come two boats to save us. One is captained by an adulterer; the other is captained by a thief. Which boat will you get into? You say, “Neither one. I’m waiting for the evangelical boat which is captained by a devout Christian who will end abortion.” I say, “You’re kidding, right?” You reply, “Both these guys are reprobates and I’m not going to choose between two evils.”

I've heard a similar analogy that might be closer to the reality: You're a prisoner, and your captor poses the following choice: 1) Select leader1 (who has promised to kill 10 innocent people), or 2) Select leader2 (who has promised to kill 5 innocent people).

The utilitarian would select leader2, on the grounds that doing so will save 5 lives. The "avoid entanglements with evil" person would refuse to select either.

Originally Posted by GodismyJudge

My view thus far, is that Trump isn't consumed with a spirit of anti-Christ(ian) hatred.

And we all know that the Democrats are going to be more aggressively pursuing that very thing.

Right. A vote for Trump is a negative vote for Hillary, and vice versa. The reason why is that the total number of votes doesnt matter in the end, the gap is all that matters. A non-vote is not a negative vote for either candidate. It equals a failure to vote against the BIGGER evil, if that is what that candidate amounts to, to you.