Thoughts on "Pro-Life Evangelicals for Biden"

Earlier this month, a group describing themselves as "Pro-Life Evangelicals for Biden" issued a short statement explaining their support for Joe Biden for president, asserting that "Joe Biden’s policies are more consistent with the biblically shaped ethic of life than those of Donald Trump." That is a bold claim and I think it warrants some criticism.

I think the biggest error in the statement is when it compares the failure of the government to provide more healthcare and childcare with the civil government’s protection and support for murderers (in the case of abortion). Healthcare and childcare are natural responsibilities of the family - even the church needs to be careful to not supplant the family in caring for the needy (1 Timothy 5:3-6). But the civil government's foundational mandate is to punish the one who sheds innocent blood (Gen. 9:6). 

(Besides healthcare and childcare, the other Democratic policy it mentioned is raising the minimum wage, but President Trump has expressed openness to raising the federal minimum wage, although he prefers to gives the states the freedom to make their own decisions on the matter.)

Ironically, while opposing “one issue” political thinking, the statement still boils everything down to being “pro-life.” It neglects the importance of private property and religious liberty, the protection of which are also important duties of civil government. And both are being threatened by present trends in the Democratic party. It also neglects the issue of what role the civil government has in promoting a "biblical shaped ethic of life." The civil government is but one tool in the toolbox in the work of preserving the life of ourselves and our neighbors. 

I agree that a “biblically balanced” agenda is important. If you want to know what I think that looks like, check out this post: The Duty of Civil Government. Both political parties in our country fall short in some ways. Yet I am far from being convinced that Joe Biden’s policies reflect this biblical agenda more than Donald Trump’s.