BREAKING NEWS: Wandering the streets earlier today, a fellow US citizen discovered this new, rare mammal. It takes the form of as a human and carries around both a bible and a voters registration card with the word "Democrat" on it. Authorities warn that there may be more roaming the cities of your state, infiltrating your school system and churches, and even worse, intoxicating the minds of your children!

Yeah, that sounded ridiculous to me, too. But you want to know what else is ridiculous? The idea that you can't be a Christian if your political beliefs align with the Democratic party's, or if you believe in a social democracy.

The other day, I came across an article written for The Blaze. Within the article, the author states, "I’m saying that being a “loyal Democrat,” ...requires that you fundamentally reject the authority of Christ." Interesting, right? Because I thought the two fundamental rules any Christian should do their best to follow, understanding that we are all sinners and fall short of perfection, were:

1. "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind, and all your strength. " (Mark 12:30-31)

2. Love your neighbor as yourself.

Huh. And I was sitting here thinking the first one was, you can't vote for a Democrat, and the second one was you will be banished to hell if you believe in equal rights! That sure does clear things up a bit. NOT. I am a democrat because I am a Christian. I want to follow God's lead by loving and accepting everyone. I fight against racism, social norms, and bigotry. Most importantly, I spread the love of Christ and I am here to tell you how you can, too:

You can be a Christian and support/ be part of the LGBTQ+ community. The majority of churches (majority, not all) teach us that being anything but a straight male or female is unethical, or grotesque. Similarly, many Christians (again, not all Christians) believe that marriage is a sacred act that is the right of straight males or females. But how is shaming, and denying the basic human right to love who you want or identify with how you feel, considered loving or respecting your neighbor? It's not.

You can be a Christian and be pro-choice. Just because you are pro-choice, doesn't mean you want an abortion for yourself. And even if you did seek an abortion as a Christian, regardless of what lead you to make that decision, makes you no different than a person who decided to have a baby. God doesn't see you differently, He won't damn you to hell, or even believe you are a disgrace because he loves all of his followers. Just because someone studied the Bible and believes that abortions should be outlawed does not give them the power to restrict someone else's free will. Being pro-abortion, or pro-choice is a political standpoint, not a religious one.

You can be a Christian and believe in the federal welfare system. The Bible clearly states that Christians must care for the poor. Some people will say that is the job of the church. But, with a country the size of the United States, our government cannot enlist a single religion to house, feed, and help employ our nation's citizens. The Federal Welfare system provides aid to all people, including someone you might sit next to at church (surprise, Christians aren't immune to poverty). We need the federal government to help provide for the poor, which makes up nearly half of our population.

You can be a Christian and want a strong central government. A strong central government will not infringe on your right to practice Christianity freely. Actually, a strong central government has nothing to do with religion. Ultimately, in the US, religion and government have nothing to do with one another. There is a separation of church and state; therefore, strengthening the core of our government does not weaken the church.

You can be a Christian and support sex education. Denying our country's youth the proper education on contraceptives, STI's, STD's, and sex because it's assumed God wants all people to wait to have sex before marriage, is ignorant. A Christian that supports a proper sex education for our youth, is not promoting promiscuity -just safe sex. Additionally, sex education prepares a Christian student who believes in waiting until marriage. How? It gives them the knowledge and tools to make all the right decisions once they become sexually active.

You can be a Christian and a democrat. You can go to church and love the Obama family. I promise you it is possible and not as rare as one may believe. We sit next to you in church, teach your children, and ring you up at the cash register. We love God and our country, we just apply our faith to politics differenty. So, don't say I'm not a Christian because I am a democrat, because that is simply not the case. I am a democrat because I am a Christian.