I am sure this is a popular topic these days. We live in an age where a candidate is probably coached to reference God a certain amount of times per speech. Isn't that interesting, when the perception is that God isn't so popular in America any more? Well, most Americans want to believe that their candidate believes in God, but don't want them to allow their faith to influence their public policy. Such a thing is absurd, of course, if faith is real at all, it cannot be tucked away at home.
Still, sometimes the "God talk" unnerves me as well, if not for the same reasons. I get nervous, if a candidate is claiming for themselves or their party to be the voice for God. I get even more nervous when I see Christians believing that a particular party would be the party for Jesus. Both parties have good emphases and both parties have points that would certainly be pleasing to Jesus. However, both parties are defined by their ideologies and their constituents not Jesus of the Bible.
Jesus is abhorred at some of the practices and beliefs of our two major parties. I can never see Jesus going around talking about a woman's right to choose when that choice requires the sacrifice of the most innocent of lives. I cannot imagine Jesus would approve of a party filling their coffers with the likes of the NRA, Big Tobacco, or the ACLU.
Some might suggest that Jesus would just stay out of politics all together. I'm not suggesting that Jesus would run for office, but the teaching of Jesus and the kingdom of God shake the very foundation of all political structures. The question is what would Jesus have his people do in a society where they can literally influence the society at large with kingdom values. Would he have them set on the sidelines, if their involvement would mean more justice to the fringes of society, the very people that Jesus' kingdom message purports to include?
I say Jesus would have us be involved in the political process. It doesn't mean that every person has to be a political activist. We all have different callings. However, a totally passive response might be to neglect justice for those that desperately need it.
Jesus would have us care for the un-born, because they don't have a voice to protect themselves. Jesus would have us care for the poor, because they are always close to his heart. Jesus would have us stand against racism, for he has made a kingdom of all nations and tribes. Jesus has many concerns in this world. I believe our major role in politics is to give voice to the voiceless. I have been heavily influenced by Jim Wallis and John Yoder in this, even though I don't agree with them on all points. They do articulate an exclusive allegiance to Jesus over any party or political system. I couldn't agree more.
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6 comments:
David,
Excellent thoughts on this topic. I think it is that we still see America as the "Promise Land". The "blessed nation". The "Christian nation" when in reality it is not. We need to understand we are living in a post Christian culture. America has become a "mission" point. We are seeing a new generation of unchurched. The practices and ideologies that we have come to know and accostome to are going to have to change in order to reach out to this generation and the next. I believe we need to be concerned. We need to pray for our country and for those who are going to be leaders. We need to pray for the leaders in our churches and give them the freedom to adapt to reach out to those who need Christ.
Keep up the great posts.
I hope you have a blessed week.
I appreciate your comments. You are my only regular reader, so I had to let you know I was back on and blogging! You run a great blog and I can tell you minister to a lot of people through it. For me, my blog is a way to clear my mind a little, but I enjoy getting a little feedback, just to make sure I haven't gone too far off the path! Your call to prayer here is essential. Blessings!
I want you to know that I am so blessed by reading your blog. I pray God will bless your weekend.
Keep up the great blogging brother!
In Him,
Kinney Mabry
Great thoughts brother. I stumbled on your blog...mine is similar....desertpreacher77
I'm in Coachella. drop me a line sometime
Steve, thanks for writing. I have been so swamped with school, church, and family responsibilities that I have not been able to blog since February! Maybe I will try to do one today. There's always a lot on mind! I will check out your blog...blessings!
No me gusta Jim Wallis.
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