Author: Allan (Page 327 of 492)

I posed a couple of burning questions yesterday regarding the way national politics seem to bring out the very worst in American Christians: 1) Why do we think it’s OK to speak and act and think in decidedly un-Christlike ways when we’re speaking against the people of a particular political party or acting in response to a political speech or thinking in terms of political gains and losses? and 2) If earthly politics fosters so much unchecked un-Christlike behavior in our Lord’s followers, why do we push the Church to get involved?

We’re using Bryan Roberts’ article “Seven Things Christians Need to Remember About Politics” as a guide for our discussion. His premise, that politics is the one area in which the sins of Christians are completely excused, is one with which I agree and one with which I have plenty of experience. I can’t tell you how many emails are sent and forwarded to me, almost daily, by some of the strongest Christians I know, full of slander and lies, insults and condemnation, threats and boasts.

And that leads us to the first thing Christians need to remember about politics:

“Both political parties go to church.” I’d say it a little differently, maybe. Christian brothers and sisters are in both political parties. Your own congregation is made up of Republicans and Democrats, flaming liberals and hard-core conservatives, moderates and extremists. If I’m wrong about this and only conservative Republicans go to your church, your church is doing something terribly wrong.

The political party lines in the United States are drawn in chalk. They’re constantly being erased and redrawn and they’re very easy to cross. And neither party’s shifting platform is perfect. You can’t say real Christians vote only Republican or a person can’t be a Christian and vote Democrat. Some Christians say we all have to vote Republican because Jesus is against the gay marriage position of the Democrats; other Christians say we all have to vote Democrat because Jesus is against the war policies of the Republicans. Some say the Church has to support Republicans because of Jesus’ teachings on abortion; others say the Church has to support Democrats because of Jesus’ teachings on the gap between the rich and the poor. This kind of thinking and talking and acting forces God’s people to choose between the lesser of two worldly evils. What’s a guy like me supposed to do? My personal commitments to following the King make me pro-life. I am pro-life to the max: anti-abortion, anti-death penalty, and anti-war. What party is pushing that political platform? How is a Christian supposed to choose between a party that kills God’s unborn children in the U.S. and a party that kills God’s born children in Afghanistan? I’ve got one set of politicians bragging about execution numbers and deporting immigrants and another set of politicians in bed with Hollywood and promoting safe sex education for our teenagers. A theologically-thinking disciple of Jesus would have a very difficult time honestly choosing one political party over another.

The Kingdom of God is not defined by worldly political parties and platforms and lines, and neither are its citizens. We must come to the realization quickly that in the U. S. there is not one righteous party and one evil party; there is not one good set of candidates and one bad set of candidates; there is not one Christian choice for President and one un-Christian choice for President. There is one single, massive, corrupt, and worldly system that is powered and motivated by the principles of this world and that the Kingdom of God is working right now to overthrow and conquer.

I would encourage you to never label a person who belongs to or supports “the other” political party, whichever party that is. Don’t insult them or threaten them. Don’t hate them or condemn them. One, those are decidedly un-Christlike things to do. Two, they might be a faithful brother or sister in Christ whose political choices are guided more by the Spirit of God than yours.

Peace,

Allan

(Scroll to the bottom of this post for details on the contest for all the books.)

Bryan Roberts has written a blog post that was modified into a recent article for Relevant magazine, a periodical that explores the tricky relationship between Christ and culture. The article is titled “Seven Things Christians Need to Remember About Politics.” I believe in these last few weeks before the U. S. presidential elections, we would greatly benefit from an honest assessment of the tension between being a Christian and being an American; we would mature and grow from an open discussion of the tension between following Jesus and being a United States citizen. Roberts’ article doesn’t go nearly deep enough, it doesn’t fully answer all the questions. But it’s not meant to. It’s intended to make us think better and to foster more meaningful conversation.

I’m not going to spend seven posts on this. But we are going to consider this together for the rest of the week. We’ll break down the seven things starting tomorrow. For today, I just want to share the opening lines of the article to provoke some thought. And some comments.

Political discourse is the Las Vegas of Christianity — the environment in which our sin is excused. Hate is winked at, fear is perpetuated, and strife is applauded. Go wild, Christ-follower. Your words have no consequences here. Jesus doesn’t live in Vegas.

Not only are believers excused for their political indiscretions, they are often cheered for committing them. Slander is explained away as righteous anger; winning arguments are esteemed higher than truthful ones; and those who stir up dissension are given the pulpit. So forgive me if I balk when pastors tell me the church should engage in the political process. Why would we do that? The political process is dirty and broken and far from Jesus. Paranoia and vitriol are hardly attractive accessories for the bride of Christ.

Rather than engage in the political process, Christians have a duty to elevate it. Like any other sin, we are called to stand above the partisan dissension and demonstrate a better way…. It’s time we talk politics in a way that models the teachings of Jesus rather than mocks them.

Roberts hits on two of the bigger questions I’ve got when it comes to Christians and worldly politics. One, why do we think it’s OK to speak and act and think in decidedly un-Christlike ways when we’re speaking against the people of a particular political party or acting in response to a political speech or thinking in terms of political gains and losses? And, two, if earthly politics fosters so much unchecked un-Christlike behavior in our Lord’s followers, why are we always pushing the Church to get involved?

When the Church of Scripture says “Jesus is Lord,” it means “Caeser is not;” when the Church of the Bible says we are citizens of Heaven, it means we are not citizens of the Empire. In the United States, the line between the two is blurred at best. During election seasons, it almost gets obliterated.

Let’s stretch our thinking on this. Let’s reflect on the Gospel implications. Let’s re-imagine our thoughts and words and re-cast them in the ways of our Lord and his cross, re-shape them in light of the new creation of his resurrection. May we be a people who receive one another as Christ receives us, who forgive others as we’ve been forgiven by God, and who love others as fearlessly and unconditionally as God loves us.

Peace,

Allan

(Today’s post is #995. On the quickly approaching day of the 1,000th post, we’ll celebrate by holding a drawing to give away a bunch of books. The only way to enter the drawing is to “comment” on any of the posts between September 20 and the day of the drawing. You can enter one time per post, up to 14 total entries, but you can win only one prize. The grand prize is all three books of the John Mark Hicks series on the sacraments of the Church of Christ: Come to the Table, Down to the River to Pray, and A Gathered People. A total of eight books will be given away, all classics, all have had a profound impact on my thinking and preaching and writing. They are my favorites. See the September 21 post for the complete list.)