Relevant Magazine has an interesting feature about the future of the church. It features Rick Warren, Rob Bell, and other Christian leaders. Here is their take on politics:
How should Christians be involved in the political system?Rob Bell: At our church we bring out the fact that the Gospel is obviously political, yet we are aggressively nonpartisan. We are interested in being a voice for those who have no voice. Too often the party line becomes, “If you’re a Christian, then of course you’re voting like us,” and that’s crazy. As the people of God, our postures should be aggressively nonpartisan and always veering toward the oppressed and the marginalized and those who have no voice, as opposed to the endless self-preservation and protection. In our city they’re shutting down community pools because they say there isn’t funding for it. So there are all these kids, especially in the urban center of Grand Rapids, who won’t be able to swim in the summer. We think that would piss Jesus off. For us it’s not right that on one side of town they’re building pools and on the other side of town they’re shutting them down. That’s an injustice. We think Jesus is about pools.
Lauren Winner: I have arguments with dear friends who didn’t vote in 2004 because they were so disgusted with all the options. I understood their disgust, but I was totally undone by their choice not to vote. My feeling is, we don’t have the luxury of not voting. American policy has a major impact on the whole world, and most of the world can’t vote in our elections. Those of us who can vote have, in my view, an obligation. I myself am an active Democrat. I don’t think the Democratic Party is perfect, and I don’t agree with every detail of the party platform, but the fact that a political party is not perfect does not exempt me from participating. This is, of course, larger than a question of just voting or participating in partisan politics. It is really a question of Christians participating in the civic sphere. Participating in the public sphere might mean using, and supporting, public libraries whose budgets are being slashed across the country. It might mean bringing Christian traditions of just war or pacifism to bear on American militarism. It might mean volunteering in your neighborhood public school, whether or not you have kids who go there. It might mean being committed to live in one place for a long time, for it is only when we live with some stability in one place that we have the opportunity to reckon with the long-term consequences of our individual and civic choices.
Efrem Smith: We should be involved in politics in the spirit of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. He never sold out to the Democrats or Republicans. He ticked them both off as he served as a prophetic voice. We must speak truth to power and advocate for the poor, the outcast, the sick and the unborn. The Church ought to be transforming government, not the other way around. I’m concerned as an evangelical that my church has traded in being prophetic for power and privilege.
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Something that intrigues me: in 2004 the major media, when talking to "christians" rarely had non-partisan or even tolerant soundbites featured. I doubt these people would have said anything different then. I suspect that we're rediscovering or reasserting the breadth of Christian thought in this country. Halleluiah and about time.
Let's see what the followers of Jesus (first called Christians at Antioch) were like just after Christ Jesus ascended into heaven after His resurection. You'll find this in the Book of Acts right at the beginning.:
"Then they returned to Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet, which is near Jerusalem, a Sabbath day's journey away.
When they had entered the city, they went up to the upper room where they were staying; that is, Peter and John and James and Andrew, Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew, James the son of Alphaeus, and Simon the Zealot, and Judas the son of James.
These all with one mind were continually devoting themselves to prayer, along with the women, and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with His brothers.
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THESE ALL WITH ONE MIND WERE CONTINUALLY DEVOTING THEMSELVES . . .
And later at the beginning of the Christians Church community:
"They were continually devoting themselves to the apostles' teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.
Everyone kept feeling a sense of awe; and many wonders and signs were taking place through the apostles.
And all those who had believed were together and had all things in common;
and they began selling their property and possessions and were sharing them with all, as anyone might have need."
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. . . and had ALL THINGS IN COMMON.
Now are there those that are among the Christians, gaining their livelihood from being among Christians, that are not really one of them? Let's return to history shall we?
"These all with one mind were continually devoting themselves to prayer . . ."
". . . At this time Peter stood up in the midst of the brethren (a gathering of about one hundred and twenty persons was there together), and said,
Brethren, the Scripture had to be fulfilled, which the Holy Spirit foretold by the mouth of David concerning Judas, who became a guide to those who arrested Jesus.
"For he was counted among us and received his share in this ministry."
(Now this man acquired a field with the price of his wickedness. . .,"
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Now the Democrats are literally creating laws that can have Christians arrested for preaching the same things as the "Apostles" taught.
Judas types still leading a mob? Sure looks like it.
And as we see from this bolg, many people claiming to be a Democrat also, claim to be numbered with the Christians.
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It's pretty hard to give up your resources when the secular government takes it away first through Democrat sponsored taxation. The Apsotles taught against sexual promiscuity and 99.9% of abortions are the result of sexual promiscuity. And let us not forget that Christ Jesus, Whom the Apostles thought of very highly, taught "them" that marriage was a man and a woman.
Now how many "Democrats" are of "one mind" with what the Apsotles teach?
It appears not many.
Donny,
You are wasting your breath on this blog. You see David dislikes Republicans greatly. He says to Republican Christians to not be involved in politics, but it seems perfectly fine for Democrat Christians to remain involved. David is a Democrat and will further their agenda under the guise of speaking for "true" Christians. This is a left wing blog.
The reason I can not vote for any Democrat is because I find their platform to be hostile to my faith. My Pastor spoke about whether Christians should be identified with a political party, and I agree with his answer that the Church should not be identified with a party. But, he said the he could not in good conscience vote for a Democrat based on their platform. I agree with him.
I meant left leaning blog, not left wing.
How sad to see some emerging Christian leaders fall for the lie that the proper way to express compassion in politics is to force other people to spend their money your way.
Imagine this retelling of the parable of the loaves and the fishes:
Toward evening the disciples approached Jesus. "We're out in the country and it's getting late. Dismiss the people so they can go to the villages and get some supper."
But Jesus said, "There is no need to dismiss them. You give them supper. Here's how.
"Go into the surrounding towns and demand that they buy food for this crowd. If they object, shame them into giving by accusing them of greed. If they still resist, take the food from them by force."
It's easy to dismiss this as absurd. Yet this is what Christians buy into when they accept the standard "progressive" definition of compassion.
At the very least, such a definition robs the gospel of its power.
I see Jesus constantly challenging believers to engage themselves personally in changing their world for the better. The temptation of politics for those on the left as well as the right is to believe that collective action is a substitute for individually bearing fruit.
I see Jesus saying, "if someone asks you for your shirt, give him your coat too." I never see him saying, "if someone asks you for your shirt, go to your neighbor and shame or force him to giving up his clothing."
When Christians on the right or left use political positions to absolve themselves of personal responsibility, it's wrong.
Let me illustrate that point by retelling another parable:
A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he fell into the hands of robbers. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him half dead.
A Republican happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side, saying to himself, "dude needs to get a job."
So too, a Democrat, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side, saying to himself, "there really needs to be a program to take care of people like that."
For Christian Republicans, the temptation is to think: "it's not my responsibility to take care of that person, it's their own."
For Christian Democrats, the temptation is to think: "it's not my responsibility to take care of that person, it's the government's."
When Jesus perceived a need, he either met it directly or empowered his disciples to do the same. There's an example worth following.
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