In light of the election on Tuesday I have been reading
several interesting sources that have a lot to say about politics and
faith. I have grave concerns about
the way Christians approach politics; I find that they are often very confrontational
and belligerent. I have often
thought that when we take sides in politics, we build a wall between people who
take the other side. Will that
wall help them win others to Christ? If not, then we need to rethink that wall.
Now I’m not saying that we shouldn’t vote or that we
shouldn’t have opinions about politics.
I’m just saying that we need to be more gracious in dealing with those
who have different opinions.
I recently read, What’s
So Amazing About Grace? by
Philip Yancey. He had several
interesting ideas about faith and politics:
I share a deep concern
for our society. I am struck,
though by the alternative power of mercy as demonstrated by Jesus, who came for
the sick and not the well, for the sinners and not the righteous. Jesus never countenanced evil, but he
did stand ready to forgive it.
Somehow, he gained the reputation as a lover of sinners, a reputation
that his followers are in danger of losing today. As Dorothy Day put it, “I really only love God as much as I
love the person I love the least.” (p. 158)
When I ask my
seatmates, “What comes to mind when I say the words ‘evangelical Christian’?”
they usually respond in political terms.
Yet the gospel of Jesus was not primarily a political platform. In all the talk of voting blocs and
culture wars, the message of grace—the main distinctive Christians have to
offer—tends to fall aside. It is
difficult, if not impossible, to communicate the message of grace from the
corridors of power.
The church is becoming
more and more politicized, and as society unravels I hear calls that we
emphasize mercy less and morality more.
Stigmatize homosexuals, shame unwed mothers, persecute immigrants,
harass the homeless, punish lawbreakers—I get the sense from some Christians
that if we simply pass enough harsh laws in Washington, we can turn our country
around. One prominent spiritual
leader insists, “The only way to have a genuine spiritual revival is to have
legislative reform.” Could he have
that backwards? (p. 230)
I see the confusion of
politics and religion as one of the greatest barriers to grace. C.S. Lewis observed that almost all
crimes of Christian history have come about when religion is confused with
politics. Politics, which
always runs by the rules of ungrace, allures us to trade away grace for power,
a temptation the church has often been unable to resist…When the church has
joined with the state, it tended to wield power rather than dispense grace. (p. 233)
I know how easy it is
to get swept away by the politics of polarization, to shout across picket lines
at the “enemy” on the other side.
But Jesus commanded, “Love your enemies.”…Who is my enemy? The abortionist? The Hollywood producer polluting our
culture? The politician
threatening my moral principles?
The drug lord ruling my inner city? If my activism, however well-motivated, drives out love,
then I have misunderstood Jesus’ gospel.
I am stuck with law, not the gospel of grace. (p. 242)
We all know that there is extreme gridlock in Congress. I tend to think that the beginning of
all this came from the religious Right forming organizations like the Moral
Majority. Although their
intentions were good, mixing the church and politics leads to the great divide
we find at the center of our problems today. Democrats and Republicans can find no middle ground on which
to stand. Even the leaders of some
of these organizations realize the problems:
Cal Thomas, one of the
leaders of the Moral Majority said, "Two decades
after conservative Christians charged into the political arena, bringing new
voters and millions of dollars with them in the hopes of transforming the
culture through political power, it must now be acknowledged that we have
failed. We failed, not because we were wrong about our critique of culture,
or because we lacked conviction, or because there were not enough of us, or
because too many were lethargic and uncommitted. We failed because we
were unable to redirect a nation from the top down. Real change must come
from the bottom up or, better yet, from the inside out."
''There is
virtually nothing to show for an 18-year commitment,'' laments Gary Bauer,
president of the Family Research Council, who once served in the Reagan White
House.
And finally, there were a couple of interesting quotes from
Jim Wallis in Sojouners magazine
(November):
I am referring, in
particular, to efforts that cast Barack Obama as “the other.” The contention of the “birthers” that
the president wasn’t born in America and doesn’t have a birth certificate, or
of those who suggest he isn’t a real American, and those who charge that he
isn’t really a Christian but is secretly a Muslim—all these are racial
messages. They should be
confronted by people of faith, regardless of our political views and no matter
how we will vote.
“The phrase
‘middle-class’ was likely the most repeated phrase at the conventions. And even though both parties are
utterly dependent on their wealthy donors (a fact they don’t like to talk
about), they know that middle-class voters will determine the outcome of the
election. Now, I believe a strong
middle-class is good for the country, but Jesus didn’t say, “What you have done
for the middle-class, you have done for me.” Rather Matthew 25 says, “What you have done to the least of
these you have done to me.”
These writings have given me lots to think about in this current
election. It has been good to hear
a variety of voices. Maybe
they will help you too.
