Post by naz on Nov 27, 2009 21:05:40 GMT
I find that politics is an extremely divisive force in the church. When I first started attending church services it wasn't an issue that really came up. I remember our pastor telling us shortly before the '72 election that we should prayerfully consider and vote for the person we felt would best lead the nation. And that was all he said. Most of the congregation were former hippies like myself who probably had pretty liberal political leanings.
It was not too long after this that a change began occurring in the evangelical wing of the church as a whole. The church got heavily invested in conservative political causes. Pretty soon the attitude developed that if you weren't a conservative Republican you weren't a good Christian--maybe not even a Christian at all!
This attitude is still going strong and there are many posts on these message boards which reinforce it. I find this extremely disturbing. And it isn't just those on the Right who do it but some on the Left also castigate and demonize their brothers and sisters who disagree with them politically. I even succumbed to this very thing myself during the last election and I now see how wrong it was and have repented of it.
Reading the book "The Myth of a Christian Nation" really opened my eyes to this which is why I have quoted it on several boards. I used to be of the opinion that there were certain moral issues that Christians needed to be concerned with and be aggressive in fighting for in the political arena. But I know see that in a negative light. I don't see anywhere in the bible where we are instructed to do this. The original church never involved itself, or concerned itself, with politics. It had one goal, and one goal only, and that was to share the gospel message. The only thing we are told to do is to obey the law of the land and pray for our leaders--whoever they happen to be.
Now I am not saying that when you go into the voting booth you leave your conscience and values outside. Since we live in a democracy it is our right to express how we feel through the power of the ballot. We should prayerfully consider what candidate might best lead the nation and it's only natural we will vote for the one who shares at least some of our core values. But let's be real. Politicians say lots of things and make lots of promises they generally do not keep. And politicians on both the right and the left will talk up their faith in order to get the votes they want. But politics is dirty business and I personally don't think it is even something a truly committed Christian can pursue as a career without somehow being tainted by it.
But we need to leave our politics behind when we step outside the campaign office and the voting booth and come together as a body of believers. We need to stop looking down on and harshly criticizing those who are the other side of the political aisle from us. We need to realize that Christians who hold different political views often come to those views from their own faith and reading of Scripture. Opposition to war, caring for the poor, and preserving the Earth and its resources are ideals that believers can find scriptural support for just as much as opposition to abortion on demand and same sex marriages can be. No political leader is perfect, they all make mistakes in judgment, and they all respond to agendas hidden or open that may conflict with our own values and ideals. That is just the way of the world.
It was not too long after this that a change began occurring in the evangelical wing of the church as a whole. The church got heavily invested in conservative political causes. Pretty soon the attitude developed that if you weren't a conservative Republican you weren't a good Christian--maybe not even a Christian at all!
This attitude is still going strong and there are many posts on these message boards which reinforce it. I find this extremely disturbing. And it isn't just those on the Right who do it but some on the Left also castigate and demonize their brothers and sisters who disagree with them politically. I even succumbed to this very thing myself during the last election and I now see how wrong it was and have repented of it.
Reading the book "The Myth of a Christian Nation" really opened my eyes to this which is why I have quoted it on several boards. I used to be of the opinion that there were certain moral issues that Christians needed to be concerned with and be aggressive in fighting for in the political arena. But I know see that in a negative light. I don't see anywhere in the bible where we are instructed to do this. The original church never involved itself, or concerned itself, with politics. It had one goal, and one goal only, and that was to share the gospel message. The only thing we are told to do is to obey the law of the land and pray for our leaders--whoever they happen to be.
Now I am not saying that when you go into the voting booth you leave your conscience and values outside. Since we live in a democracy it is our right to express how we feel through the power of the ballot. We should prayerfully consider what candidate might best lead the nation and it's only natural we will vote for the one who shares at least some of our core values. But let's be real. Politicians say lots of things and make lots of promises they generally do not keep. And politicians on both the right and the left will talk up their faith in order to get the votes they want. But politics is dirty business and I personally don't think it is even something a truly committed Christian can pursue as a career without somehow being tainted by it.
But we need to leave our politics behind when we step outside the campaign office and the voting booth and come together as a body of believers. We need to stop looking down on and harshly criticizing those who are the other side of the political aisle from us. We need to realize that Christians who hold different political views often come to those views from their own faith and reading of Scripture. Opposition to war, caring for the poor, and preserving the Earth and its resources are ideals that believers can find scriptural support for just as much as opposition to abortion on demand and same sex marriages can be. No political leader is perfect, they all make mistakes in judgment, and they all respond to agendas hidden or open that may conflict with our own values and ideals. That is just the way of the world.