Time’s online magazine had an interesting article you can read HERE which covered some of James Dobson’s comments from last week concerning Barack Obama. In response to Dobson’s remarks, another group of Christians launched the webs site, www.jamesdobsondoesntspeakforme.com.
What’s clear is that not all Christians are going to come down on the same side of all the issues in 2008.
To complicate matters further a recent study done by the Barna Group shows that 16-29 year olds are very skeptical of Christianity. The study explored twenty specific images related to Christianity, including ten favorable and ten unfavorable perceptions. Among young non-Christians, nine out of the top 12 perceptions were negative. 75 % of the respondents said Christians are too involved in politics.
So I’ve been thinking. How do we as Christians respond in an election year? What do you think our role is in politics? Should we even care what other’s think about our involvement?
I would love to hear what YOU think…
I just started reading “Jesus for President” by Shane Claiborne and Chris Haw. I’m hoping it sheds some light for me on the whole Christians and Politics issue.
Shane recently said something like this…It’s not just about how we vote on November 4th, it’s how we live our lives every day that will make a difference. (Not an exact quote!)
Thanks for the website link…I’m going over to sign up now!
We definitely need to be a voice in the political process.
I’m just tired of people like Dobson being a representative of Christians in America.
I’m also tired of Christians constantly being on the attack and being known more for what we’re against rather than what we’re for.
i believe our role in politics is just like eveerything else. we voice our thoughts, but never use “christianity” as leverage to influence others. people should be aloud to make up there own mind with no repercutions on how the rest of us christians react. our opinions should never out way that we walk in acceptance and love.
@Kyle Stickens, I love that quote. Very true. I think we can sometimes get so focused on voting right that we forget to live right. I probably need to spend some time pondering that balance.
Don’t embrace pragmatic thinking…
In other words don’t just choose what is best for the country just because it is best for the country…
So when you walk into the voting booth think Biblical and Truth of God.
These are great questions, but I’ve not figured out exactly how my faith should affect my politics. As my life has changed because of my relationship with Christ, I’ve realized I need to spend some time in prayer to determine how this area of my life should look (and who I should vote for).
One thing that has struck me in election years is that we hear more about Christians opposing abortion than about Christians advocating for the poor and downtrodden. It often seems like Christians are obsessed with just one or two issues (or sins) instead of looking at how a politicians’ views could affect everyone and/or perpetuate other sins. And in that same vein, it’d be great if Christians would not (seriously) say they were going “to pray for me” because I typically vote democrat:)
I think we should be involved in the political process. If you don’t vote, then in my opinion you don’t have the right to complain about the way things are in this country. However I think that too often, in the name of Christ people cross the line and that is part of why Christians are looked at negatively. If we are involved in the process but at the same time doing the other things that Christ called us to do, love one another, be in unity with one another, help the widows and the orphans, etc. Then we might not be looked at in such a negative light.
@ Ally, you make a great point. Here is one thing I struggle with. Obviously neither candidate nor their political party represent or embrace all of the things that I value and believe in.
With that in mind how, or can we even, prioritize the issues that matter to us most as Christians????
In my life, my faith helps me choose my decisions even in the political process.
The unfortunate side of politics is that there is now, more than ever, two extremes. The far right and the far left.
From either side, the majority is not represented. In other words, a minority now represents a majority.
This tends to lead to us “Christians” being categorized with the far right folks which really do not share in most of our common interests. The same goes for the liberal sect. The far left loons do not emulate what the majority of liberals truly stand for.
Maybe it is time for the majority of us, left and right, to stand together in the middle and speak our voice.
If you base your vote on what YOU believe, and you educate yourself, then all is right.
“Christian” politics have become so cringe-inducing that lately I’ve been trying to avoid reading/watching anything related to the election. I’ll definitely show up to vote, but my heart isn’t in it anymore. Kyle, thanks for the great quote – that’s truly where I’m at right now – if our own personal ethos is about sharing God’s compassion, love, peace, generosity, and right-living (as God convicts and leads us through our own personal relationship with Him) our neighborhoods, churches, circles we run in, nation, & world can be impacted more powerfully than a list of social and moral “laws” that are truly just made to be litigated and broken repeatedly. During Jesus time of ministry, He spent most of His time modeling a right relationship with God through his actions, reactions, attitudes, relationships and interactions with government. He lived “without wax” and spoke the truth in love. Without love, we are just clanging cymbals & gongs, adding furious fuel to the already raging fire of misunderstanding and misrepresentation between Christianity and politics.
ambiguous: capable of being understood in two or more possible senses or ways
Politicians do it. Some Christians do it. No wonder young people are so confused and have the opinions that they have about Christianity. It is a sad reflection.
Sorry y’all. But I have to respond.
On the skepticism of 16-29 year olds to Christianity….I get this. I grew up Catholic (no diss on the church) but got burned out from the constant pressure.
It wasn’t until I moved to Nashville and found the community church philosophy that I was comfortable coming back to church.
What I still see however, and even in my own neighborhood, is being pushing others to go to their church. One of my neighbors the other day completely bashed the church I regularly attend and love, and followed it up by stating I should attend her church. What?????
You want to create skepticism, that is how it happens.
Thank God for churches like Crosspoint that have put cool back into church and get IT. That is why I see all the awesome messages on this blog about the church.
You want to eliminate skepticism, get these folks into a lively, upbeat environment and stop beating them down, and you will accomplish this.
A former pastor of mine said it very well, he said “It is not the job of the church to beat up those who don’t regularly attend or don’t attend at all. It is our job as a church to get them to visit once, and then give them a great reason to stay.”
I believe that Christians should have as much of a say in politics as anyone and should stand firm for what is right according to the Bible, but I believe we have to be careful in the way that we say it and stand for it because Christ told us to share the Good News with a world that does not know him, not to get tangled up in political arguments. Do I agree with every Christian out there that speaks for Christians? No, but I also understand that whenever a Christian speaks up, they are going to be demonized, whether they speak up in love or whether they speak up divisively.
I think the worst issue is when we as Christians allow ourselves to be divided over politics. We are all on the same team and in the end it is Christ that matters. Satan loves one thing and that is to divide the body, because when we are divided we cannot be effective.
I agree with Brad, I am tired of the Pat Robertsons, James Dobsons and Ralph Reeds of the world that say they represent how Christians feel about political issues. I think they are a big reason that non-Christians are skeptical and are turned off from a relationship with Christ.
as Christians, we should definitely be involved in the political process
but our political voice should be only a whisper compared to the sights and sounds of our love, our generosity, our forgiveness, and our kindness to the people of this great nation
Currently reading, “Jesus for President,” coming off of taking a class with Greg Boyd, author of “Myth of a Christian Nation,” and it being an election year, I have been surrounded by this issue. My thought – no matter who you vote for or who wins the election, the only kingdom we as Christ-followers are to be sold out to is the Kingdom of God. We need to follow Christ as our leader and pledge our allegiance only to Him, not a nation or a president.
@Aaron, I really liked the way you put that! Our voice should be only a whisper compared to our actions. I think that will preach! And I might just preach that soon.
@Ally, I am totally with you. I went to a christian university and one day when I shared that my parent’s vote democrat she said to me, “How can your parent’s be christians and vote democrat.”
I too get frustrated with those that only focus on, “abortion,” and often “gay marriage.” There are bigger issues facing our world today like war, disease and so many people living in situations that we will NEVER have to face.
I want to be convicted to pray hard for those who lead our country and I pray that I will do my part to try to make a difference.
Just my thoughts, but I believe all walks of life need to stand up for their beliefs and vote according to the candidates’ values. We should be talking about the vital issues and support those that most closely agree with our beliefs. That’s all that really matters.
For instance, in the current presidential election there are a number of issues that are important to me, including: the protection of our nation; supporting our troops; protecting life (born and unborn); preserving the traditional family; and strengthening our economy.
I think we should spend less time worrying about who is supporting who and more time understanding what the candidates actually believe and how their values will affect our future.
I totally agree with whoever said it but I’m so tired of Christians being known for what we are against rather than what we are for. I also think that Christians can get so wrapped up in certain issues that we forget other very important issues like our environment and whether or not you are democrat or republican. In all reality, does it matter which party you associate with? This is coming from a republican by the way
I just know if someone tells me they are a democrat it doesn’t mean they aren’t a Christian.
I don’t see faith as big an issue in this election as I do the political issues. Do we really want to move toward MORE government? Have they really proven that they can run things more efficiently than the private sector? have they really earned our trust when it comes to handling our money? Honestly, no one excites me this election year. Some scare me, but no one really excites me. Faith is an important part of choosing a leader, but what do they stand for politically? We as Christians should be educated voters. I fear too many times we just jump on one or two issues and vote that way. Be informed on the person’s total platform.
Pete – you opened a can of worms and didnt really give us your opinion!
I think in this case, there are issues on both sides. We are never called to “judge” whether someone is a Christian or not. But, in starting a website that states your opinion in criticizing someone elses opinion – that’s like the pot calling the kettle black. I didn’t hear the Dobson show and only read the Time article, but it appeared he was giving his opinion – not saying “Here is what the Christians think.” His comments were divisive, but so are the rebuttals. The only one with a right to a rebuttal without being somewhat hypocritical is Barack Obama.
As a Christian, our plumbline of truth is the Bible. EVERYTHING should be measured by that. I think our responsibility is to vote for the candidate whose policies are closest to what the word of God says, regardless of whether they are our favorite person or not or whether their policies are in our best interest or not.
As a nation, we’re moving further away from God, as evidenced by the study that 70% of people don’t think that Jesus is the only way (John 14:6). As a Christian, it is my responsibility to search God and ignore the media and the hype and the politics as I vote.
Yes. We should be involved with politics…not because we are Christians, but because we are Americans and it is a blessing to have a voice. I care about this country because it is where my family has lived for generation and it is, most likely, where my future generations will live.
So many Christians, me included, are so worried about who they will vote for and who stands for what, but we pass by people everyday, within our reach, and fail to help them. My fear is that we are getting so caught up in the ‘issues’ that we are ignoring the people that Jesus so desperately wants us to show His love to. Abortion, stem cell, and gay marriages are serious issues, but should they ever be more serious than the people who are right in front of our eyes going hungry, needing shelter, needing Him?
The problem as I see it is that we, as Christians and non-Christians, are looking to the state for solutions. That is placing faith in something/someone other that God. Notice all of the stories after Hurricane Katrina “Where was FEMA?” not “Where was the church?” People put their faith in the government to save and protect them and government failed miserably.
The emerging church movement has started to address some of this (Shane Claiborne and others with their emphasis on serving the poor, living a simple, monastic life that is completely contrary to what the world pushes forward). No stuff isn’t bad. It’s what you do with the stuff.
There is also a push to look at people by blocs by media, advertisers, pollsters, and politicians. If you are 16 -29, you think this way. If you are Christian, you think another way. If you live in NYC… If you live in Des Moines… If you are head of a particular type of organization, church, business, you speak for all of those that are somewhat like you. All of that is polarizing. It’s great fodder for the nightly news and instills distrust at best, hatred at worst for ‘the other.’ The longer this is fed without something to counter-balance it, the harder it becomes to change a person’s mind and heart about people or an issue.
I’m going to flush this out in a blog post today or tomorrow. There is lots of good stuff here to address and think about.
Rather than try to implement change through politics I believe we are called to love one another and spread the Word of God. Period. If we spent our time and effort and resources doing that….ie. bringing people to Christ rather than trying to force changes in the attitudes and voting patterns of non-believers… the changes in attitudes and voting patterns would take care of themselves. That’s why we have such bad reputations. We’re trying to make people adopt OUR views and OUR beliefs. As usual, it’s about us. If we spent our time recruiting new believers on HIS behalf rather than ours all that other stuff would take care of itself.
Pete,
I understand your question, but the Dobson/Obama situation is not about political sides or even theological sides. Dobson’s program did not present political views or a biblical/theological stance. They presented an unfounded attack upon the words of the candidate. They portrayed him as saying one thing about Scripture, America, and specific issues, when he was saying just the opposite. This is not a difference of opinion. It is discourse that has no place in the Christian community. That is why the website jamesdobsondoesntspeakforme.com was necessary.
sigh…….like I said.
Why can’t we just do the recriting and let God do the sorting?
First off, I believe that as Christians in an election year we should respond through prayer and we should respond by exercising our right to vote. Secondly, our role in politics should NOT be to attack one another or point out/make notice of the “wrong-doings” of others. Isn’t the greatest commandment to love one another? Christians, like Dobson, who are in the public eye, have no choice but to watch their words and actions. The media can be a slippery slope for Christians. It’s important that we speak the truth in love…there’s a fine line. I think we should care what others think, but not sugar coat the truth to spare hurt feelings. There is only one way and that is through Christ:) There’s no sugar-coating that truth!
And for my last comment…I am the wife of a soldier in the US ARMY and firmly believe that Christians play a HUGE role in politics. If believers close their eyes and ignore the leadership of this country then what will my husband be fighting for?
II Timothy, Chapter 2
24 The Lord’s bond-servant must not be quarrelsome, but be kind to all, able to teach, patient when wronged,
25 with gentleness correcting those who are in opposition, if perhaps God may grant them repentance leading to the knowledge of the truth,
26 and they may come to their senses and escape from the snare of the devil, having been held captive by him to do his will.
And, Jesus’ words in John Chapter 15
“If the world hates you, you know that it has hated Me before it hated you.
19″If you were of the world, the world would love its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, because of this the world hates you.
23″He who hates Me hates My Father also.
———
Summing up – Don’t be surprised that anyone hates you for being a Christian. Don’t believe you deserve to be hated for being a Christian. But speak the truth in love – that’s what Christ did. Don’t allow yourself to be coerced into silence just because you don’t necessarily blend in with popular culture. Jesus probably would have fared no better in the 16-29 demographic.
Separation of church and state should stay exactly that, especially in an election year..
We respond with prayer that the Lord will place a true leader in charge of our nation so that we can live the abundent and prosporous life that are spoken of in the Bible. While Christianity may not be the choice of all, but at the same time it’s important to realize that things can not be fixed by man alone. It’s like my mom alwauys used to tell me, before you try to change what’s going on outside of your house, you must change what’s going on behind your own closed doors. This country needs spiritual healing, and I am relying on God to direct me to who will bring about real change.
Pete,
Did you realize that http://www.jamesdobsondoesntspeakforme.com. says : “We are a coalition of pastors and other Christians, led by Pastor Kirbyjon Caldwell who are standing up for our Christian faith and supporting Barack Obama.” Are you giving us a hint of who you plan on voting for?
It is my opinion that we (Christians) have enough to debate about within our own protestant v. catholic and multi-denomination culture. Involving politics only adds to the confusion. I don’t agree with most of the crazy “right-wing” public speaking christian figures. The more younger christians I meet typically don’t agree with those individuals either. It takes a “nut” to desire that much power. Plus, the truth is boring, this is why you don’t hear Rick Warren on News as often as Pat Robertson.
You can hear the heated passion in many of these comments but are these the topics that should ignite the passion in us?
I used to be a very politic person, willing to discuss at length issue after issue concerning who did what and why what so and so did was wrong or right. One day I just stepped back and heard what I was saying and thought about the amount of energy and heated passion that I put into these conversations. I quickly became ashamed.
There are those around me that don’t know Christ, there are children who are starving or dieing of AIDS, there are homeless living in our streets, there are entire people groups being pursecuted for their beliefs and I was putting all this effort into Monica. It was way out of “focus”.
There is not one man or woman on the hill that is worth pinning my future hopes for this country on. They will all fail in one way or another to be who I want them to be, just as I fail others as well.
There is only one man on one hill that should ignite this kind of heated passion in my voice and my life.
A book that I’d recommend on this subject is “God’s Politics: Why the Right Gets It Wrong and the Left Doesn’t Get It” by Jim Wallis. It might be a little specific to the years from 2000 to 2004, but I think the overall theme still applies. The problem a lot of people have with religion in politics is that there is not a party or political platform that is very consistent in the way it applies religious principles to legislative policy. If you believe in the right to life, shouldn’t you also be against capital punishment? If you tout your moral values, isn’t eliminating poverty also a moral issue? I think it’s a good read.
You should check out my Churches website and my Pastors sermons online at http://www.bridgewood.org. I think you would like him.
Once again my site is spadinofamily.wordpress.com
@Jody. I can promise you that you won’t get any hints from me on who I’m voting for.
I think you will notice that I also gave you James Dobson’s website link.
Pete–your question is exactly what I’m trying to figure out. I’m thinking that the Bible shows us what issues are important to God and that we look and see which candidates will best handle those issues in a Godly way. Of course, that is no small feat given how little true information we have (versus rhetoric) and how you’d need to be much smarter than I am to sort it all out. So….I’m thinking prayer is key:)
There are awesome thoughts in this comment thread.
@ Bill Renfrew–excellent points; lets allow our lives and love to speak more than our actual voices and bring change for His kingdom that way.
Well, whoever becomes prez. is in the sovereignty of God Right? (No I am not a calvinist) but, we pray for Gods will, pray for who it is when they are, and pray for the various levels of government from local to national. Then, live our lives the best we can in a biblical world view. Just a thought.
Harold, well said. I think I’ll leave my two cents out now. I’ve been struggling with this all day. God’s not a Republican or a Democrat. Our job is to reflect Jesus, when we get that done, it will be time to go to bed.
I’ll shut up before I launch into what makes democracy work.
First of all, I am shocked at some of the stuff I’m reading. What we must understand is that we have ONE common enemy, and that is Satan. He seeks to destroy us by ANY means. We need to run away from the labels the press has put on people, such as “Right wing” Christians. I don’t necessarily agree with the way Dr. Dobson went about it, but he does have a right to state his political opinion just as much as anyone else. I agree with the person who stated, “in starting a website that states your opinion in criticizing someone else’s opinion – that’s like the pot calling the kettle black. It appeared he was giving his opinion – not saying “Here is what the Christians think.” Let’s not attack James Dobson. Everything I’ve seen of him says that his beliefs align with scripture. See this link if you have any doubts (http://www.focusonthefamily.com/about_us.aspx). Remember, Jesus didn’t shy away from confrontation. Look at some of the things He said to the Pharisees and Saducees for instance. Yes, we are to be united, but we must be careful with whom we are uniting. And of course we have to emphesize right living, but if Christians don’t get involved in the political process and vote, then we’re just letting our country fall into the hands of those who will eventually squash our values, and soon we won’t be allowed to voice our opinions. Someone else in this thread said, “There are those around me that don’t know Christ.” That’s true. But if you don’t vote your values, according to scripture, then one day your freedom to share Christ may be taken away. It may not happen this presidential term or next, but it will happen if we just stand by and do nothing. Yep, there are other important issues like health care, the environment, poverty, etc… but I can not knowingly support anyone who doesn’t believe there’s only one way to God, and that’s through Jesus Christ. He said, “I am the WAY, the TRUTH, and the Life, and NO MAN comes to the Father, except through Me.” And if a person doesn’t accept that, he’s not a Christian. That’s the truth, and sometimes the truth doesn’t fly with the “non-Christian” demographic. That’s a hot topic, Pete!
An interesting discussion–thanks, Pete, for starting it. I agree with those folks who say that Christians should be involved with politics just as anyone else it. But I disagree with the folks like the previous respondent who define Christianity in such a narrow (and narrow-minded) way, and who think they (or James Dobson) should define politics in America.
Frankly, as a Christian educator who researches and teaches about the media and politics, I’m glad that the Religious Right is currently politically disjointed and fading in influence. I also am heartened by the recent “Evangelical Manifesto” (discussed a bit more at http://jmcpherson.wordpress.com/2008/05/08/the-evangelical-manifesto/). The nation’s political focus perhaps can be more in line with the needs of society and the desires of more moderate Christians, who, as a recent Pew Forum study (http://religions.pewforum.org/reports) points out, make up the vast but less visible majority.
We should vote. All of us. Let that speak for us.
Whew, this is ONE HOT TOPIC. As I stated in response to a previous post, I need around 8-9 hours of sleep so I’m going to bed and will have to think and pray regarding this post. I KNOW who I will be voting for – I hope everyone else will go out and exercise their right to vote, too. We are so blessed to live in a country that our voice has a say. It could be so very different…..GO USA!
I wrestled with commenting on this one…partly because I’m new to this church family…and partly because I realize full well how I can annoy those that don’t know me personally in the most repulsive of ways.
To date, with the information I’ve been given on both candidates….as a Christian…as an American….I have no clear…no solid reason of why I should vote either way. I see the good and and the not so good in either direction. This doesn’t make me any less Christian. I believe in my Lord and Savior, and I try with all my sincere energy to do what is right by Him. But at the same time, I am human…I am a sinner…and I have failed in so many ways. I was raised in a family where my mother was a hard-headed republican, and my dad a steadfast democrat. How that marriage has lasted all these years….happy and loving years, is a God thing in itself. I credit that awkward but very real upbringing for my open-minded thinking today.
I don’t have that automatic conservative-gonna-vote-republican gene in me. It’s not that simple. The fact that I was raised Catholic only adds to the confusion, because if you truly study the demos….American-Catholics tend to vote democratic. Yes, for all the criticism of the Catholic church…for all their sins…the body of that church is quite relevant and aware of the poor across this nation. And for that, I have to give them credit.
I work in an industry that is cynical and Christianity is often chastised. I’ve always been proud to defend my faith, but in the past several years of….well, without naming names already so obviously consuming the press with blatantly
embarrassingly-right-wing, close-minded, hateful propaganda, my faith has been beat up on, and my relationships in the workplace hsve suffered.
To work in the television industry or any sort of secular industry in general is tough for a Christian that is attempting to live their life in His word. Just when you think you might have made some sort of progress….there goes the Pat Robertsons of the world to set you back and you have to start all over again.
People….in some arenas, it’s tough….don’t make it tougher on those of us that are trying to witness to a population within a lifestyle you may not be familiar with. Don’t judge that. There are baby steps I have made with people in my world that you might not be aware of…..and then some very public personas…in their full-blown Larry King Live glory, blow it. Not just for me, but all of us.
We all need to be on the same page. And clearly we are not. And that alone is what is holding us back from sharing our Creator’s precious Word… The message of Christ is so very simple, and yet, we have managed to muck it up.
I need to stop now.
Your sister in Christ,
-a
Wow! What passion! But it is very simple decision. A believer can not cast a vote for a candidate who is ok with killing babys.
I am not saying that every Christian agrees on everything (hello look at all the mishaps and division we have in the Church) but with what I have seen and read on Obama is that he (like a lot of politicians) switches his views and ideas based on whatever or whoever he is talking to/about. He is very, VERY vague on his faith stance on his website. But in the speeches I have read he talks about “bringing people together for the greater good”…that is all fabulous if he follows through with it, but he seems to be ripping and pulling apart anybody who doesn’t agree with him. Wasn’t it just a month or two ago that he and Hillary were at odds; they hated each other, and now they are BFF’s? You can talk about abortion and you can talk about the poor and you can talk about all the other issues…but all I see Dobson doing was raising questions about Mr. Obama’s integrity. Isn’t that what the heart of voting for the president of our country should be about? Who can best lead us? I may be mistaken…but that is what I look for.
@archie.
I seriously cannot believe you just said that. I have a problem with Christians only voting for Christians or saying that Christians make the best Presidents. I personally am voting for Barack Obama because I think he will help this country. This country has a lot of problems. Not just abortion and gay marriage.
Plus I agree with some of what that website is saying.
“He doesn’t speak for me when he uses religion as a wedge to divide”
“He doesn’t speak for me when he speaks as the final arbiter on the meaning of the Bible.”
I think too many Christians are doing just that…
Take abortion…do we really want to stop it or do we just want to win an argument. Because stopping it would be easy if we really believed in the cause. In Australia women are paid 5000 bucks to have the baby…that would stop abortion, and the Christian community has the resources to do it. But do we really believe in the cause?
No. Abortion is just a symptom.
Are we willing to do the work to impact culture to the point that we wouldn’t have to make abortion illegal because it would be unthinkable? No; we have too much to lose.
It’s too hard to be a Christian in the arena of American politics because our actions have spoken louder than our words…and we have a lot of ground to make up.
I believe we as Christians have some role to play in politics…to vote! One thing that Christian’s have been trying to do over the years is legislate morality…this is not going to happen.
We can by law or any other means make a lost world moral and good. Only Jesus Christ can bring this about. The biggest problem has been that Christians have been so involved in politics and trying to create laws to make people moral and yet the very ones creating the laws are breaking them over and over. This is why you see these young folks not trusting Christianity. If I was not a believer already with a firm understanding of God I would most likely would be disgusted at the Christianity I see played in out in the churches and world today. It sad.
I do think that Christian’s should possibly take a step back and stop being so visible in politics. Maybe we should take the back row. We can volunteer for campaigns, speak our peace when we know we should, but I think we should probably stay off TV, radio,a nd other media that is making us look stupid rather than true followers of Christ.
That is just my opinion. The cause is for the spreading of the entire gospel of Christ not the gospel of Democrats and Republicans.
visit my blog sometime http://www.DadsDevoted.com
Pressing on in Christ,
Scott
Please correct the comment I made above…I meant to say in paragraph two “we cannot…”
Thanks,
Scott
Have you read “Jesus for President”? Interesting book that takes a creative cut at how Christians should be politically “active and imaginative” yet somewhat transcendant to red/blue allegiances. Fascinating read.
Christianity is a citizenship of a Kingdom that does not abide by the Constitution, but to a holy Truth and Word. Christianity does not equal patriotism, it equals consuming compassion, evangelistic fervor and pursuit of the Holy.
However, the truths, values and principles of Christianity should permeate every facet of our alien existence, including politics. Neither candidates right now are exactly billy graham, so it becomes a painful discerning of “lesser of imperfects” to see who would least impede the moral soil of our world and possibly even crack the door open a bit wider.
At the end of the day, I remember God used even Nebudchadnezer for His purposes – so I think He can accomplish His good works despite a red or blue white house!
At a macro level, since America is a representative type government, political leaders only set the minimum bars of legislated behavior. If Christians are truly spreading the transforming life of Christ to the masses, the “people” will reflect Christ and His values despite their official leader…but even with a saint for president, the country will only be as good as its people. There are some pretty startling statistics from Barna, Pew and others that remind me that the real crisis are likely people living in my own neighborhood! Pensylvania Avenue is a long ways off compared to next door…maybe I should start living out my “views” there.
Pete:
I like the take in this article i blogged: http://mondokblog.blogspot.com/2008/06/how-to-pick-president-christianity.html
I say you pray, and then vote. I can’t imagine God not honoring your prayers — and guide you to make decisions based on your heart.
It is the responsibility of Christians to involve in poltics not just voting.To rule is the gift offered by God to the mankind.Rule over is the part of Blessings that God has bestowed upon the Mankind.I would rather say it is not only the blessings it is the responsibility as a citizen of the world.There is a saying No Good people no Good rule.We can say Godly people to have Godly Government.
Rev.Balaji Varadarajan
Joint President
National Christian Party of India
India
I cant answer that. But when religion will have become a non-factor in political exercises then the world must be spinning right towards a more peaceful world.