Wednesday, 08 February 2012
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Religion, Faith and Two-Party Politics
By Sam Mahlstadt at Creative TheologyThis is a guest post by a friend of mine, Jonny Craig. He’s much smarter than me, regarding theology, politics, and well…he’s just plain smarter than me. I am excited to welcome him to the blog! If you’d like to guest post, shoot me an email; smahlstadt@gmail.com and we’ll chat. Now…Jonny on religion and politics:
Since long before the American Revolution, the notion that Christians should be involved with government has been broadly taught, accepted and practiced. It doesn’t bear repeating here, nor is it necessary, to tell the tale of Constantine and his Divine calling and the affect that the institutionalizing of Christianity has had on European and American politics throughout history. Simply stated, the idea that God-fearing, Bible-believing Christians have a responsibility, nay, a duty to be politically active has reached a hegemonic level. Whether it’s Jim Wallis or James Dobson, Christian leaders are at the forefront of the fray, rallying troops around their own particular positions and parties. Be it a Faith and Family platform or God’s Politics, the assumption remains the same regardless of party lines: the soul of America is at stake, and it’s up to us to save it.
But beneath all of our cultural assumptions are questions that must be considered. What happens when claims based on Romans 13 are held up against Luke 22? Or when Old Testament passages are understood within their proper context? How do we choose between issues like social welfare which is generally supported by Democrats, and fighting for the unborn, a Republican standard? How can we reflect God’s perfect will and Christ’s perfect example in a system that is inherently flawed and considerably un-perfect?
In the two party system, the choices we’re left with are severely lacking in a lot of ways. Beyond that, different Christians will have different ideas of what responsibilities the government should have vs. what the church should take care of. Yet listening to the discourse happening during this election cycle, it doesn’t seem anybody is taking time to reflect on these issues, instead opting for the simple way out and flocking to one ideologue or another. The “hip” Christians circle the wagons around Wallis and Obama, while the “value voters” stand with their familiar flag bearers of Dobson and the Republican party. From the looks of things, nobody seems to see a bigger picture, and that’s concerning.
The Bible does not support any one political system. Arguably, the Bible supports every political system. Free marketers will point to the book of Proverbs or Old Testament laws while liberals want to make Jesus sound like a socialist. Both sides are drunk on their own kool-aid, and both sides want to push their political position. Either way, the problem is the same: God never calls us to be involved in politics. Lets repeat that: God, at no point in scripture, commands, implies, requests or even suggests that we mobilize as a group and support a party, politician or platform. It’s just not there. That’s not to say that voting is evil, or having party affiliation will condemn you do damnation, but it is to say that God is far more concerned with our testimony and our relationship with him than he is with who wins school board, or governor, or even *gasp* president.
1 Peter 2 calls us to live as aliens in a foreign land and immediately follows up that call by telling us to submit to governing authorities. Not influence, not campaign for, not campaign against, but submit to. Our allegiance has nothing to do with America. Sure, go vote, but don’t vote because America needs its soul saved. Don’t vote because God told you to. Don’t vote because you know which candidate is a closer approximation of how Jesus would lead. Just vote because of your opinion. Your flawed, imperfect, finite, human opinion. And then accept the results happily, however the chips may fall. Remember, this world is not your home, you’re just passing through.
Jonny is a 25 year old Seminary student currently living in Des Moines, Iowa with his wife, Kayla, and son, Joseph. He enjoys getting coffee with friends, talking sports and theology and getting out to the movie theater once in awhile. He’s passionate about orphan care and the future of the American church. You can reach him at jmcraig009@gmail.com or on twitter @jonny_craig
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About the Author
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- From: SamMahlstadt
- Name: Sam
- About Me: I am a graduate of the University of Iowa, where I studied English and Religious Studies. I am passionate about seeing the local church living in genuine relationship and maintaining a global mindset.
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Comments (8)
The Bible is a book of faith, not science and not politics. To understand good government we need to study the great philosophers like Aristotle, Plato and John Locke.
Nevertheless, the Bible teaches basic morality like "Thou shalt not steal." Where stealing is defined as taking something from someone who earned it and giving it to someone who did not earn it.By that simple measure we can determine that the social policies of the Democrat Party are immoral because they rely on income redistribution, which is institutionalized stealing.
The Bible also teaches, "Thou shalt not murder." So we know that abortion is immoral because it is murder of the unborn. The Democrat Party is a fanatical supporter of abortion, which is murder.
So it's no surprise that people whose conscience was developed from the teachings of the Gospel of Jesus would tend to vote against a political party whose fundamental beliefs are based on murder and stealing.
@sometimestheycomebackanyway@xanga - aren't republicans generally for the death penalty? I believe that is also murder.
@Pcgecko85@xanga - The death penalty is not murder. It is the duty of the state to dispense justice since human beings are self-governing. And it is only just that if someone take a life by murder he forfeit his own. The death penalty is an issue worthy of discussion and I think more and more people are turning away from it in favor of life in prison.
This post is the reason why I'm an independent. Well written and well thought out. Rec'd from me.
@sometimestheycomebackanyway@xanga - what about the number of innocent (mostly black) men who have been put to death? how is it any of our right to decide who lives and who dies? what about the mentally ill who have been sentanced to death?
what about jesus' teaching regarding the poor? isn't denying food to the hungry a sin? isn't greed a sin? what about when the rich steal from the poor in the form of low wages and poor working conditions? what about all the corporations and factories that are taking away our right to clean air and water? does the bible ask us to be stewards of the earth or to drain it dry until there's nothing left?
i find it hard to believe that any true christian could justify supporting the republican party on moral grounds. i know there are many other reasons to support that party (racism, bigotry, greed, classism) but morality is not one of them.
@vain_apathy@xanga - You are applying a standard of perfection to human enterprise which isn't a reasonable expectation. Liberals do that with everything excepted their own disastrous policies.
If everything human beings do has to be perfect than we may as well do nothing. That means we should let all the prisoners go because there might be some innocents among them.
Yet murder of the unborn is a good thing because mothers get to choose it. And forcing others to pay for the promiscuous sexual practices of the profligate masses is good because birth control is far easier than self control.
If one is to apply reason to any argument or claim than the reason must be reasonable.
@sometimestheycomebackanyway@xanga - this isn't just the potential murdering of innocent people via death penalty, this is the very real fact that many innocent people have been put to death. this is not just a few people, but a significant portion of those on death row past and present. apparently more than you are aware of or would like to admit. research the subject and then come back and say you support the death penalty as a christian.
as far as abortion goes... well you have to consider what the lesser of two evils happens to be. i am not assuming this issue based on a perfect world, i am looking at facts. (something you might want to try out... just sayin') women will continue to have abortions whether its legal or not. this is a fact that can be observed throughout history. if it is illegal, wealthy women have (and have had) the luxury of flying out of the country to a place where abortion is legal and they can procure a safe, sanitary, medical abortion. poor women will be left to fend for themselves and either end up doing something stupid (DIY or backalley style) or will be forced to give birth to and raise a child they are unable to take care of. (and please, PLEASE don't mention the option of adoption. most kids don't stand a chance in the foster system, especially those most likely to be given up i.e. non-white kids and kids with disabilities. too many christians are busy paying $10,000's on fertility treatments rather than take in one of the hundreds of thousands of kids waiting to be adopted...)
honestly, it seems as if you are the one who is applying an unreasonable set of expectations on others. the facts are this- people are not perfect, people will make mistakes, there will always be poor people, (even more people enter poverty as the rich get richer, look it up. trickle down economics is a lie, plain and simple) poor people will continue to procreate as they have for millenia, there will always be rich people attempting to take advantage of the less fortunate, there will always be people with prejudices... etc. but the point of government (of civilization as a whole) is to try to make this world a place that is livable for all of us. if you hate government, taxes, regulations etc, check out somalia and see what its like to have no government safety net. not so pretty, huh?
the point is this, you as a christian (as well as a depressing number of people) claim to support christian values such as not having abortions. (despite the fact that there are no bible passages mentioning abortion...) and yet you support a system that takes away all support for the very real children that must live their lives outside of the womb. (something the bible talks a lot about, you know, taking care of the poor, hungry, sick...) it just seems more than a little hypocritical, don't you think? you expect perfect self control from poor people (but not rich...) and then make the innocent pay for the mistakes of the parents. if you care so much about the unborn, maybe try supporting programs that will help them for the other 70 years of their life, not just the first 9 months. taking away access to birth control, health care, food and housing doesn't benefit anyone.
and what about lower middle class families who decide to have kids and end up having a child with a disability? they may have been able to support a healthy child, but their incomes are stretched too far trying to take care of a child with special needs. will you deny them financial/medical support? or just the ones that YOU deem unworthy?
i am applying these standards to you (and all christians) because you are applying them to yourself. stop skirting the issues and either address your own hypocrisy or find a different belief system.