Wednesday, August 10, 2016

Christians and Politics


For almost a Biblical generation of 40 years, Christians have been urged to participate in human political methods and purposes, on the premise that our involvement will effect moral change in the world’s evil system. We've been told that America can be made a "Christian" nation (the manipulators usually add "again") if Christians elect Christian leaders.

The hypocrisy of that idea was manifest from the start. The "Moral Majority," founded in 1979, used it the next year to make Christians' a political force instrumental in turning Jimmy Carter out of office.

The underlying premise too seems flawed, contrary to Christ’s warning against patching old fabrics with new, and His call to put new wine into new wineskins. (Matthew 9, Mark 2). Contrary as well to scripture’s teaching we not be “unequally yoked” with unbelievers, righteousness with unrighteousness, light with darkness (II Corinthians 6:14).

Do we witness righteousness when we ally ourselves with deceivers ? What contrast does the darkened world see in us, when our methods and purposes are those of its own evil system ? If the world sees no contrast, it sees no witness.

When we play the world’s game by the world’s rules, under the aegis of a worldly political faction, is the world wrong to see the Church as merely a sub-demographic voting-bloc of that faction…as the world does see us in America ?