There is an issue within modern Christian culture that I feel needs to be addressed. Bluntly, it's the gross misuse of politics in Christendom, namely in America. As things are now, the two political parties are polarized against each other. On nearly every topic, there are two extremes that are being presented and deafly argued. That in of itself, is an issue of this world that society will have to spend generations weeding out.
However, Christianity has been brought into the argument and has been used to take a stance on the very worldly political battlefield. I don't even need to mention which side has used Christianity as their weapon for you to know exactly who I'm talking about. The conservative Republican party traditionally upholds the stereotypical Christian values that are being taught in our churches. Often Bible verses have been used to discredit and refute their opponents, the liberal Democrats.
Naturally, the Democratic party has repulsed from Christianity, as it is currently being used. This causes the polarization to widen and also divides churches. Even if no opinions are stated or argued, ministers often warn their congregation of "liberalism in schools" and that they must guard their values against the attacks of the liberals. To date, no democratic politician has actually tried to infringe on any Christian right. Often it's the conservative side of the argument trying to restrict the efforts of the liberal side.
If we boil down the essence of what the political parties begun as, we see it's simply an issue of whether the state or central government has more power, which is neither here nor there in Christian beliefs.
My stance is this: politics have no place inside the church. There should be no mention of conservative versus liberal inside the church. No talk about what's going on in Washington. My stance is that we simply look to Jesus as our source of authority.
Jesus says that summary of all the law and prophets are to love God and love your neighbor as yourself. He does not say that the summary of the law is to oppress those who are breaking that law. He does not say the summary of the law is to force everyone to obey the letter of the law. He says the spirit of the entire law is to love.
How often to republicans show love to their political opponents by trying to restrict their rights? We are not called to govern over all people, but to submit to the authorities and laws that are put over us. We aren't called to control the actions of all people, but to love all people unconditionally, regardless of their actions. Forgiving sins and showing the live of Christ through our words and actions.
As Christians, we don't need to condone or partake in the actions that go against our beliefs but it is never our calling to conform the world, forcing them to follow the letter of our law. God will take care of transforming people through His Spirit, but not if we have gotten in His way and incidentally turned people further away from the faith.
Jesus says give to the poor. Take care of the orphans and widows, take care of foreigners. He doesn't command we ask beggars what they'll do with the money that we might give them or ask an immigrant's intentions and authenticity in this country. He just commands that we love them without question. That is a traditionally Democratic view. As well as taking care of the planet. I've heard it said that "the liberals have hijacked" that Christian value. God gave us the Earth to watch over and protect, but most Republicans deny climate change or at least take no initiative to become "eco-friendly." Regardless of whether or not that's in your belief, taking care of the planet should still be in your best interest, since God commands it. Yet no one carries signs with Genesis 1:26, protesting for conservation.
The only signs that are being carried around with Bible verses are meant to attack and condemn, never to show love or compassion. Let me say, if anyone uses Jesus' words to attack another human being, they've completely missed the point. Often people claim they are "defending the faith," even though they are on offense. They take the sword of the spirit to be an striking weapon to be used to refute opponents in debate. Like I mentioned earlier, no one is trying to infringe on a Christians individual right. "Political correctness" may not like mention of Jesus, but perhaps that's a result of how He has been represented by our brothers and sisters in faith. As Zach Zehnder states in his recognizable Red Letter Challenge: it's okay if people dislike Jesus because of Jesus; it's not okay if people dislike Jesus because of us.
I know that this may seem one-sided, but my point is that Christianity shouldn't be affiliated with a political party that is of this world. Our Kingdom is not of the world, neither should our loyalties be. Our vocation isn't to turn America into God's earthly empire. As Christians we should uphold Christian values, not whoever is on the Republican side.
If we truly study the commands of Jesus, we see that His stance's fall on all sides of the board. Historically, he challenged all Jewish sects and parties. To say He is wholly on one side of a debate is ridiculous. For anything outside of what Christianity says, each person can chose for themselves what they believe is best, but those opinions should remain outside of the church.
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