Christians & Politics

I have some dear family and friends that are politically-minded. Having grown up in a household where we discussed politics and such, I have some political leanings. I however, am not as impassioned as some.

After reading a dear friend's blog, I began thinking about Jesus and his twelve followers. One of his followers was a zealot. A zealot was someone that believed in Israel and the coming king and this king would have an earthly reign and would release them from the oppression of Rome. Jesus could have embraced this zealots "zeal" and not only showed them the way but would also have encouraged his followers to stand up against the powers that be.

If you read the first four books of the New Testament, you will find that there is no mention of any political revolution only a steady claim to doing the Father's will. He gave to Caesar what was Caesar's and went on his way. He never tried to change the political system itself. Rome's laws were not fair to the Jews, they did not have health care, they did not have social security, they did not expect Rome to sweep in and rebuild the city when there was a hurricane or flood.

I have been thinking on this for a few days and tonight I came upon another blog that eloquently stated everything I was thinking. So much better than I ever could write. So, without further ado, I give you a post from a friend of Mike Cope's:

Here are a few words where he explains his position:

“My thesis . . . is this: I believe a significant segment of American evangelicalism is guilty of nationalistic and political idolatry. To a frightful degree, I think, evangelicals fuse the kingdom of God with a preferred version of the kingdom of the world (whether it’s our national interests, a particular form of government, a particular political program, or so on). Rather than focusing our understanding of God’s kingdom on the person of Jesus — who, incidentally, never allowed himself to get pulled into the political disputes of his day — I believe many of us American evangelicals have allowed our understanding of the kingdom of God to be polluted with political ideals, agendas, and issues.

“For some evangelicals, the kingdom of God is largely about, if not centered on, ‘taking America back for God,’ voting for the Christian candidate, outlawing abortion, outlawing gay marriage, winning the culture war, defending political freedom at home and abroad, keeping the phrase ‘under God’ in the Pledge of Allegiance, fighting for prayer in the public schools and at public events, and fighting to display the Ten Commandments in government buildings.

“I will argue that this perspective is misguided, that fusing together the kingdom of God with this or any other version of the kingdom of the world is idolatrous and that this fusion is having serious negative consequences for Christ’s church and for the advancement of God’s kingdom.

“I do not argue that those political positions are either wrong or right. Nor do I argue that Christians shouldn’t be involved in politics. While people whose faith has been politicized may well interpret me along such lines, I assure you that this is not what I’m saying. The issue is far more fundamental than how we should vote or participate in government. Rather, I hope to challenge the assumption that finding the right political path has anything to do with advancing the kingdom of God.”

I think we would all do well to examine why we allow political agendas, political ideas, political figures or laws to upset us to such a furor that we forget what we were put on this earth to do.