Politics: Where Does the Christian Stand?

Over the past 30 or so years there has been a dramatic increase in Christian leaders taking a political stand. Certainly, the Moral Majority with its outspoken leader the late Reverend Jerry Falwell played a key role in energizing Christian voters of the 1980’s. Even as I write this blog Pat Roberson, founder of The 700 Club and The Christian Broadcasting Network, has endorsed Rudi Giuliani for President. Considering that Mayor Giuliani’s record on social issues is far to the left of the average Christian, Rev. Robertson’s endorsement is almost jaw dropping. Rev. Falwell is not resting in peace.

I want to spend some time reviewing the reasons pro and con about Christians and politics. Christians began taking a stand in U. S. politics in the 1960’s and 70’s after the U. S. Supreme Court began settling cases that directly affected the status of Christianity in America. The political landscape of this nation has always had a high level of Christian influence. Indeed, many of our founding fathers and quite of few of our presidents were outspoken Christians. From the beginning of our nation’s constitution until the middle of the twentieth century most American Christians did not feel the need to protest against pending legislation or, comment on the direction of the nation as a whole. That’s because the nation was generally going in the direction Christians felt comfortable with.

However, that all changed when the Supreme Court held that prayer could not be said in public school. Not long after that the infamous Roe v. Wade landmark case allowing legal termination of a woman’s pregnancy galvanized most Christians and inspired many to make changes at the polls. From the early 1960’s until now Christians have seen an erosion of Christian influence on our society steadily decline and an increase in moral decay.

So the question for many Christians is what is my political responsibility in the shaping of this society? Christian writers and leaders are divided on this issue. One the one side there are those who feel Christians should not be involved with politics. That is to say Christians should not be so outspoken about political issues that concern us. We should vote, of course, but we need to maintain a low profile when it comes to controversial issues. Christianity is a faith-based commitment of an individual the Lord Jesus. Our allegiance is to Him. Because it is faith based, that is to say not a scientific fact, we cannot impose our ideals of a secular society. They go on to say that when Christians become involved in the shaping of our political landscape we present Christianity in an unfavorable light. Christianity is no longer seen as a religion of humility, but rather a religion of political power.

Those on the other side say “Horse feathers” to that type of thinking. They believe that the lack of Christian influence is what brought us to the point of moral decay our nation now experiences. Had Christians been involved with the shaping of our country in the 1950’s we would never have had a Supreme Court led by Earl Warren. Chief Justice Warren led the most liberal court in the history of our nation. Most Christians of the time were voting for Democratic presidents who were appointing left wing justices without realizing the damage they were doing. Christians were completely ignorant as to the power a president had in the future shaping of this nation. The Moral Majority and the Christian Coalition helped educate Christian voters in understanding what the candidate’s positions were on issues that matter to Christians.

Whenever I need to understand what direction I should take when holding a position I generally turn to the bible. Unfortunately, I won’t receive any help on this issue as the New Testament was written while Palestine was under Roman occupation. None of the non-Roman residence had any rights whatsoever and certainly had no right to vote. The issue that concerned most Jews living in Jerusalem was how to get rid of the Roman occupiers and be free to live without the excessive tax burden the Romans had imposed. This thinking led to the revolt that Josephus wrote about in his book The Jewish Wars. The Jewish revolution took place in 70 AD, on or about, and led to the sacking of Jerusalem.

Thirty years earlier when Jesus walked the streets of Jerusalem His message was one of forgiveness. A difficult sermon to get an audience to shout Amen to when they are oppressed daily by Roman soldiers who saw them as second-class citizens. Jesus had no political ambitions either for Himself or His country. His message was clear: Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness… That sounds like a simple enough message to listen to, however, not so simple to live by especially if your nation is occupied by foreign soldiers.

Christians in this country live in a very different political environment. We have the right, as citizens of this country to voice what direction the nation should move. So we are faced with a dilemma. Should we voice our opinion at the polls, as is our constitutional right and help shape the direction of this land for our children; or should we remain silent and seek God and His righteousness and let the proverbial chips fall where they will?

Good question, I wish I had a good answer.