Faith and Politics

So looking over the blog I notice that it has been a LONG time since my last post. I will not bore you with the usually excuses as to why I have not written anything. It is interesting (at least to me) that the issue that has caused me to start this post is not much different from the last post six months ago. The issue is the role of faith in politics. I will not rehash the previous post, for you can simply read it if you so desire. I will point out the differences of the posts in that the previous post was about my thoughts on my primary identifier, Christian or American. This post is a reflection upon recent events during this political season; namely, the role of faith in politics.

In recent weeks, we have seen the role of the candidates' faith become an increasingly focused upon subject. Just within the last few days, the Reverend Franklin Graham has come under fire for comments he made concerning President Obama and some of the Republican Party candidates. The purpose of this post is not to cast judgement on Rev. Graham, the President, or the Republican candidates. I simply want to point out the firestorm surrounding those comments.

Whether or not you agree with Rev. Graham, the matter of one's faith is a hotly discussed topic. Browsing the "twitterverse" after Rev. Graham's comments, I was completed dismayed at the comments posted on that social media. The amount of hate projected towards him specifically and Christians in general is truly disheartening. I actually read someone's comment about the need to bring back the colosseum games, including lions.

Also in recent days, an old speech of Senator Rick Santorum has come to light, in which he speaks of Satan's direct attack upon America. This has been roundly discussed and criticized among the media and others who do not support such an outspoken candidate. He has been accused of wanting to establish a theocracy if elected. He has attempted to downplay the speech and stay on point with his platform as the only true conservative candidate.

These two issues are the examples I choose to make my point. That point being that faith has come to be seen as a tool of division within politics. I have recently finished reading a book with the same title as this post written by former Senator John Danforth, in which he makes the same point. This was done in preparation of a presentation for my Doctor of Ministry seminar this semester. I will not summarize the book in this post, but do recommend it to you if you are interested in this subject.

As I write this, I cannot say that I have figured everything out, or that I have a convincing answer for this difficult topic. What I can say, and I believe with all my heart, is that regardless of your political or religious affiliation, let us attempt to humbly listen to each other and work together for the common good. Instead of demonizing everyone that disagrees with you, seek to affirm what you have in common, ask questions about the differences, and admit that we do not have all the answers. While we may have different opinions based on different world views, we are all God's creation and therefore each of us matters to Him.

Even in writing that statement, I know that not all will agree with me on that; and that is okay. What my Savior asks of me, is to seek His kingdom first, love God foremost, and to love others as I love myself. Those who profess Christ and have put their faith and trust in Him are called to be peacemakers. The responsibility is on us to be at peace with everyone if at all possible.

While my faith provides the moral guidelines for my life, and yes, will dictate my stance on certain social issues; it also dictates my stance on the shortcomings of BOTH political parties, and therefore I am not bound to any one political party. Faith does have a place in politics, but let us be extremely careful not to pigeon-hole political parties and candidates as Christian or non-Christian. My faith calls me to stand against injustice in ALL forms and to speak the truth in love to all people.

A Time magazine article published on Friday, May 31, 1963, states: "[Barth] recalls that 40 years ago he advised young theologians 'to take your Bible and take your newspaper, and read both. But interpret newspapers from your Bible.'" Barth here is Karl Barth, and regardless of your thoughts on his theology, he does make an excellent point. The Bible is to be our highest authority, and everything else must be measured against it, including our politics. In this post-modern age of reason and experience, let us be reminded that our reason can be fallible and our experiences can be misleading.

My hope from the discussion of faith and politics is that we think more clearly and behave more responsibly on this matter. I hope that during this election year, people from all points of life can come together, talk reasonably and honestly, and then work together to keep the ideals of our Founding Fathers alive and well. Can this happen; will this happen? Only time will tell...

A Biblical Christian Response to Culture

I have a confession to make...the topic of this post has been difficult to get from my brain onto my computer. You have no idea how many times I have started only to stop after a few sentences. It's not because I am afraid of what others might think, nor is it because I don't know what to say. The reason I have had difficultly in writing on the topic is that I have so MUCH to say. For some time now I have wanted to address the topic of a biblical Christian response to culture, mainly for the reason that there are so many diverse opinions floating around. What has finally driven me to put thoughts "on paper" is the recent news of the planned rally of a "Christian" organization to burn copies of the Q'ran.

To be honest, I have not read all the details of the planned rally, but quite simply the idea of burning books makes me shudder as I recall the days of Nazi Germany and its infamous book burning parties. First of all, while Americans have the freedom to do so, it is beyond imaginable that Americans would be willing to do such a thing as burn books. Second of all, CHRISTIANS should be the last ones to practice such horrible acts. If you are a Christian, how would you feel if a religious group chose to burn our sacred Scriptures? With that act perpetuated upon our Scriptures how many of us would in turn retaliate on that religious group with violence? While most Christians would not succumb to violence, I dare say that Christians living in a Muslim context will suffer for the actions of their American brothers and sisters.

So with these thoughts in mind, what is a biblical Christian response to culture? In the Christian Scriptures, the Bible, Jesus reminds us that the greatest commandment is to Love God with every fiber of our being. He continues by stating that the second commandment is like the first, to Love Your Neighbor as yourself. He concludes by stating that every other law in scripture, every other writing in scripture hangs upon these commandments. As Christians we are to be IN the world but not OF the world. How I have come to interpret these statements has impacted and shaped me greatly. As a Christ-follower, I am to love people like Jesus loves them while showing them who He is through the way I live my life.

As a Christian, I believe that Jesus Christ is the only way of salvation; for salvation is a gift of God, it is not something I have earned. As a student of Scripture, I also know that the lost world around me does not have a chance outside of Christ and God has given me and all of my Christian brothers and sisters the task of taking the gospel to the nations. That means I have to love people like Jesus loves them and live in such a way that it reflects Christ's work in me. It means that while I behave differently from the world, I in no way withdraw from society and culture so that my light cannot shine in a dark world.

Christians, more than anyone else, are called upon to be different while explaining why there is a difference. That means speaking the Truth in love, that means returning kindness when faced with persecution, that means praying for and blessing our enemies. That means, even if the cost is our life, we show the love of Christ and talk about His grace to those whose religion calls for our deaths. The Sunday after 9/11/2001 as I stood in the pulpit to deliver my sermon, I asked the people to consider one thing. As Americans we all were angered by the previous Tuesday's tragedy, we all wanted Bin Laden's death. But I wanted the people to consider one thing, as Christians, God calls for us not to desire his death, but his salvation.

My point here is simple-Christians are called to live a life of love, impacting the world as salt and light. We cannot accomplish this by either promoting violence on other religions or by retreating from a culture that has become so diverse that Christians no longer have the loudest voice. Be reminded of the Apostle Paul, who when confronted with the Athens' culture did not scream and threaten, nor throw his hands up and retreat. What Paul did was politely acknowledge their culture and then proceeded to speak the Truth in love. My prayer is that Christians follow his example and do all we can to bring a lost world back into a right relationship with its Creator.

Resolution against Nominal Christianity

A new year brings with it desires to make changes, to start fresh, to break old habits. Have you made your new year's resolution yet? I must admit that in years past I have thought about it and even attempted to make resolutions, but in the end like most of you I have broken them rather quickly. What kind of resolutions do you make; lose weight, save money, spend more time with your family? May I propose a different sort of resolution?

What about resolving to not accept the status quo? What do I mean by that? Simply this: Why should we continue to accept the status of Christianity in our society today? Before I confuse you let me explain myself. When I speak of the status of Christianity I do not mean how it is perceived by others, nor do I mean how it is accepted by others. What I am referring to is the danger of nominal Christianity. What is nominal Christianity you ask; it is a Christianity that is a religion instead of a relationship.

Many years ago, one of my favorite Christian music groups called dc Talk released a CD entitled "Jesus Freak." One of the tracks was a voice recording of the following quote: "The greatest single cause of atheism in the world today is Christians, who acknowledge Jesus with their lips, and then walk out the door and deny him by their lifestyle. That, is what an unbelieving world simply finds unbelievable." That quote changed my life, for it was about the time of that CD's release that God was working in my life. God used that CD to help me understand Christianity is not a religion, it is a relationship.

How many professing Christians does that quote describe; does it describe you? Has it crossed your mind that the reason our world, our nation, our society, our families, and even our churches are in the state they are in is because too many people acknowledge Jesus with their lips without it changing them? Has it crossed your mind that someone might have turned away from Jesus because of your lifestyle? Nominal Christianity cheapens grace, the grace God extends to all who would accept the offer of his son. Nominal Christianity says you can say a short prayer, perhaps walk an aisle, attempt to be better and everything will work out in the end. Nominal Christianity is a religion of self-betterment so that I can think well of myself. Nominal Christianity says that the bloody death of a cross really isn't all that important.

It is that type of Christianity that prevails in our churches, because we tend to want the cheap and easy way rather than the hard and difficult. As Americans we like things cheap and easy; we quiver at the idea of hard work; if not why do we spend so much money on things that make our life easier quicker? As Christians we love to proclaim that Jesus came to give us abundant life (without stopping to really mediate on what that means) but we want to ignore his call for us to pick up our cross and follow. From my study of the Christian Scriptures I find that true Christianity is a relationship lived out in the presence of Father God by means of the Son. True Christianity is being conformed to the image of the Son. True Christianity is following the example of the Son.

The danger of Nominal Christianity is that we believe we're okay as long as we do just enough. That perhaps is the greatest lie ever told by Satan, and unfortunately our churches are full of deceived people. And because of this untold numbers, inside and outside the church, will continue to walk away from a life-changing relationship with their Creator.

My question for you is simply, in this time of fresh starts will you commit to a relationship with your Creator brought to you by the Savior of humanity? Will you live in such a way that others run to God instead of away from? Will you resolve not to accept the status quo but rather attempt to bring change, the type of change that is eternal?