Christians & Politics

Many folks live by the philosophy that it's not proper or wise to discuss politics in public (my friend above does not actually prescribe to this idea). I have a few problems with the notion that Christians in particular ought to keep their political views to themselves or hidden from the public sphere (and let's face it, Facebook is the public sphere in a big way).

1. We are not meant to live compartmentalized lives. God never intended for us to be hidden from one another. When we give ourselves to others we give them our whole self. This doesn't mean we always have to expose everything we can to the person standing before us or write an exhaustive essay of our views online but it does mean that we don't need to hide certain aspects of what forms our worldview from one another, especially among fellow Christians. If we're not discussing elements of our worldviews together we aren't fellowshipping as strongly as we can. If we're not investing in difficult dialogue which forces us to examine what we think and how we live in this world then we're not being as edifying as we need to be. That's being relationally irresponsible. Our political views play a big role in how we see the world and live in the world. Our political views have a lot to do with our faithfulness to God according to the New Testament witness.

2. Offending people with our political views is okay. We're not commanded to keep our views hidden so as to not offend others. Offending people isn't wrong and it isn't bad so long as we aren't offensive to God. Sometimes when we honor God we offend others and when we speak of God and his Way we offend others and that's perfectly acceptable. Actually, it's to be expected. When I pressed my friend further as to why we shouldn't express such views she mentioned the danger in doing such a thing when in the vocational ministry. She said it can lead to attacks.

It's true that being vocal about one's politics can lead to being attacked. When we take a strong stance in the public sphere attacks are bound to occur. However, Christians don't fear attack. If our politics are grounded in the scriptures then we are hopefully being more scripture focused than politically issued focused. If we are more God focused than government focused then we have nothing to worry about. Sure, we may get attacked, persecuted, abused, even killed, but if we're preaching the gospel of Christ rather than the gospel of the latest political candidate or if we are being faithful to the love God has called us to then we have no reason to be afraid. Avoiding attack is not a good reason to be silence. Possible attack is a great reason to be loud and loud about the right things!

3. To be Christian is to be political. To avoid discussing politics as a Christian is impossible. The Gospel is itself political! The word Gospel is a political term. The gospels are filled with political language and imagery. Jesus is our King. There is a throne upon which God sits. We're citizens of the kingdom of heaven. There is a heavenly military of which we are a part. We're ambassadors. Jesus is called Prince of Peace. The political motifs in the New Testament (not to mention the Old Testament!) are outrageously repetitive and consistent. When we claim "Christ is Lord" we're making a political statement. When we partake of the Eucharist and Baptism we take political action. We also play a role in politics when we pray for our authorities or the world around us. When we obey the law we're being political. Being Christian is being political and that's something we must all come to terms with. This means that if we want to keep our political views to ourselves we've got to keep our faith and discipleship hidden within ourselves as well. That's not what we are called to.

Whether or not you like his views, Shane Claiborne gives a large portion of time to the political aspects of the gospels in his book Jesus for President. He provides some worthwhile study on what in the gospels is political language and imagery. Much of it may be new information and change the way you see the gospel books of the New Testament. Another great book which examines the political nature of the gospels and how the good news of Jesus Christ affects our politics is The Politics of Jesus by John Howard Yoder.