Faith and Politics…

July 31st, 2006 | Posted in » Baptist Issues

Most everyone that’s been around for long on this earth has heard it said that there are two topics you really should avoid discussing with family, friends, and co-workers… faith and politics. Most everyone has also probably heard it said that faith and politics should not be mixed.

What do you think of these tidbits of “wisdom”?

Personally? The first point (don’t discuss faith or politics with family, etc.) is kind of silly. Sure, it’s great if you want to avoid potential conflict and debate… but particularly with faith, we’ve got a little issue that can’t be ignored… the great commission. The second is equally silly to me… our faith influences who we are, so obviously it will influence our politics.

These aren’t the hard questions, though, and not the main reason I’m writing this post.

You see, quite honestly, politics disgusts me. Secular politics is a dirty game most of the time, causing such division and rhetoric that often times opposing sides have no chance at reconciling a position that is in the public interest. Name your favorite controversial topic… the war on terrorism… abortion… gay marriage… stem cell research… just about any hot-button issue. You’ll find hard-line stances by both sides… rhetoric flying about… speeches filled with near hatred for opposing views. It’s just plain sad.

What bothers me most, though, is not that I expect this kind of behavior in secular politics, but that more and more, we are seeing the same kind of politics in matters of faith.

Why? Is it simply that faith and politics naturally mix? Obviously, our views on any subject are influenced by who we are; since our faith influences who we are, it logically follows that our politics will be heavily influenced by our faith. It does not seem logical, though for the reverse to happen… politics influencing faith.

Why is it that we Christians don’t guard our hearts more strongly so as to keep the influence of faith and politics a one-way street? Why are we so eager to be drunk with power or influence so as to use the same same dirty political games with matters of faith? Why are we so often blind to the real impact of this behavior.. how it taints our faith?

Where is Christ-likeness? Where is humility? Where is love for our brothers and sisters? Where is reliance on God?

It’s all so frustrating.

Anyway, we would all do well to examine our hearts a bit more when it comes to faith and politics. I would imagine that there are many of us out there who really aren’t where God would have us to be when it comes to the mixing of the two.

3 Responses to “Faith and Politics…”

  1. By Kevin Bussey on Jul 31, 2006

    Power corrupts whether it is in the church or in Washington.

  2. By Phil Hoover on Aug 2, 2006

    Actually your faith should influence your politics, and vice versa.

    Of course, we Christians must eventually realize that Jesus is neither a Republican nor a Democrat….even though there are some among us who will never be convinced of that reality.

    Great blog, I do like it…alot.

  3. By John on Aug 2, 2006

    Thanks for dropping by, Phil. Glad to hear that enjoy the blog, even if often times my posts aren’t much more than random ramblings.

    To clarify this particular post (in case it wasn’t already), I believe that faith most definitely SHOULD influence our politics. I do, however, believe that the influence should be a one-way street. The last thing I want to see is politics entering into the realm of faith.

    This post was born out of the frustration of seeing too much politics in faith, particularly amongst Southern Baptists. I just see so much needless political bickering going on in this organization that is supposed to be focused solely on bringing the good news of Jesus Christ to the world… it just frustrates me beyond the point of words sometimes.

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