I grew up in a conservative Christian home. Rush Limbaugh may or may not have frequented the radio on trips home from school. I may or may not have family members that join Facebook groups such as "10,000,000 strong against (whatever is the Republican hot topic of the month)". Sometimes I receive fiery email forwards and have been criticized for getting my news from CNN rather than Fox. These same family members do weekly ministry with men who were once incarcerated for various crimes. They take yearly trips to love children and villages in Nicaragua. They sacrifice time and finances to care for hurting people locally and internationally. It's not their politics that drives this. Personally, I can't deny that my upbringing shapes my political leanings, and I also can't deny that at times my political and religious upbringings have felt somewhat intertwined, but I'd like to think that despite all that, the gospel would grow into something in my life to where it alone dictates my actions.
Does the gospel have a political party? Definitively not. To support that by saying there are strong followers of Jesus in both parties is simply flawed. The faces of the followers do not define the image of the gospel, rather the gospel gives us our face - our identity. The gospel does not preach on one issue or another, but instead is the message of reconciliation of God and His people through the life, death and resurrection of Jesus. To add anything to that, to give it a color or a gender, an income, a level of education, to attach a litany of moral stances, would be to subtract from it. While this is a message of relationship rather than religion, James writes, "Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world."
Was Jesus an activist? I've heard pastors preach that he was a radical feminist for his time because he validated women by speaking to them (Samaritan women, Mary (xs 2), Martha, and others) , having them amongst his disciples, teaching them. I've heard people refer to him as a socialist because of his teachings in Matthew 5. However, I don't believe it was Jesus's passion for issues that defined his ministry - rather his passion was his deep love for the Father and his desire to reconcile all individuals to Him. Jesus didn't join the local government, he didn't write letters to Caesar (that we know of), he didn't lead protest marches (though some people of his time considered his ride into Jerusalem on a donkey as such), but he first loved people. He reconciled them to God. He fed them. He touched them. He healed them. He freed them of their hearts' enslavement. He sent them out. He restored the relationship and he practiced undefiled religion: caring for the oppressed and obeying God's commands.
As American Christians, I believe we find it easier to practice religious and political activism rather than living in relationship with God and practicing true religion. I will not deny there is a time for activism, especially when it is a means of caring for the oppressed, but the gospel is to define our lives, give us our faces, compel us to live a life worthy of Jesus.
wise words.
ReplyDeletethough I agree with everything you said, I still cling tightly to issues I feel have the Lord's heart - abortion, in particular. but it was never a political thing for me. my mother raised me in full knowledge of the facts, since she was involved in pro-life activities. I feel a lot of compassion for mothers and babies, and in light of Jesus' actions on this earth I must conclude He as well cares for each little baby's and momma's life.
ReplyDeleteThis may be taking liberties with scripture, but I view "orphans and widows" as those unable to provide for themselves. This would definitely include unborn babies, and I would even add those people impoverished or enslaved or abandoned by corrupt leaders and governments.
ReplyDeleteJames 1:27 Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.
ReplyDeleteI quite like your take on this issue.
ReplyDeleteI think, if I may play with some of the threads of your thoughts here, that Christianity is a relationship and one that is not about politics precisely because it is a relationship with Jesus who is King. All other allegiances must be secondary, and Jesus isn't on the ballot in this November or any other.
Romans apparently worried that Christianity was actually about a pretender to Caesar's throne, "another king, Jesus" (Acts 17:7, and sections of Eusebius's Ecclesiastical History). After all, Caesar called himself "kyrios", lord, just as Christians called Jesus. But Caesar was the pretender, and Jesus the real deal. And, because he was the real deal, he didn't act like Caesar. He didn't lead armies, crucify opponents, burn villages, or turn a blind eye to slavery.
Recognizing that Jesus is King requires recognizing that the world is upside-down and backwards. And this naturally includes the systems by which the powerful climb into power. Jesus isn't like us, or, thank God, like our human leaders.
Eric, love the thoughts. I remember one of Tyler's earlier sermons on Jesus's grand entrance into Jerusalem and how even the side of the city he came from would have represented something to the people. There were expectations of a new kingdom and rise to power, and yet this kingdom was/is completely missed because it looks nothing like our human understanding and expectations of a kingdom.
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