Christian Citizenship - Christianity and Politics
- Jun 26, 2006
“As proponents of civil society, the responsibility of the Christian community is not to retreat from the political square altogether (spiritual isolation), nor is it to accept the status quo (moral toleration). The debate should focus not on methods of retreat but on new models for engagement and new strategies that focus more on culture than on politics in the decades to come. The issue is not that politics is unimportant; it is that even if one succeeds in building working majorities, the lawmaking process can at best suppress the symptoms of cultural disorder. It can do very little about the underlying causes. The most one can hope for in politics is to ensure that government ‘do no harm,’ an objective that will keep many good people busy in politics for a long time to come, to be sure.”
Don Eberly, “The Place of Law and Politics in a Civil Society,” in Politics and Public Policy, edited by Timothy J. Demy and Gary P. Stewart (Grand Rapids: Kregel Publications, 2000), 208.
“American Christians have waited much too long in asserting their God-given rights…we have an obligation to assert our rights and to fight for them because we are the government under the Constitution. Not to do so is to abdicate our responsibility as servants of God and, thus, to disobey God. Most of the social ills—such as abortion, hardcore pornography, homosexuality, euthanasia, licensing of Christian ministries, etc.—are making an impact in our society largely because individual and corporate Christians have withdrawn from society and have failed to assert the influence that we legally possess.”
H. Wayne House, “What In the World Is the Church Supposed to Be Doing?” in Politics and Public Policy, edited by Timothy J. Demy and Gary P. Stewart (Grand Rapids: Kregel Publications, 2000), 272.
“In determining one’s personal involvement in moral issues, several questions need to be answered:
- First, do you have useful experience in an issue?
- Second, has God planted in you a heart for lost people?
- Third, what role suits your personality?
- Fourth, how much time do you have?
- Fifth, what skills do you have?
- Finally, to what are you committed? What is your calling from God?
“Once a person has confronted these things, then there must be the awareness that ‘…society desperately seeks the answers you have. The world needs your salt. The world needs your light. But make no mistake. If you do step into an arena in which God’s truth is facing the agents of spiritual darkness, you may be pummeled, and you may be bruised, if not physically then emotionally.’”
Tom Minnery, Why You Can’t Stay Silent (Wheaton: Tyndale House Publishers, 2001), 130-138.
“The question is how shall we as Christians live in the public square? We are to be the salt of the earth (preservative) and light of the world (exposing darkness) as Jesus commands (Matt. 5:13-16). In order to be salt and light, we must take several concrete steps. Politics means making hard decisions in real life situations. The following concepts, I believe, sum up our manner of engagement. They are not presented in order of importance.
“First, we are required to engage the culture. We cannot lead monastic lives as the culture unravels around us. Secondly, we must confront the issues with rational, concrete proposals that will help our fellow citizens. Third, we must point to the debris that has been left in the wake of social policies which have failed. If we want our voice at the table anticipated, we need to utilize natural law, speak in an understandable grammar, and use empirical data whenever possible. We can do all of these things and remain distinctively Christian. Fourth, we must love all people. All of us have been created as images of God. We must treat all of God’s images with dignity. Our love of neighbor is what should motivate us to political action. Fifth, through acts of mercy, we must seek to heal the wounded. Our policies on political issues involve real people with real problems, and we need to offer real solutions. Sixth, each of us in the spheres in which we find ourselves must preach the gospel. It is the message of the gospel which is the ultimate concern for all mankind. We should never concentrate so much on the temporal that we lose perspective of the eternal. What a tragedy it would be to change our laws without impacting the heart. Seventh, we must live in hope. Our hope is found in Jesus Christ. We should never place ‘political agendas on the same level or even in place of the more important message of the gospel itself.’ The gospel is our ultimate hope, for it is the ultimate truth. Finally, our eighth concept is to await Jesus’ victorious return. As we work for justice on earth, we should find our joy and solace, not in changed laws and policies—although they are important—but rather, it is the return of our Lord that motivates us to action.”
Jay Sekulow, “The Fight for Freedom” in Richard D. Land & Lee Hollaway, eds., Christians in the Public Square (Nashville: ERLC Publications, 1996), 76-77.
“Christians can make a difference by their involvement in the public square. Even if others do not recognize the difference you are trying to make, and even if the opportunity to have real impact seems hopeless, I still urge the importance of putting faith into practice in the arenas of public life. Why? One reason is that we have in the United States a form of government that is of the people, by the people, and for the people. This means your involvement is expected in order to maintain the common good. But, there is an even more important reason Christians must be involved in public life, and that is because it is also a matter of being faithful—being faithful to the God who calls us to be salt and light, to the God who expects us to seek the welfare of those cities in which He places us, to the God who says He expects us to live as ‘sons of God, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom ye shine as lights’ (Phil. 2:15).”
Daniel R. Heimbach, “Engaging the Local Public Square” in Richard D. Land & Lee Hollaway, eds., Christians in the Public Square (Nashville: ERLC Publications, 1996), 127-128.
Further Learning
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