Political Action in Our Father’s World

Politics has moved to the epicenter of our lives in ways that seemed unthinkable a generation ago. Rancorous quakes between political parties and candidates have created a deep divide in the highest branches of our government and their aftershocks are felt down to the grassroots level. Polite discourse and disagreement about issues, once grounded in deep respect for the value and dignity of another human life, has been sacrificed on the altar of lust for power and money. [1] Christians should grieve deeply when humans refuse to love God; when they witness the inhumane treatment neighbors render to neighbors! This setting invites a closer Christian consideration of the meaning of politics and our engagement in the public sphere in this highly contentious election season here in America.

I claim in this Pathway Perspectives article that a great divide in Christian America today is fundamentally not political, but theological. Christian faith communities should avoid erecting walls between one another from the stones of secular political values. We should, instead, apply biblical values to build roadways through our culture and its moral challenges toward Kingdom of God goals. I also believe that many Christians have never been taught how to address political realities within a Christian moral framework. This article will offer a beginning point for consideration and application.

Politics broadly means, “life of the city,” and the “responsibilities of the citizen.” In this sense, politics is the “whole of our human life in society” and “the art of living together in community” (Romans 12:9-21, "live peaceably"). This meaning reminds Christians that we do have a contribution to make in society. Politics, as it is narrowly defined, is “the adoption of certain policies that are enforced through legislation.” [2] In secular politics, a central question is, “Why ought one to obey the state?” (cf. Romans 13:1, “Let every person be subject to the governing authorities”). In contrast, however, a Christian political ethic asks, “How can we love God by serving our neighbors through politics?” [3]

Keep in mind that Christians who are creationists, as I am, believe they know what it is to be human, and they believe that God has revealed what is “good” and “right” (cf. Genesis 1-2). Nevertheless, this claim should not lead us to assume that there is a Christian consensus on what is good and right! This simply is not the case. When it comes to politics, this is particularly evident. Some Christians feel that political engagement is bad and wrong because such involvement undermines God’s sovereignty and indicates rebellion and arrogance. Others note the influence of secular progressive humanism on politics with its focus on the issue of rights (e.g., a right to work, to possess "reproductive rights," to have a child in the way one pleases, and to express sexuality as one desires). In contrast, Christians assert that "rights" do not make sense without responsibilities. They recognize the need to live for others like Jesus did and taught His disciples to imitate but find it challenging to apply such beliefs to politics. [4] These Christians often believe that Christ-followers should vote their consciences but largely stay out of such a debate. Finally, others say that Christianity has much to say politically, and that Christians ought to get involved. [5] I advocate the last position on politics, so one wonders what a Christian can do to influence the secular political sphere for good and right. Here are some basic questions to ask and answer when seeking to apply Christian beliefs within a secular political arena.

Who am I? This basic life question holds implications for how we behave in both the wider public and narrower political arenas. Thankfully, the Bible includes the story of the Apostle Paul’s radical transformation from a person consumed by righteous zeal and hate to one characterized by love and justice. His life and ministry offer us an example to follow.

Paul began to see human lives (respect for life) differently when Jesus took the scales off his eyes (Acts 9:17-18). He left behind his Pharisaical views that only saw people as means to religious and political ends and not valued in themselves (cf. Acts 9:1-2; Genesis 1:27-28, made in God’s image). Christ will take the scales off our lives as well! Paul’s moral blindness was cured from the source, which was his own heart, shaped by his strict religious and social upbringing. The law had kept his eyes looking down to follow perfectly the ceremonies and legalistic practices of the Old Covenant, which was a segregating force. Now, however, the cross of Christ and the New Covenant had lifted his eyes up to see the world in need, right in front of him (John 12:32; “when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself”). We may do the same when we begin to ask God how we may best love our neighbors within the current political realities. Be aware; such a desire will lead to a heart change! [6]

Where am I? Secondly, we do well to eliminate our "Christian political dualism." By this statement, I mean that we should not practice Christian political ethics as though the state is somehow separate from God. We instead should strive to understand and engage political realities by considering God’s purposes for humanity. After all, this is our Father’s world about which we sing (cf. the hymn, “This is my Father’s World”)! So, we ought to abide in the world around us in His light and confess that “though the wrong seems oft so strong, God is the Ruler yet” (cf. John 1:4-5, 9-10). Since this is God’s world, and His purposes will be fulfilled, then Christians will choose to place themselves solidly within this broader context when engaging in politico-social moral concerns.
 
Consider Paul’s own social context. He had been raised a strict Jew in every way possible (Philippians 3:4-6; “we are the circumcision”). This meant, previous to his conversion, that in his mind there was a great wall between him and any Gentile (cf. Ephesians 2:11-15). Look at the context in Acts 28, after his conversion, and decide for yourself if the situation could get any worse for a devout Jew: He was chained to a Roman soldier, stranded for three months on an island with Gentiles, and required to ride aboard a ship with two idols on the bow—Castor and Pollux (28:11; see 17:16, “spirit was provoked within him as he saw that the city was full of idols”)! To make a current comparison, for example, I know that many Christians today are repulsed by our porous borders and the steady stream of illegal immigrants who have been pouring into our nation. I’m not advocating looking the other way and ignoring our immigration laws. Paul's example teaches us to approach the complexities at our nation’s borders by laying the groundwork for addressing human needs without hating people we have never met (Matthew 25:31-40).

Notice that Paul did not denigrate the Gentiles with whom he associated in Acts 28; instead, he allowed God to integrate him into their lives and cultures! Why? God had called him to such a mission field and His grace paved the way (Acts 9:15; cf. Matthew 28:19, also Christ’s mandate to make disciples of all nations). Sadly, too many of us who claim Christ also refuse to associate with anyone outside our own gated social contexts (see Acts 10:9-15, 34; Galatians 2:11-14). Look around you and see with whom you are associating. Who have you determined will remain “outside your community”?

What’s the remedy? The remedy for Paul’s Jewish exclusivity was to embrace Spirit-prompted inclusivism. Like Paul, a focus on Kingdom values challenges us to rise above our own political wall building to ensure that the gospel advances (Kingdom highway). Paul makes it clear that there were no longer religious, political, and social divides like Jew or Greek, male or female, slave or free, according to Christ’s theology. The old covenant, with its law, led to such dichotomies, which resulted in segregation (cf. Galatians 3:28, “one in Christ”; Ephesians 2:11-14, no longer circumcision and uncircumcision, but “one by the blood of Christ”). It was Paul's personal, interior, theological “wall” that needed to be removed. And our own walls also need to be torn down. Jesus’ cross had changed how Paul viewed the people to whom he had been sent to share the gospel. Let’s ask God to help us first to see people who need Christ, and then to remove any heart-hindrances that place roadblocks to His Kingdom purposes.

We may conclude that careful thought about the ways we approach politics in culture and policy-making needs to occur in our Christian lives between now and election day, and beyond. Paul’s words in Philippians 3:7 offer us a first step to take: “But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ.” His sea change was from the theology of Jewish legalism to the Christian gospel of grace (see also Acts 11 and 15). Jesus had called him to suffer great things—to make every effort—to take the gospel to the Gentiles (Acts 9:15-16). Jesus calls us to join Him on the same pathway.

Larry C. Ashlock

Notes:

1. The Federal Election Commission’s statistical summary of the 12-month campaign activity of the 2023-2024 election cycle (January 1, 2023 – December 31, 2023) reports that Presidential collected $374.9 million. Congressional candidates collected $1.3 billion, and political action committees (PACs) raised $3.7 billion. PACs focus on electing specific candidates that support their narrowly defined issues.

2. Trull, Walking in the Way, 267.

3. Stone, The Ultimate Imperative, 199. Compare also John Howard Yoder (1927-1997), who wrote, “We are reminded that Romans 13 was written about pagan government. It constitutes at best acquiescence in that government’s dominion, not the accrediting of a given state by God [italics mine] or the installation of a particular sovereign by providential disposition” (Yoder, John Howard. The Politics of Jesus: Vicit Agnus Noster (pp. 254-255). Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co.. Kindle Edition).

Yoder’s serious moral failings have led many Christians to reject much of his life and work. Out of deep respect for the women who were abused, I hesitated to quote Professor Yoder, but Professor Stanley Hauerwas helped me to choose otherwise. I believe that Yoder reminds us that God must remain sovereign over government. He calls out attention to the biblical record which sees secular government as the “province of the sovereignty of Satan.”

4. See David Cook, Freedom and Authority, 118-119. Cook presents a concise description on rights within a wider focus on freedom and authority.

5. Cf. Wright, Walking in the Ways of the Lord, 254.

6. We hear much about secular political justice in campaign speeches, which is a broad and deep topic lying outside the scope of this article. I will state that a biblical goal of Christian political life is justice. See Amos 5:21-24; Micah 6:8; Jeremiah 22:15-16; Isaiah 1:14-17; Deuteronomy 16:18-20; Psalm 33:5; Proverbs 21:3; Romans 14:17. A theology of liberation, for example, teaches that a just society is one that seeks to eradicate oppression and to secure freedom from the oppressor. Christians seek a just and orderly society and will work to eliminate human evil (see Stone, 199).

A biblical theology of justice will note Christ's first sermon in Nazareth, where He cites the prophet Isaiah and proclaims liberty for the captives and oppressed (Luke 4:18-19; see also Mary's Song of Praise in Luke 1:46-55!).