The question for this week has to do with what we’re all thinking about…well, at least one of the things we can’t avoid thinking about: the election.
Obviously, I mean for the title of this entry to be provocative. To claim that Christian faith – the teachings of Jesus – might lead us to vote for one candidate over the other is a dicey proposition. Any attempt to equate the Kingdom of God with any earthly ideology, party or program is a perversion of the gospel. (Theological background on that point? Read The Barmen Declaration).
But on the other hand – is it not also a shirking of our responsibility as Christians if our faith somehow does not gain traction in our political thinking? If politics is simply “the art of living together”, how could Christian teaching not have some bearing on our political decisions? Does Jesus have something to say about economics? Over 1/3 of his words were devoted to them. Does he have to say something about our caring for the poor? Personal responsibility? Abortion? You be the judge.
How does your faith relate to your politics…if it does at all? The title of this entry makes the assumption that Jesus would indeed be voting. There are some who assert that Christians – people who are called to be radically “other” – might see the rather radical choice of not voting at all as one that has integrity – especially if you see Jesus as a radical, apocalyptic prophet of the end-times, who was content to leave politics to Caesar, in order fry the bigger fish of the true Kingdom that he came to announce.
What do you think? Let’s see if we can break our record of 4 responses!
Blessings,
Jeff V.
