Christians and Politics – Part 2

The United States of America was essentially formed by Protestant Christians who fled from Europe because of the persecution they were suffering from mainly the Roman Catholic church and the Church of England. One major group that came to America was the Puritans. They decided that they were going to be a “city upon a hill.” What they meant by this was that they would be a light to the whole world. The world would look upon them and see how a truly Christian nation would be run. Their dream was one of nobility, justice, morality, and above all, Christianity.

A quick look at your history books will reveal that what the Puritans desired was quite different than what actually ended up happening. You will see that they became the persecutors and killers. Not only did they cause trouble between the natives, they persecuted other Christians and even other Puritans.

Today, the United States is often seen as a Christian nation from outsiders, it is obvious something quite different to those who live inside. Part of this confusion comes from the fact that mostly people who founded this country were people who in one way or another came from a Christian tradition. The problems that always seemed to happen when the church and state mixed was obvious to the founders of the United States. The first amendment of the United State’s constitution was written as a way to safe guard the state and church.

The first amendment reads,

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

The first part of this text is what is commonly referred to as separation of church and state. Although this text really only helps prevent the state from interfering with the church, it also infers that the government will not hold any one religion above any other – at least, officially.

Separation of church and state is a big deal to Christians. But how far does it go? Does it or should it protect the government from the church? I do not think it does, but I think it should. This is the problem I see with Christians and Politics.

If someone is a Christian and they hold a political office, they will, vote, make laws, etc. according to their conscience. This may not necessarily seem like a bad thing, but the conscience of a Christian is (or should be) much different than the conscience of the world. If the U.S. has a president in office who is a Christian, how can he separate himself from Christ and still be president. In my opinion, a Christian President would do everything in his power to make Abortion Illegal – but wouldn’t that law go against the nature of the world?

In the United States, the president is suppose to listen to the voice of the people – but wouldn’t a Christian President be forced to listen to only one voice, God’s? You may be asking yourself, “is that really a bad thing?” No, not in itself. It would be great if all were Christians, if all listened to God’s voice, but that is not the world we live in. If it were, we wouldn’t need a president or a government – God would be our King and would govern us.

If the U.S. had a Christian President he would have to do one of two things, make decisions against his conscience and for the people or vice-versa. One would go against the whole point of appointing a president, the other would go against a Christian’s world-view.

Based on my understanding of government, God, and man, it is my believe that a follower of Christ should have no role in politics. They should not seek to be president, governor, senator, or any other office. To do so would put them in a situation that is both unfair to the world and unfair to the church. Instead, a follower of Christ should seek to serve the public in spite of the government – not through the government.