THE KINGDOM OF GOD AND POLITICS
If possible, to the best of your ability, live at peace with all people. Romans 12:18 CEB*
[A little guilt-inducing Bible verse never hurts, at least for long.]
An old Civil War tale goes something like this. One citizen of the young USA did not want to take sides. So, he donned Confederate Grey britches and a Union Blue shirt. A Union rifleman shot him in the butt and a Confederate soldier shot him in the chest.
So, I’m wearing purple coveralls as I whack out this article on my laptop.
George Barna completed two surveys over this past August and September, 2024. He learned through surveys and direct telephone interviews that—get ready…half of you are about to clap, and you in the other half will involuntarily gasp—roughly 50% of voters who identify as a Christian of any stripe do not plan to vote in this upcoming election. Roughly half of that 50% are evangelicals.1
Let that sink in. These sit-outers amount to several millions of votes that can determine the outcomes for Congress, governors, and yes, the next president.
While I easily understand the strong emotions behind this neglect of a privilege that millions of our brothers and sisters in the world do not have, sitting out is not a well-thought through position, in my little opinion. In Russia and its territories alone, more than 114 million “voters” are denied anything close to a fair election.2
Perhaps the sit-outers in our nation have not heard Paul remind us to be respectful of the ruling authorities. He then gives us his theological thinking behind this directive.3 He wrote this instruction in the context of a nasty, occupying Roman government, one that was not in the least friendly to the Jesus followers. Voting was non-existent.
Likely, these sit-outers have never read, or have forgotten, Jeremiah’s instructions to the Jews living in exile after their own holy city was destroyed. Jeremiah’s word from God was that they are to settle in and seek the welfare of their pagan city.4 There was no voting.
For us who are privileged to have reasonably trustworthy elections, voting wisely is one way of ‘welfaring’ the country in which we live.
Let’s not forget that the Jews, who were under Roman occupation when Jesus came on the scene, had settled into the idea that the prophecies about a messiah to come would take the form of a political deliverer. How disappointed they must have been upon hearing that Jesus’ kingdom was not of this world, at least not in their era.
Many of our brothers and sisters on this globe have nothing like our privilege of voting. Many others live in countries where the elections that are held are obviously manipulated, like the Russian example above.
Our problems—which are not to be ignored—have not reached the magnitude of, say, the dubious elections in Venezuela where the data-established real winner, Edmundo Gonzáles Urrutia is in exile.5
Our oppressed brothers and sisters are under the same instructions; seek the welfare of the places in which they live even if suffering ostracism or worse. In other words, they are to put Jesus on display.6
It should be simple to conclude that people of faith, particularly Christians, are called to be outstanding citizens where they live. The darker the situation, the greater the need to take the covering off the light of our faith.
We are facing an election where the rhetoric is rather evenly matched in one respect. Both top candidates are predicting unspeakably horrific consequences—if not doom–if their opponent is elected. Here the similarity ends.
We are not only faced with strong personalities who are bashing each other, but much more significantly, we are facing a clash of values, especially in the area of opposing concepts of morality and ethics.
So, what if the unspeakable consequences that you personally are dreading should be the outcome? Welcome to the world fellowship of faithful obey-under-whatever-God-wills believers. Revisit Paul’s instructions.
Believe me, the oppressed people of faith would rush to the poles once given the chance. In some countries they do rush to the poles if only to call world attention to the election shams.
Bear with me as I push a little further.
Maybe these sit-outers have never heard about Dietrich Bonhoeffer, a German pastor, theologian and pacifist who was prominent in German society during Hitler’s ever-increasing iron grip over the Jews and the Church. No one was safe who was not bowing to Nazism. The pogram (a Russian word…no surprise) even targeted German children who had deformities of mind or body.
After much internal struggle and searching the scriptures, Bonhoeffer the pacifist came to the point where he decided to take what action he could to stop the rampant rounding up of Jews and Christians for persecution and death.
Dietrich Bonhoeffer allowed himself to be recruited into the secret plot to assassinate Hitler. His decision was not out of hate—he was a man of peaceful conviction and demeanor—but it was a most agonizing act of obedience to do what he could for saving the lives of the innocent who were being slaughtered. After 1938, only Nazis could be on the ballot, rendering elections next to meaningless.7
I have discovered in my reading (sorry, I didn’t jot down the source), that Bonhoeffer did not escape the condemnation of some Christians for his choice. There may be some Christians yet today who would tweet searing comments onto Dietrich’s feed if he were still here.
Now, lest there be any red-necked, “I’ll-save-the-nation-alone,” person who comes across this article, let me make it completely and absolutely clear that citing Bonhoeffer’s choice is not a justification—none at all—for the loose cannons who have tried to kill leaders from both of our major political parties.
What I am completely in favor of is civil and legal political participation that any person finds he is privileged to engage in. Did I mention voting?
I am also in favor of peaceful, unheated, unexaggerated dialogue, even though it is extremely difficult to find.
Now, I want you to hear this. What I do have trouble with is any hijacking of the faith community for the sake of a candidate’s political advantage.
Candidates, of course, will try it. It is up to the Christ-follower to put his Kingdom citizen behavior in charge of his personal political tongue. I have met many who do that in a sweet, Christ-like spirit.
When the Christ-follower—or a significant vocal and visible mass of them—appear to be pinning messianic hopes on any candidate, there is damage to the message of the Gospel of Christ and to the true nature of Jesus.
I recently encountered a T-shirt on a man in my local supermarket which declared, MY RELIGION INCUDES GUNS. To me, it sounds like he would like to see a silhouette of an AK-47 embroidered on the Communion Table drape cloth, like the decal on his pick-up.
When I was in Iowa a few years ago, in a very rural area, I stumbled onto a now preserved white frame church named “The Bible and Rifle Church.” Might Jesus’ name have appeared, at the very least, in a sub-title?
Hijacked Christians aside, it is probably necessary to say again that I am open to political dialogue when it is in the right setting with fair-minded, non-vitriolic people. I’m talking about individuals of faith who have such a high regard for God’s oversight of history and his eventual bringing our history to his promised climax, that they can be peaceful and calm and analytical about the politics of the moment.
In some dialogues that I have had, it is not difficult to detect that some people want me to get mad at this or that. “What about child trafficking? What about our freedoms? What about the Green agenda? What about illegal immigration? What about the insane prices at Starbucks? This last one…uh, never mind.
But must we get mad—and show it—to take constructive action? Is it not possible rather to grieve…then, do something? Volunteer! Give! Advocate!
I do talk to a lot of folks out in the “marketplace.” I meet them everywhere. Many of them are easy to talk to about life. Few, even during this run-up to the election, are sporting political “merch” to spawn arguments or get high-fives. The ones I meet just want to be friendly souls who, in so many cases, have not met the friendly Jesus.
More than a few I have talked with think that they would be required to become a Republican if they became a Christian. They think of the two as inseparable.
Is this tragic, or what?
I suspect some of that impression could be the result of their seeing firsthand, or in news stories, people of faith who appear to have been cleverly hijacked.
If any of you are particularly gifted in fact checking, please track down the political party that is listed on Jesus’ voter registration. I’m going to take a wild guess that he was (and still is) an Independent…you know…like me.
If you are wondering how I am going to vote, just know that I am not wondering how you are going to vote. Just vote. Did I mention pray? That’s biblical…and expected.
Does this mean that I think the Church (or Doug), should sit on the sidelines? It probably sounds rhetorical or redundant at this point. But my experience tells me I must specifically shout, “No!”
Church pastors and teachers should be discipling their flocks in the biblical instructions on being salt and light citizens who permeate all the human institutions within their reach and within the political realities within which they must co-exist. And to vote.
By now, you’ve had enough. If you know my email address, you can act out via email on which half of the gonna-vote/not-on-your-life-gonna-vote group you are in. I am certain that you will be polite either way.
My own calling, which seems to be all-consuming, is to ferret out spiritually receptive people, discover where they are on their life journey, listen to them, invite them to a broader spiritual spectrum, and to follow up with them if they are willing. Many are.
Oh…and to vote.
(Where did I put that purple shirt?) ~dkb~ 10/20/24
*CEB, The Common English Bible
1https://firstliberty.org/news/are-people-of-faith-actually-voting/
2https://www.statista.com/statistics/1263442/number-of-registered-voters-russia/
3Romans 13:1-5
4Jeremiah 29:5-7, and Lamentations 3:22-26 (written by Jeremiah in captivity)
5https://www.state.gov/assessing-the-results-of-venezuelas-presidential-election/
6Matthew 5:15-16, Matthew 22:21
7https://www.quora.com/Were-there-elections-in-Nazi-Germany
'ink Again 