Justice Sunday
In my last few posts, I have been talking about the corruption that is creeping into so many facets of American evangelical Christianity because of wealth and politics. A demonstration of the corruption from politics could be found this past Sunday. The nation saw the "Justice Sunday, Stopping the Filibuster Against People of Faith" broadcast from Highview Baptist Church in Louisville, Kentucky on Christian TV and radio. This was a political operation designed to get evangelical Christians to support a move by conservatives in the Senate to abolish the filibuster as a tactic against judicial nominees.
Now maybe you support this endeavor politically. I won't argue for or against it here. But what business does this political showboating have in a church? A church is for worshipping God and raising up men, women, and children in the Word of God. Politics have no business whatsoever inside the walls of the church! Our faith is not defined by our politics! When we mix politics and faith, we corrupt our faith! We inevitably make politics a part of the faith, redefining Christianity to be, not faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, but faith in certain political views. Witness the bumper sticker I wrote about before that equated being a Christian with holding a certain political view on abortion. One's faith in Jesus is not defined by politics. Our faith is not to be filtered through our politics!
This church in Louisville, what are they saying to people in their city desperate to find God but who are perhaps Democrats? What is the church leadership saying to members who may not agree with the politics demonstrated in that broadcast. By associating their church with a certain political point of view, they are telling those inside and outside the church that those who disagree are not welcome. Is this really the message of the Gospel? You're not welcome unless you support the Christian right politically?
Paul wrote, "There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free man, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus" (Gal 3:28). In the context of the chapter, Paul is removing the distinctions among the believers within the Galatian church that brought division, emphasizing instead the union and equality of all believers. Politics are intrinsically divisive, and therefore has absolutely no business in the church, and absolutely no business being connected to worship. Pastors across the country must take the lead in keeping these forces of division out of the walls of their church. The pastor of my church did this last year during the election by forbidding members from discussing the different candidates while they were in the building.
I am not against politics, or Christian involvement in politics. My other blog is primarily political in nature (except during the NFL playoffs). But we must be ever vigilant that the division of politics be kept out of the church and away from our faith. Otherwise that faith will become corrupted and worthless.
Now maybe you support this endeavor politically. I won't argue for or against it here. But what business does this political showboating have in a church? A church is for worshipping God and raising up men, women, and children in the Word of God. Politics have no business whatsoever inside the walls of the church! Our faith is not defined by our politics! When we mix politics and faith, we corrupt our faith! We inevitably make politics a part of the faith, redefining Christianity to be, not faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, but faith in certain political views. Witness the bumper sticker I wrote about before that equated being a Christian with holding a certain political view on abortion. One's faith in Jesus is not defined by politics. Our faith is not to be filtered through our politics!
This church in Louisville, what are they saying to people in their city desperate to find God but who are perhaps Democrats? What is the church leadership saying to members who may not agree with the politics demonstrated in that broadcast. By associating their church with a certain political point of view, they are telling those inside and outside the church that those who disagree are not welcome. Is this really the message of the Gospel? You're not welcome unless you support the Christian right politically?
Paul wrote, "There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free man, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus" (Gal 3:28). In the context of the chapter, Paul is removing the distinctions among the believers within the Galatian church that brought division, emphasizing instead the union and equality of all believers. Politics are intrinsically divisive, and therefore has absolutely no business in the church, and absolutely no business being connected to worship. Pastors across the country must take the lead in keeping these forces of division out of the walls of their church. The pastor of my church did this last year during the election by forbidding members from discussing the different candidates while they were in the building.
I am not against politics, or Christian involvement in politics. My other blog is primarily political in nature (except during the NFL playoffs). But we must be ever vigilant that the division of politics be kept out of the church and away from our faith. Otherwise that faith will become corrupted and worthless.
posted by Doc @ 8:52 AM
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