Faith and Politics

Cal Thomas writes

Too many Christians think if they shout loud enough and gain political strength the world will be improved. That is a false doctrine. I have never seen anyone 'converted' to a Christian's point of view (and those views are not uniform) through political power. I have frequently seen someone's views changed after they have experienced true conversion and then live by different standards and live for goals beyond which political party controls the government.

Absolutely right. The world will not be changed by Christians gaining political power. The world will be changed by Christians preaching the gospel and people coming to a saving faith in Jesus Christ.

Mohler on Robertson

Albert Mohler, president of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, says of Pat Robertson's advocacy of assassination,

More importantly, he brought shame to the cause of Christ. This is the kind of outrageous statement that makes evangelism all the more difficult. Missing from the entire context is the Christian understanding that violence can never be blessed as a good, but may only be employed under circumstances that would justify the limited use of lethal force in order to prevent even greater violence. Our witness to the Gospel is inevitably and deeply harmed when a recognized Christian leader casually recommends the assassination of a world leader.

It's good that other Christian leaders recognize this. Mohler concludes, "He has brought embarrassment upon us all."

Pat Robertson Needs To Update His Website

Still not convinced that politics has corrupted the faith of the evangelical Christian church in the US? Pat Robertson now advocates the assassination of a democratically elected president of a foreign land. As Think Progress points out, this political view contradicts his Christian views about life, particularly God's dislike of murder. God had this crazy view that whoever murders someone ought to be put to death. So when his Robertson's political views come into conflict with the Bible, which does he choose? Why, his political views of course.

Robertson writes,

God says thou shalt not murder. Jesus Christ expanded that a little bit to have said, 'Anybody that says to your brother, "You fool" is in danger of hell fire.' So, go further and you begin to get angry with someone without cause. You begin to curse other people. That is a curse sending somebody to hell. That's the equivalent of murder. So what comes out of our mouth is so often a breaking of the Ten Commandments, because God Almighty wants to protect life and have everyone walk the streets without fear of being murdered.

Apparently Robertson believes that God didn't consider the political ramifications of His commandment. Thankfully we have Pat to fill in what God missed, to set God right in his naive ideas. What would God do without Robertson to set him straight?

Justice Sunday II

Don't really have much to say on the subject beyond what I said for Justice Sunday I. In what way do the political activities of our national courts have any place or business in a house of worship? These people claim to be Christians. Do they follow Christ, as their title indicates, or do they follow some political movement in the US? It's time for Christians in this country to get their act together and remember who their Lord is and who their Lord is not. Disgusting.

And God is going to punish the nation because of the unbelievers? Come on. Christians do more than enough to warrant God's judgement by perverting the gospel. Jesus didn't die on a cross so that only opponents of Roe v. Wade and gay marriage would be appointed to the Supreme Court of the United States. The gospel isn't about politics!

Jude wrote about the gnostics and other heretics of his day, but his words apply to those who would pervert the gospel into a political rallying cry:

Beloved, while I was making every effort to write you about our common salvation, I felt the necessity to write to you appealing that you contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all handed down to the saints.

For certain persons have crept in unnoticed, those who were long beforehand marked out for this condemnation, ungodly persons who turn the grace of our God into licentiousness and deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ.

(Jude 1:3-4) We must always be vigilant against those who would mislead and misdirect the church. They are always there. They were there in Jude's day, and they are here today. As in Jude's day, we must keep watch. But instead, we let them in and blindly follow their lead as they bring disgrace on the name of the Lord. These are men and women interested in their own political power and glorifying themselves and their pocketbooks.

To the American evangelical church, I say repent! As Jude wrote, let us contend earnestly for the faith and repent of the deception of politics. The people need Jesus, not some conservative judge annointed by Dobson. We are not Dobsonites, we are Christians! If he will not turn back to the gospel, let us turn away from him and get ourselves back to the faith! Let our churches be houses of worship, not houses of political rallies.

REPENT!