What is a Christian To Do About Political Issues?
What
should a Christian Do Who Wants To Be A Good Citizen?
Recently,
I had a discussion with a Pastor about what you can, or cannot say from the
pulpit. His position was that you are only to preach the truth of the Gospel and
pray. This follows the old line of “don’t mix religion and politics.” The real
question might be “does a Pastor give up his constitutional rights when he
stands in the pulpit.” We agreed that the United States is heading in the wrong
direction both governmentally and spiritually. We also agreed that the U.S.
two-party system is flawed with both Congress and the Senate ineffective and
corrupt whether Democrat or Republican. There are lots of organizations pointing
out problems, but few proposing workable solutions.
The
current administration wants to redefine the constitution to say “freedom of
worship” rather than “freedom of religion.” The idea is that you can say what
you want inside the walls of the Church building, but should refrain when in
public. The other lie that is voiced frequently is that to speak religion in
public would violate “separation of Church and State,” which, of course, does
not appear anywhere in the Constitution or the Bill of
Rights.
The
overreaching government has attempted to silence Pastors by threatening to
repeal their tax exemption if they say anything they disapprove of. The truth
is, they have done so only rarely.
That
being said, is it OK for a Pastor to discuss political issues from the pulpit?
In my opinion it is, as long as he doesn’t endorse a particular candidate. The
Bible makes it clear that we, as Christians, are to pray for those in leadership
(not criticize them), and that we are to oppose evil (1 Tim 2:1-2, Eph 6:10-17).
Do we put on the full armor of God to do battle inside the Church, or do we go
into the world to do battle?
It
seems that we are limited in what we can do, given the current regulatory
climate, but that we certainly can use our most powerful tool, which is prayer.
As citizens, we have more latitude in what we can do in the public square, but
joining a secular activist group may not appeal to most
Christians.
Recently, I attended a meeting put on by the Heritage Foundation, and I was
impressed with their presentation. The Heritage Foundation was established in
the 1970’s as a non-profit policy research organization. It’s headquarters in
Washington with close proximity to the Capitol and Legislature has facilitated
their ability to provide valuable information to the leaders of this country.
Most significantly, it is strongly conservative. As a NGO, Heritage Foundation
is limited in what they can, and cannot do. They are not a lobby or a political
action committee. Since 2014, Heritage has been led by former South Carolina
Congressman and Senator Jim DeMint. After over eight years in the Legislature, DeMint
realized he could not accomplish the changes he wanted as a Washington insider –
he gave up his position to work outside the corrupt system of
cronyism.
Under
DeMint’s leadership, Heritage has created an initiative called “Reclaim
America.” They formed an independent grass roots organization called “Heritage Action For America,” with a
slogan “Opportunity For All, Favoritism To None.” Their strategy is to utilize
lobbyists inside Washington, and a grassroots team of 12,000 (and growing)
coordinators and activists, called Sentinels, to hold Congress accountable in
their local communities.
Led
by CEO Michael Needham, Action for America is running a 2016 presidential
campaign platform review to evaluate candidates on their willingness to embrace
conservative policy solutions.
I
like this approach, and I am watching what they are doing. Look here for more
information – www.heritageaction.com
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