Followup -- Religion and politics

Wow, if I just throw sex in there, we'll have all three taboo topics in one, n'est-ce pas?

Response to my post yesterday has been overwhelming (well, for me. I'm no Dawn). I think my wife put it best: "Jesus wouldn't have been [Republican or Democrat]. He was a-political."

Let me say this right up front--Christianity is tremendous. To me, it is Truth personified, the Creator of the universe reaching out to us as lovingly as He can, trying to reconcile the ultimate divide (sin) between Himself and us.

However, if I might put my historical and practical hat on for a moment, Christianity is an awful form of government. It presumes two principles: 1) Love God. 2) Love your neighbor as your self.

Governments (especially democracy) are set up with the opposite principles: 1) You love yourself. 2) You hate your neighbor and wish he'd go away, along with his dog that craps on your hydrangea. Or as I've put it at intervals before: Democracy operates on healthy self-interest.

To bring this home: What am I? I'm a Republican. Politically, I believe in controlling myself, my money, and my environment, and choosing the disposition thereof. I believe in small government, and that as my commenter Tabitha said, many "programs" are abused, because people ARE lazy, fraudulent, and deceitful.

But that's where it ends for me, because as a Christian, I'm a sinner, the same as everyone else. I screw-up every day. I have a hope in Jesus, and a way to live my life that I might glorify God and help others. I will not align that to one party or another.

Bless you all, and please be in the Word to find out for yourself. :-)

Comments

  1. Jeff Roberts10/23/2007 11:36 AM

    I was trying to find a way to word something similar yesterday. Jesus did indeed stand apart from the government - one of the reasons the Jews rejected him was they were looking for a king and that's not why he came.

    He didn't downplay the fact that there were commandments, rules, laws and consequences, and he didn't say that right and wrong are in the eye of the beholder, or changing at the whim of the culture.

    But he wasn't there to enforce those rules and make sure everyone got the punishment they had coming, nor was he there to try to rework those guidelines, as if more or different rules can change peoples' behavior. Instead, he was there to point to and provide the way to mercy and forgiveness.

    In a sense, to he Godly is to know and obey what God has commanded, and to be Christlike is to see how far each of us falls short of that, realize that all of us are fighting that same battle and do all we can out of compassion to help others be more victorious.

    Somewhere in all this I keep thinking of our Spanish church - I don't know of any illegals there, and I hope there are none, but the best thing we know to do for them is point them to Jesus.

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