Thinking Christianly About Election Season

I have a set of considered and firm political convictions, and those who know me know what they are.  I prefer that one political party wins elections more than the other, because I believe their general policies are better for society. However, I hope that I will always put my allegiance to Christ ahead of my political beliefs and put my hope in Him more than my desired political outcomes. Therefore, I was challenged by these words from Brian Zahnd.

...every four years a kind of madness comes upon us in America—a political mania that is becoming increasingly acrimonious and bitter. All of this is damaging to the soul. So with this in mind I would like to share with you a Ten Point Christian Voters’ Guide. (No, not that kind…a much different kind.)

1. The political process, while necessary, has little to do with how God is saving the world.For more on this point go here: The Church as an Alternative Society 

2. The fate of the kingdom of God does not depend upon political contests.Don’t be swept away by apocalyptic political rhetoric. It is what it is. Another election cycle. Jesus is Lord no matter who wins the Big American Idol contest and gets their turn at playing Caesar.

3. Don’t be naïve, political parties are more interested in Christian votes than they are in Christianvalues.Do you doubt this? Thought Experiment: Imagine if Jesus went to Washington D.C. Imagine that he is invited to give a speech to a joint session of Congress. (He’s Jesus after all, and I’m sure the senators and congressmen would be delighted to hear a speech from the founder of the world’s largest religion—it would confer great dignity upon the institution.) Imagine that the speech Jesus gave was his most famous sermon—the Sermon on the Mount. Can you imagine that? Jesus is introduced. (Standing ovation.) He stands before Congress and begins to deliver his speech. “Blessed are the poor…the mourners…the meek.” “Love your enemies.” “Turn the other cheek.” After some perfunctory applause early on, I’m pretty sure there would be a lot of squirming senators and congressmen. The room would sink into a tense silence. And when Jesus concluded his speech with a prophecy of the inevitable fall of the house that would not act upon his words (Matthew 7:26–27), what would Congress do? Nothing. They could not act. To act on Jesus’ words would undo their system. In the end, the U.S. Congress would no more adopt the policies Jesus set out in the Sermon on the Mount than they were adopted by the Jewish Sanhedrin or the Roman Senate. The Jesus Way and the Politics of Power don’t mix.

4. The bottom line for political parties is power. The bottom line for a Christian is love. And therein lies the rub.The problem with our “change the world” rhetoric is that it is too often a thinly veiled grasp for power and a quest for dominance—things which are antithetical to the way Jesus calls his disciples to live. A politicized faith feeds on a narrative of perceived injury and lost entitlement leading us to blame, vilify and seek to in some way retaliate against those we imagine responsible for the loss in late modernity of a mythical past. It’s what Friedrich Nietzsche as a critic of Christianity identified as ressentiment and it drives much of the Christian quest for political power.

5. While in pursuit of the Ring of Power, you are not permitted to abandon the Sermon on the Mount.When the world is arranged as an axis of power enforced by violence, the pursuit of power trumps everything. But in the new world created at the cross (an axis of love expressed by forgiveness), love trumps everything. The Sermon on the Mount is our guide to this new kind of love. Among other things, this means you cannot deliberately portray your political opponents in the worst possible light. (Attack ads? Remember the Golden Rule?) Jesus also taught us that if you call someone you disagree with a “fool” you are liable to the “Gehenna of fire.” I might put it this way: When your political rage causes you to hurl epithets like “fool” and “idiot”—you are kindling the fires of hell in your own soul!

Czar of Czars

According to Taxpayers for Common Sense, the US government now has 31 Czars, more than the entire Romanov Dynasty of Russia had over hundreds of years.

So, what do you call the head of a government composed of 31 Czars? "President of the United States" seems so understated for such a lofty figure. Czar of Czars?

I understand that the title "King of Kings" is already taken.

Hat Tip: - The Corner on National Review Online

Trick or Treat

Hat Tip: RedState.com

Core Beliefs and Political Philosophy

There is lots of discussion on the cable channels and in the blog-o-sphere the past two weeks on the relative power to move voters of the convention speeches by the candidates for President and Vice-President. In my humble opinion, if you do not know who you are going to vote for in a national election prior to this point in the cycle, it may be a sign that you do not know your own core beliefs.

Here's an exercise that everyone should go through at least once in their life - the younger the better.

1. Write down at least five statements of basic beliefs about the role of government. What does government exist to do? Are there areas of life governments should not touch?

2. Next think through your reasons for believing those statements. Why do you believe this? What brought you to this conclusion? Is this belief picked up by osmosis from family, friends or the media? Do you have evidence for your convictions? Are these beliefs compatible with your faith? Are you sure you believe this? Could you explain why, if asked?

3. Finally, think through the implications of those each belief statement. If this is true, what should government do or not do? Is it realistically possible to do these things?

Once you have done these three steps, you will know your core beliefs. After that, deciding who to vote for is a matter of identifying the party and candidates who most closely mirror your core beliefs. Wouldn't hurt to re-do this exercise at least once a decade to stay current and take into account new situations and the "hard knocks" lessons of life.

This sure beats voting for who looks good, promises the most goodies or is considered "cool" to support.

Hope this helps.