God and Politics

I've heard from quite a few religious people that one thing they don't want is to hear politics preached from the pulpit. I don't blame them. Especially when one considers the kind of super-charged, divisive rhetoric that comes out of the mouths of politicians these days. Or perhaps they are thinking of the kinds of half-truths and flat out false statements that politicians make in order to push their own narrow agenda, and they are worried that preaching politics from the pulpit would mean that their pastor has some other agenda to push other than the gospel. Or maybe they don't want to hear politics preached from the pulpit simply because quite frankly, they hear it everywhere else. Turning on the news at any time of the day or night we hear about politics. Families and friends discuss it over meals-- sometimes leading to conflict and anger. We hear it on the radio as we drive to work in the morning. Politics is everywhere. And so perhaps some people just want a place where they don't have to hear about politics. All of the reasons listed above are understandable, and are actually great reasons for any pastor not to touch politics with a 10 foot pole.

And yet, listening to the current candidates for president talk about everything from how we care for the sick to how we treat people from other countries, it strikes me that so much of the political debate is touching on issues that are deeply moral, and deeply connected to the question of what it means to love God and love our neighbor as ourselves. And truly, the last thing I want to do is preach politics. But I do want to preach the gospel, and as it turns out, things like caring for the sick, how we care for the least in our society, how we take care of our children, and how we treat people from outside our borders-- well, those are all political as well as moral issues. They are all topics that are addressed in not only Christians scriptures, but Jewish and Muslim scriptures as well. Our command to love God and love neighbor means that we must engage on these social issues. The challenge then, is to engage in a way that does not fall into partisan bickering or political rhetoric, but rather, to engage in such a way that is faithful to scripture and faithful to Christ's commandment that we love one another as he first loved us.

It's not an easy thing to do, because morality and politics have become so intertwined. But to get started thinking about these things, I will be writing a series of blog posts about God, politics, and moral issues. Included will be posts on the economy and taxes, health care, immigration, and social concerns. Each topic will include a reflection of what it would look like to love our neighbor as our self on that particular issue. Comments and further discussion are welcome! Stay tuned!