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Election Year Musings

by Philip Yancey

| 47 Comments

Election Year Musings

Last year I granted an interview to the Church of Ireland Gazette, a magazine that was trying to interpret US politics for its Irish readers. In view of the coming election, I have revisited that interview, editing the discussion for American readers.

The world seems to be becoming increasingly polarized and divided. We are living in a more uncertain world. Is there anything you think the Church needs to say or to be, in order to act with integrity in that increasingly polarized world?

Pope John Paul II wrote a book called Sign of Contradiction. I believe the Church should always be a sign of contradiction, regardless of the surrounding society.

One of the UK prime ministers, John Major, was trying to understand evangelicals, so he called in the head of the Evangelical Alliance. “I can’t figure out these evangelicals,” he said. “Are they liberal or conservative on political issues?”

Election Year MusingsThe response: “They’re both.” Christians may well support certain policies that represent both sides of the political spectrum.

I once heard a sermon from Tim Keller in which he cited a list of what early Christians in the Roman Empire insisted on. Some examples:

  • There is only one way to God. We oppose pre-marital sex, and also abortion. Those would usually be considered conservative positions.
  • Christians should not serve in the armed forces. We support programs for the poor, and also gender equality. Those would usually be considered liberal positions.

Keller was making the point that people who are trying to follow Jesus can’t be compartmentalized into a binary political platform.

I hope the Church can help tear down the moats and the silos we have constructed around each other. In my lifetime, some Republicans opposed the Vietnam war and some Republicans supported it. There were Democrats who were anti-abortion and Democrats who were pro-abortion. Now, politics has become so polarized that it is almost impossible for a Democrat to be pro-life and almost impossible for Republicans to oppose the administration’s foreign policy. That is very unfortunate.

We are not called to report to a political party. We should look to Jesus for our guidelines on living. Of course, Christians will disagree on specifics, but the bottom line isn’t a party’s political platform. The bottom line is for us to carefully and prayerfully try to discern God’s will in each situation.

Christians accept a basic standard of morality, starting with the Ten Commandments. You can’t always legislate that kind of morality. For example, in the Ten Commandments there are commandments against coveting, adultery, and lying. A few countries have laws against adultery, but I don’t know any country that has a law against coveting or lying. We follow God’s moral law, not just the list of dos and don’ts that a political party holds up as important.

   Living with silos: in the Church we have profound differences on big and small issues. How should we deal with situations, and with each other, when we profoundly differ on what we believe are absolutely core issues?

Jesus always honored the person behind the issues, even among those who must have been offensive to him in some ways. He associated with people viewed as moral outcasts. He engaged with occupying soldiers and also tax collectors who served the occupying government. Yet he always treated those people with dignity, respect, and compassion.

Election Year MusingsIn our time, immigration presents a major challenge. It is certainly legitimate for Christians to disagree on how restrictive immigration should be. But it is illegitimate for us to demonize immigrants or to treat them as subhuman or to deprive them of basic human rights. We don’t have that option. When a politician wants to do that, Jesus-followers must oppose it.

I wrote a book titled What’s So Amazing About Grace. As I was writing, it struck me that it does not take much grace to be around someone who is just like you, who thinks like you, acts like you, votes like you. Grace is put to the test when you’re around somebody who is different from you, and who in fact may be offensive to you.

We don’t have the option of treating that contrary person as an outcast. In fact, Jesus had the opposite paradigm. He said, I came for the sick, not the well, and for sinners, not the righteous.

Sometimes the Church falls into the same trap as the Pharisees, where we start viewing ourselves as morally superior and we want people to be like us. Instead, we are called to reach out to others no matter where they are. Even if they are in bad straits because of their destructive choices, we still should respond with mercy, compassion, and healing—as Jesus did. He reached out to the poor, and stood for justice. So must we.

   Are you hopeful for the future?

Not really. A lot of people in the US, especially evangelicals, are hanging on to a political agenda, even when people leading that political movement are not demonstrating the qualities of Jesus.

Historically, when the Church gets tempted by those who are in power, it bears the consequences for generations. A year ago I was in Spain, where in the last century the Church had allied itself with a strongman, Francisco Franco. Now, several generations later, many Spaniards will have nothing to do with the Church, because when they hear the word “Church” they immediately think repression and violence.

I’m afraid the same thing can happen in the US. We need Christians to act as the “sign of contradiction,” even if it costs us access to power. We were not put on earth to be part of the power structure. We were put on earth to demonstrate how God wants us to live. If people judge us, or we are persecuted for our stance—well, that too is the Jesus way. He was persecuted, indeed he was executed for not kowtowing to the religious or governmental authorities.

   What does a sign of hope look like?

Wherever I travel—say, in Africa, South America, even Communist China—I see beautiful signs of God’s kingdom doing exactly what it should be doing: standing firm against the culture, which may be corrupt, self-serving, even oppressive.

The US seems to be going through a period much like western Europe went through: first, a cozy relationship between Church and state, and then the inevitable backlash in which people reject the Church because the state has proven to lack the integrity—the “sign of contradiction”— that should distinguish the Church.

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Discussion

  1. Rex Joshua Avatar
    Rex Joshua

    I am making this comment more as a reply to the comments thread than the post itself. Have been a long-time follower of Philip’s writings. I am from India. We see up close what happens when religion mixes up with the State. No religion should be mixed up with the State. Not Hinduism in India. Not Christianity in the United States. When, as an outsider, I see the hate and bigotry exhibited by Christians (and their leader) in the US it is not very far from what religious fanatics in my own country exhibit. It costs a lot of lives in our country. Hope the US does not reach that stage. That would not augur well for the US or Christianity. Perhaps this thought will help you during your election day!

  2. Jerry Bowen Avatar
    Jerry Bowen

    WOW. Ok. These replies reveal the deep discord and chasm that exists in the church. (Granted any church historian can suggest that this schism has always been there–from the first ecclesial conflict recorded in Acts). Anyway.
    But what i find disheartening is that we, those of us who call on the Name of Jesus, need to be different. We are called to be in the world not of it. We are called to be salt and light and a city on a hill. We, liberal and conservative, proof text the teachings of Jesus to defend our views. Which, as i read it, was Yancey’s point. We are called to a third way. A different path. Yet. In these replies i see much anger and separation and finger pointing. Isn’t there a third way forward? Or must we bend to the will of polarization and create enemies of each other, thus cementing the death of the church in the U.S.? However. We are called to make a stand. I am not calling anyone out on this thread, but i will say that the current administration, to me, feels more like one who would oppose Jesus than stand with, or listen to Him. That raises a huge flag for me. The current administration cages children. Endorses forced sterilization of asylum seekers. Stands with hate groups. Protects policies that help and protect the superrich while laying the burden on those, financially, cant afford it. He seems to deny climate change and science in general. And like the brilliant Mel White offered earlier in this thread, the current person in the White House does nothing to protect the rights of LGBTQ persons, and trump protects police officers instead of the victims of police brutality and unjust policies. BLM! What alarms me is that time and time again, churches in the U.S. falls to abortion as the foundational voting issue, but we have had a conservative leaning Supreme Court for years, and Roe V. Wade remains. We have more conservative judges on the court than ever, and yet they continue to protect a woman’s right. (So even if this is why folks vote one way or another–the US Supreme Court has the final say and nothing has changed). Followers of Jesus must vote for life. ALL LIFE. Black lives. Incarcerated lives. Asylum Seekers. LGBTQ. Women’s rights. We might say we are, but then our votes say differently, when we endorse a party/president that ignore at best and endorse at worse laws and policies that further the marginalization and oppression of the most vulnerable.

  3. Cydney Haynes Avatar
    Cydney Haynes

    A very controversial topic to address, thank you. For nearly 70 years I was very political, but now have lost respect for both parties and have bowed out. I now see my citizenship in heaven and in God’s kingdom….and often reflect on the fact that Jesus wasn’t political, but was concerned with the heart of man. I understand now why the Amish usually don’t vote. Believe me, both my democrat and republican family and friends are livid that I don’t vote. Before God I asked myself, “Can I in good conscience vote for either candidate/agenda?” There are issues on both sides that I agree with and also those that seem ungodly. I do hope that I treat people from both sides with dignity and respect. I always appreciate your thought provoking articles, Philip!

  4. Susan Avatar
    Susan

    I stopped calling myself an evangelical the day Trump was elected. Even if abortion is made illegal, it will not stop. I know women who had illegal abortions because they were so desperate. I believe we need to create a society where a woman does not choose abortion because there is access to birth control, medical, financial and emotional support (not just until the baby is born) and we have removed societal stigmas to adoption. I find it fascinating that my family and friends vote first against abortion and seem to be unconcerned about all the other people whose lives are threatened in so many ways in the America of 2020. I have been called an idiot and an anarchist for merely suggesting we end the electoral college. Despite how respectful I am to my conservative friends, I do not receive respect in return and have even had my faith and Christianity questioned. I believe, as Jared Byas recent book, “Love Matters More,” but I do not see this love in very many Conservative Christians. I pray daily for our nation and a change in her course.

  5. Benny jacob Avatar
    Benny jacob

    When Jesus was questioned : should we give tax… Answer was: Give what is due to Ceaser and give what is due to god…do we think Jesus being cowardly taking a neutral side?!

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47 thoughts on “Election Year Musings”

  1. I am making this comment more as a reply to the comments thread than the post itself. Have been a long-time follower of Philip’s writings. I am from India. We see up close what happens when religion mixes up with the State. No religion should be mixed up with the State. Not Hinduism in India. Not Christianity in the United States. When, as an outsider, I see the hate and bigotry exhibited by Christians (and their leader) in the US it is not very far from what religious fanatics in my own country exhibit. It costs a lot of lives in our country. Hope the US does not reach that stage. That would not augur well for the US or Christianity. Perhaps this thought will help you during your election day!

    Reply
  2. WOW. Ok. These replies reveal the deep discord and chasm that exists in the church. (Granted any church historian can suggest that this schism has always been there–from the first ecclesial conflict recorded in Acts). Anyway.
    But what i find disheartening is that we, those of us who call on the Name of Jesus, need to be different. We are called to be in the world not of it. We are called to be salt and light and a city on a hill. We, liberal and conservative, proof text the teachings of Jesus to defend our views. Which, as i read it, was Yancey’s point. We are called to a third way. A different path. Yet. In these replies i see much anger and separation and finger pointing. Isn’t there a third way forward? Or must we bend to the will of polarization and create enemies of each other, thus cementing the death of the church in the U.S.? However. We are called to make a stand. I am not calling anyone out on this thread, but i will say that the current administration, to me, feels more like one who would oppose Jesus than stand with, or listen to Him. That raises a huge flag for me. The current administration cages children. Endorses forced sterilization of asylum seekers. Stands with hate groups. Protects policies that help and protect the superrich while laying the burden on those, financially, cant afford it. He seems to deny climate change and science in general. And like the brilliant Mel White offered earlier in this thread, the current person in the White House does nothing to protect the rights of LGBTQ persons, and trump protects police officers instead of the victims of police brutality and unjust policies. BLM! What alarms me is that time and time again, churches in the U.S. falls to abortion as the foundational voting issue, but we have had a conservative leaning Supreme Court for years, and Roe V. Wade remains. We have more conservative judges on the court than ever, and yet they continue to protect a woman’s right. (So even if this is why folks vote one way or another–the US Supreme Court has the final say and nothing has changed). Followers of Jesus must vote for life. ALL LIFE. Black lives. Incarcerated lives. Asylum Seekers. LGBTQ. Women’s rights. We might say we are, but then our votes say differently, when we endorse a party/president that ignore at best and endorse at worse laws and policies that further the marginalization and oppression of the most vulnerable.

    Reply
  3. A very controversial topic to address, thank you. For nearly 70 years I was very political, but now have lost respect for both parties and have bowed out. I now see my citizenship in heaven and in God’s kingdom….and often reflect on the fact that Jesus wasn’t political, but was concerned with the heart of man. I understand now why the Amish usually don’t vote. Believe me, both my democrat and republican family and friends are livid that I don’t vote. Before God I asked myself, “Can I in good conscience vote for either candidate/agenda?” There are issues on both sides that I agree with and also those that seem ungodly. I do hope that I treat people from both sides with dignity and respect. I always appreciate your thought provoking articles, Philip!

    Reply
  4. I stopped calling myself an evangelical the day Trump was elected. Even if abortion is made illegal, it will not stop. I know women who had illegal abortions because they were so desperate. I believe we need to create a society where a woman does not choose abortion because there is access to birth control, medical, financial and emotional support (not just until the baby is born) and we have removed societal stigmas to adoption. I find it fascinating that my family and friends vote first against abortion and seem to be unconcerned about all the other people whose lives are threatened in so many ways in the America of 2020. I have been called an idiot and an anarchist for merely suggesting we end the electoral college. Despite how respectful I am to my conservative friends, I do not receive respect in return and have even had my faith and Christianity questioned. I believe, as Jared Byas recent book, “Love Matters More,” but I do not see this love in very many Conservative Christians. I pray daily for our nation and a change in her course.

    Reply

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