Powers and Principalities?

There was an excellent (and lengthy) article by David Kirkpatrick in the New York Times with the unfortunate title “The Evangelical Crackup.” The article does an excellent and balanced job of discussing the change that has taken place in the religious right. While evangelical voters once tended to rally around single-issues (abortion or homosexuality) and national leaders (Jerry Fallwell, Pat Robertson, James Kennedy), that is no longer the case today. Younger leaders (Rick Warren and Bill Hybels) are just as likely to stress AIDS, global warming, poverty and the plight of women in developing countries. Kirkpatrick does a good job illustrating this and giving some of the reasons why this is the case. Give the article a read... I'd be interested in your comments.

A quote from Gene Carlson in the article caught my attention. Carlson was senior pastor for 40 years of the 7000 member Westlink Christian Church. He was very involved in "the Christian Right," leading abortion protests and raising money. Though he still believes that abortion is evil, Carlson has had second thought about his political activism which he says “didn’t really change abortion.” Working to elect Christian politicians never seemed to make any difference in the end. Here was his observation that stopped me, “When you mix politics and religion you get politics.” And maybe that means in the end a Chrisatian politician is a politician?

Christianity was born in a totalitarian dictatorship in which politics was for the powerful and individual rights did not exist. For the most part, those with political power and influence were the enemy of God’s people and truth. James reminded his audience that it was the rich and powerful who were exploiting them and slandering the name of Christ (James 2:6-7). Later he condemns the wealthy ruling class who have hoarded wealth and exploited the powerless (James 5:1-6). Christians were to pray for leaders... so they could be left alone to live in peace (1 Tim 2:1-2). Are the political power structures of our world part of what Paul meant by “the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil?” Is it the case that when the church joins these power structures, even for good and noble purposes, that we run the risk of being twisted by them? Lord Acton’s famous line is, “Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely."

I’m not saying that Christians shouldn’t vote on moral issues. I’m not saying that Christians should never run for public office or get involved in political causes. This world needs the leavening influence of godly people in all spheres of life! But I am suggesting that the answer to the problems of this world is the message of the cross, not any political party or candidate or agenda. We will do more to change the woes of this world by sharing the story of Jesus and living out its implications in our own lives than by our political affiliations. Who we vote for is always optional; who we live for is not!