22nd August 2009
Should Christians be Involved in Politics?
Mark Hanson
There are Christians who believe that they should distance themselves from the political arena. Those that do believe in engagement with society see it as a means to an end, the end being to win converts for Christ; a purely evangelistic exercise.
There are many more, however, that hold to the doctrine that Christians are the “salt of the earth” and the “light of the world”. This compels us to engage with the communities around us, whether on a local, national or international level, not only for the purpose of winning souls for Christ (although that is always on our hearts) but also to be, to those around us, a blessing in a variety of ways.
One dear brother of mine did this by becoming a policeman, and despite my misgivings of the state of the police, I respect him for his desire to make a difference.
Some do so in other ways: in community groups, being active in practical missionary work or other aid agencies, and being active in the political arena. It is all part of our desire to influence the world for the better, to “be good stewards” of what God has entrusted to us.
There have been some notable proponents of political engagement, such as the head of the Evangelical Alliance and the politically active charities of Tearfund and the Christian Institute.
There is a very stark warning in recent history for those in the Church who neglect their responsibility of stewardship . The Church in Germany, during the rise of Hitler, took a very separatist view: they should remove themselves from the world as much as possible and concentrate on their own salvation and character. The result was that they did not protest nor hinder Hitler’s rise to dictator, and so were complicit in that terrible period of history.
Exceptions did exist, and the prominent theologian Deitrich Bonhoeffer was vocal and active, not only in opposing Hitler, but also in his condemnation of those who said that the Church has no place in politics.
Today there are an increasing number of threats: from terrorism, from crime, from instability, and from the responses to these dangers. The action taken to counter dangerous times can, in itself, be dangerous. Christians must stand for the values that they confess.
Only by engagement with the world around us can we be “the salt of the earth”.
