So, finally that is it. We have a match up. Let me take this time to share what I have said before. I really do not like the two party political system that dominates the American Political system. I agree with our first President, Washington, when he said that the two party system will be the death of the effectiveness of the American Political System. With that said it is what we have, so we work with it. Now that we have clear candidates for the general Presidential election, I thought it would be good to start a series of posts on some of the issues we as Christians see as important, and some that we don't but should. First, let us begin by quoting NT Wright when he was asked how we as Christians should deal in the Public Sector. "We should ask ourselves, what would this world look like if God was running the show?" This is a formative question that we should view all issues through when approaching our civic duty to participate in elections, or work for social justice. So let us start with the idea of advocating for peace. For some reason there have been other issues that mainstream church has elevated above the issue of peace, such as homosexual marriage, abortion, and others. Let me say that I agree with the importance of some of these issues (setting aside H Marriage), especially abortion. But being pro-life while not being anti-war seems to me to be hypocritical. Why does it seem that so many Christians have no problem picketing abortion clinics while supporting elected officials who send young men and women to war? I guess the better question is, "If God was running things, would war be an option?" I admit, that some Christians that speak for peace have treated this as if it is a "no brainer", and in a sense I can understand, however, it is still complicated to some. This complication comes from a number of issues, including how one reads the story of God in the scriptures. There are those that support war by going to the Old Testament (OT) and more specifically books like Judges, and point out that God is not anti-war for he commanded the people of Israel to go to war and to kill, even women and children. These passages are difficult and can be fully explained in one post, other than to say that we as Christians living in America can not use these passages to defend our country's decision to go to war because we are not a "Theocracy" as Israel was. A Theocracy is a God (Theos) led country (cracy). God was their king and was preparing them to inhabit a land that was full of influences that would have, and did, lead them away from him. There are no more God led countries. Rather, God spread his redemption that was once focused on one nation, Israel, to all of Creation through the life death and resurrection of his Son Jesus. Now, the nation or kingdom of God knows no geographical, national, or other boundaries. All who believe in Jesus are a part of the kingdom of God. With this in mind, we understand that when Paul said our "Citizenship is in heaven" (Phil 3:20), our priority is to our kingdom citizenship. And, we have fellow citizens in every country of the world, including Iraq. We can't support war against other citizens of the kingdom can we? I am going to stop and return to this conversation. Comment with your disagreements, comments, or otherwise. Labels: elections, pacifism, peace, war |
