I had a conversation with my brother over breakfast this morning about the loss of civility when it comes to political discourse these days. It has saddened me to see that many of us are swayed more the talking heads spouting sound bites for increased television ratings, than by actually sitting across from someone who might think differently than you and with civility, dialoguing. This lack of civility has further entrenched those sitting on either side of this polarized political culture.
Interestingly enough, I came across this interview with Michael Sandel, a professor of Ethics at Harvard. Very interesting and insightful...take a look.
I have decided to do a series of posts weighing in on a subject I have been thinking and studying about for a while. I have to start by explaining that my thoughts and positions on this subject have changed dramatically over the past decade. I also expect they will continue to grow, morph and change as I get older. Part of the reason for this series of posts is to get out what I am thinking. This does not come from a paper or a sermon I have written or preached, it comes from my head as I type. With that in mind, I might jump around a bit, so stick with me. I have to give credit my older brother James, who continues to teach me things, for the seed thought for these posts. We had a conversation a couple weeks ago, and I have been chewing on it since.
I feel that we in the American church are far past the need to have a conversation about what our role is and should be in politics and government. Unfortunately, a healthy conversation has not been possible because we Christians don't allow for others within the family to differ in our opinions and still feel a part of the family. This happens with many subjects, and unfortunately it shuts down any meaningful dialogue that could happen. So, although I will be proposing things I have come to believe, I do it with charity and humility, knowing that I have never been totally right, and someone else totally wrong. Also, to save time I will refer to politics and government as PG. (funny, cause it usually is at least PG13 or even R :) )
In this series of posts I will deal with what I see as the major struggles of Christians in America and their participation in PG (for all my friends that are not American citizens, I am only working this conversation from within my present context, however the subject has applications in any country or nation); an overview of the differing views within the Christian world of how we should participate in PG, including looking at where these ideas came from; what I see as the Biblical understanding of how we should participate in PG and how Jesus himself participated in PG; and lastly an overview of my stance.
I understand that this is only a series of blog posts, and that there have been whole volumes written on the subject. I will not be able to write everything I have thought on the subject, and it might take a question or comment to get further clarification on what I am thinking. Feel free to participate. I know this is a bit of a heavy subject, but it is a needed one. So...lets talk together about how we as Christians are called by God to participate.
