As a citizen of the United States living abroad I have found myself changing in ways that I don't think would have happen if I had remained in the States. This certainly has been the case for me and the way I see politics. The meaning of the title of this post is obvious, God cannot be reduced to the size of a political party. The problem is that in practice this is much harder to live out. Being active in the political process is part of being a good citizen. So, yes, my faith will influence my decisions. But my faith can never become subordinate to my political affiliation.
E.J. Dionne Jr., a columnist for the Washington Post, writes this,
Evangelical Protestantism in the United States is going through a New Reformation that is disentangling a great religious movement from a partisan political machine. This historic change will require liberals and conservatives alike to abandon their sometimes narrow views of who evangelicals are.
Here's the link to the article.
He points to the recent declaration to protect creation published by the National Association of Evangelicals that was subsequently criticized by James Dobson and company. In the reaction to the criticism the NAE reaffirmed their position.
I find this debate is healthy. God calls us to be holy in all that we do. That means we promote the sanctity of human life, we defend the defenseless and we care for the world that God has given us.
For further reading...
Bob Robinson's blog, Vanguard Church, is a one I've been reading for some time, here's his thoughts on the James Dobson's criticism of the NAE.
Matt,
Thanks for the hat tip and especially for the link to EJ Dionne's editorial. He definitely understands what is going on!
Posted by: Bob Robinson | March 17, 2007 at 07:17 PM
The fact is I grew up in a Presbyterian church. So I grew up a bit confused ;-). One the one hand the kingdom wasn't coming until the millenium, on the other the kingdom was already here.
My dominant memory is that we didn't talk much about what it meant to be a good neighbor... Or if we did it was reduced to getting people in.
As far as the mindset you talk about I certainly heard "it doesn't matter because it's all going to burn". I can't pin point where but it sure was clear.
Posted by: Matt | March 16, 2007 at 01:58 PM
i don't know what it was like for you being raised pb on the east coast, but i found that there was this midwestern vibe that hinted at 'don't recycle and jesus will come back more quickly' - did you ever come in contact with that kind of mindset matt?
Posted by: bobbie | March 16, 2007 at 01:41 PM