Faithful should stay in politics but remember to make Jesus first
I think as we descend into more cultural and societal chaos on the road to the last day, it will be more and more important for those of us in politics to decide which comes first, faith or politics. They can be balanced. I try, sometimes fail, but keep trying. A growing number of people on the right are no longer trying to balance. They are either going completely out of the public square, or all in without Christ in their heart or on their tongue thinking they can just visit him on Sunday.
We should find balance. We may fail, but we should keep trying. We should not recede from the public square and a growing number of conservatives are showing more willingness to drive from the public square those who urge greater measures of Christian grace and charity than they prefer.
On the last day there will be a narrow gate. That makes me pessimistic about my future in politics and the future voices on the right when cultural and social issues come to the forefront. But for those here and elsewhere, though I may fall short because I’m a sinner, I’m with Jesus first and all the rest comes after.
~ Erick Erickson, Red State, August 21
Jill Stanek is a nurse turned speaker, columnist and blogger, a national figure in the effort to protect both preborn and postborn innocent human life.
I have several Christian friends who are active in politics.
It is a difficult middle-way: We know that our salvation cannot be found in political activity. But Christians need to participate in the public arena, including politics.
There is a problem of passion: The Christian politician does politics because democracy needs to be done. The secularist politician is often a true believer, seeking social salvation through politics. (Recall the wild eyes of Nancy Pelosi as she defined her “sacred ground.”)
Most of my political friends are devout Catholics. This is a double-edge sword: Catholicism has a well-developed moral theology of social justice. And it does not fit neatly with the modern, artificial definitions of “liberal” and “conservative.”
Catholicism has seen empires rise and fall. We have tested and honed our political theology in the real world. We can already see that America will fail because America has forgotten solidarity and subsidiarity.
These terms and their related concepts are not taught in our public schools anymore. A society cannot do what we don’t know how to do. And that is most true about our survival as a self-governed people.