How Not To Create A Unified Christian Witness

(Warning:  Today's message involves both politics and religion.  If you do not care for either or both, might I suggest a happy bunny video?  We will return to our regularly scheduled broadcast tomorrow).

On 06 April 2008 came the moment that unwound Christian unity in the United States.

The candidate at that time - a Democrat - was attempting to respond to why they believed they were suffering in certain demographics, particularly working class voters.  I reproduce the quote here in its entirety:

"They get bitter, they cling to guns or religion or antipathy to people who aren't like them or anti-immigrant sentiment or anti-trade sentiment as a way to explain their frustrations."

The candidate in question eventually apologized for the comment if people were "offended".

But the part I would like to focus on in particular is that word "religion".

The interpretation was clear to anyone who heard the quote.  The speaker was not referring to all religions; he was referring to a particular one, the one held by the people of that demographic:  Christians.

That I am aware, no major Christian denomination that supported that particular candidate or their beliefs was offended by that comment or offered a rebuke.  Not one of them - again, that I recall or since - made a point of stating that while they might disagree with the political views of the "opposite" side, they viewed them as brothers and sisters in Christ.

With this comment - and with the resulting silence - an invisible dividing line appeared amongst denominations and religious groups in America, perhaps never to be undone.

The major contrast, of course, is Christ and His apostles, who never addressed the Christian's view of government - whether it be a good government or a bad one - except to be a good citizen and pray for its leaders.  However, both Christ and His apostles talked rather repeatedly about the brotherhood of Christians and how they were to speak and love each other.

Why this walk to memory lane 10 years later?  Because more and more, I hear the cry for Christians of a particular belief strain to be up in arms about the current state of affairs, that they should be forcefully interjecting themselves into the political arena (as an aside, the first time in a very long time that strain of believing Christian has been encouraged to so so) as a "moral imperative".  Somehow, this lack of action is bringing the very name of Christ into disarray.

View it from the other side, however.  The people who are crying for this action are the very people whom, years ago (and every years since) have actively mocked and laughed and cheered when the "bitter clingers" of Christianity - the religion they themselves proclaim.

Having chose sides- publicly and somewhat brazenly - the moral superiority of their position is undermined.  More importantly - and more devastatingly - the cause of Christ is undermined.

To cling (a deliberate choice of words) to a candidate or position is to abandon your own witness.  50% of the people will agree with you and 50% will consider you a raging lunatic.  But 100% of the people will see you not solely as a Christian:  they will see you as a liberal or a conservative that happens to say you are a Christian.

John MacArthur, whom I consider to be one of the great teachers of the last 50 years, never makes a political statement.  He steadfastly brings everything back to Scripture and the need of salvation and repentance for everyone, liberal and conservative.

That is the mission of the Church.  Anything less makes it a political action committee that divides, not unites.