(This article was written on 30 Nov 2004. I have posted it here as a reflection on the current event which calls for how Christians engage a secular society)
Religion and Politics
The result of the recent US presidential election has prompted discussions on “mixing religion with politics.”1,2 The general opinion was that President Bush was reelected because of votes from evangelical Christians who supported his stand against issues of abortion, gay marriages, stem cell research and human cloning. Chua Mui Hoong1, a senior political correspondent with Straits Times, cautioned whether “religious lobby in Singapore (will) one day amass electoral clout (as it had happened in US).” She cited a negative example of how a Singapore Christian group started an online campaign urging Christians to lobby their MPs against gay lifestyle with charged language, “The battle lines are now drawn and it is time for the Church in Singapore to rise up and make a stand.” She concluded by stating, “religious groups can focus on keeping their own house in order (discourage fellow believers from doing something considered immoral), and not throw stones at the houses of others (prevent others from doing something you consider immoral, but which they think is fine).” Guwe2 appositely showed that Chua failed to recognize that some (not all) public issues are religious-moral issues and hence it is inevitable that religious-moral values feature on such public policy decisions.
Christians are to function as the conscience of the society. How can we do this effectively? To what extent should we pursue this role without rousing negative sentiments in a pluralistic society? There are no short or simple answers. Three principles have been helpful in my approach to the subject.
Firstly, the primary role of the Church is to fulfill the Great Commission. Article 6 of the Lausanne Covenant3 states, “We affirm that Christ sends his redeemed people into the world as the Father sent him, and that this calls for a similar deep and costly penetration of the world. We need to break out of our ecclesiastical ghettos and permeate non-Christian society. In the Church's mission of sacrificial service evangelism is primary.”
The Church is not a political party. Politics is the science of government and deal with public policies and legislations. In this sense it is a job for the professionals who have the expertise, training and skills. “Politics is not the church’s first calling. Evangelism,…discipleship, fellowship, teaching the Word…are the heartbeat of the church. When it addresses political issues, the church must not do so at the risk of weakening its primary mission.”4 When the Church gets involved in socio-political issues, she must remember that “evangelism is the major instrument of social change, for the gospel changes people and changed people can change society… evangelism takes primacy…”5
Secondly, we need to affirm our social responsibilities. This is eloquently described in article 5 of the Lausanne Covenant, “We affirm that God is both the Creator and the Judge of all men. We therefore should share his concern for justice and reconciliation throughout human society… we express penitence both for our neglect and for having sometimes regarded evangelism and social concern as mutually exclusive. Although reconciliation with other people is not reconciliation with God, nor is social action evangelism, nor is political liberation salvation, nevertheless we affirm that evangelism and socio-political involvement are both part of our Christian duty. For both are necessary expressions of our doctrines of God and man, our love for our neighbour and our obedience to Jesus Christ…and we should not be afraid to denounce evil and injustice wherever they exist. When people receive Christ, they are born again into His kingdom and must seek not only to exhibit but also to spread its righteousness in the midst of an unrighteous world. The salvation we claim should be transforming us in the totality of our personal and social responsibilities. Faith without works is dead.”
On a broader sense, politics denotes life of the city (polis) and the responsibilities of citizens (politēs), the art of living together in a community. In this broader sense, all Christians are involved in politics. 1 Peter 2:13-17 instructs us to “submit to the authority instituted among men” (abide by the law of the land), “commend those who do right” (you chose your leaders), “do good and live as servants of God” (social concern and social justice), “show proper respect to everyone” (civility in a pluralistic society).
Christians have a role in social service - relieving human need, works of mercy, etc. However, Christian social concern may oblige us to socio-political action. Some needs or structural evil cannot be relieved without political action and legislations. “If travellers on the Jerusalem-Jericho road were habitually beaten up, and habitually cared for by Good Samaritans, the need for better laws to eliminate armed robbery might well be overlooked. If road accidents keep occurring at a particular crossroads, it is not more ambulances that are needed but the installation of traffic lights to prevent accidents. It is always good to feed the hungry; it is better, if possible, to eradicate the causes of hunger. So if we truly love our neighbours, and want to serve them, our service may oblige us to take (or solicit) political actions on their behalf.” 6
Thirdly, Christians need to use persuasion rather than imposition for moral leadership. Satanizing non-believers, dogmatic pronouncements and using “charged language” are sure ways of losing all credibility in a society where we are a minority. We need to argue our case on its merits and hold our case with more reasons than just “the Bible say so.” John Stott succinctly puts it, “In evangelism, we should never try to force people to believe the gospel, nor remain silent as if we were indifferent to their response, nor rely exclusively on dogmatic proclamation of biblical texts…, but rather like the apostles, reason with people from both nature and Scripture, commending God’s gospel to them by rational arguments. In social action, similarly, we should neither try to impose Christian standards by force on an unwilling public, nor remain silent and inactive before contemporary landslide, nor rely exclusively on dogmatic assertions of biblical values, but rather reason with people about the benefits of Christian morality, commending God’s law to them by rational arguments.”7 Civility should characterize our approach to these issues.8 “Make every effort to live in peace with all men….” (Heb12:14) “When we are cursed, we bless; when we are persecuted, we endure it; when we are slandered, we answer kindly.” (I Cor:12-13).
In some circles, this is a taboo subject. However as Christians and citizens of the world, this is a subject we cannot avoid. We discount it to the Church’s peril. Church history and current events attest to this. This is not an exhaustive treatise and I am no expert on the subject. My aim is but to remind ourselves that Christians need to constantly seek to understand our role and how we fulfill this role in a multi-racial, multi-cultural and multi-religious society.
References
1. Chua Mui Hoong, “Beware of mixing religion and politics” in Straits Times Nov 5, 2004
2. Guwe Miauw Khoon, “US political issues were also religious ones” in Straits Times Nov 23, 2004
3. Lausanne Covenant. A declaration agreed upon by Christian leaders from more than 150 countries during the 1974 International Congress on World Evangelization in Lausanne, Switzerland that was called by a committee headed by Rev Billy Graham to promote intentional world evangelization.
4. Charles Colson, Kingdoms in conflict, pg 290
5. John Stott, Issues facing Christians today, pg 12
6. John Stott, Involvement: Being a responsible Christian in a Non-Christian Society, pg104-5
7. John Stott, Issues facing Christians today, pg 52
8. Richard J Mouw, Uncommon decency: Christian civility in an uncivil world
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