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Should
All Christians Have The Same Political Agenda?
By
chuck scott
I
was reading the Letters to the Editor section of a
fairly well known Christian magazine. A few of the
readers were concerned over the recent backlash
toward President Bush's policy on the war in Iraq
in the previous month's Letters to the Editor. One
reader was saddened by the many negative comments
toward our 'Christian' president. Other comments
ranged from, "I was grieved," to,
"I was shocked that people who call
themselves Christian would bash another
Christian." My favorite was a sort of
justification for Bush's stance on the war in Iraq
because, "we finally have a president who is
pro-life."
I
looked at the letters from the month before, and
there were some in there that were 'bashing'
President Bush, questioning his faith and
salvation. Mostly they were against Bush's policy,
not Bush personally.
Whether
or not Bush is a Christian or not is beside the
point. I am not going to question his salvation.
In fact, I feel that he should (as well as
everyone else) work out his own salvation with
fear and trembling.
Philippians 2:12 &13
What
is of concern is one letter writer's seeming lack
of study of scripture. She had asked, "What
ever happened to the commands in Romans 13:1 and
1Timothy 2:2?" Why is it when we see
the word submit in Romans 13:1 we seem to always
think of the word obey? Submission is not
obedience. To submit is to yield to governance or
authority. To obey would be to follow. One can
submit to God without obeying
Him. A perfect example of this was Ananias
and Saphira. They did not obey God, but they
ultimately submitted to Him. It was against their
will that they submitted.
In
1Timothy 2:2 we are told to pray and intercede,
being thankful for kings and those in authority.
Nowhere in there does it tell us to agree with
them. Now, I respect our president because he is
the president and permitted that honor. Do I agree
with all of his policies? No. I personally agree
with his policy on abortion. I am thankful that he
is pro-life. What I don't agree with is that he
claims to be pro-life ( I know that this is in the
context of abortion) yet he is for the death
penalty and war; both of which are just as much
murder as abortion is. Am I still submitting to
him? Of course I am. I'm not out there holding the
prison hostage until he changes his mind on the
death penalty, nor am I plotting against the
government by supporting our enemies. I am,
however, in public disagreement with his
administration's policies concerning war, the
death penalty and his lack of concern for the
African aids crisis. (yet another issue)
Getting
back to that writer who implied that we are to
submit, (I believe that she was confusing the word
submit for obey) to all leaders for they are
appointed by God, I would be curious as to what
her political stance would have been
if we
were in 1930's Germany. I am sure, without taking
the time to research it, that Hitler had some good
policies. I am sure any one of us would have
thought that
he was doing some good as far as leaders
go. What was wrong with him was his intense hatred
for the Jewish people that surfaced later. When he
started to take away the rights of the Jewish
would she have gone along with it because we are
supposed to follow our leaders?
If she were to follow the Romans 13
doctrine she would have. When they started to take
them to the concentration camps would she have
gone along with it because God appoints our
leaders? --I would hope not!
I
have read somewhere that Hitler used Romans13 as a
tool during his reign. I want to add that I cannot
prove that historically, just something that I
read.
I
am in no way comparing Bush to Hitler..
I
believe that Bush is a Christian. Still, I have
not found one instance in the Gospels to justify
war, and feel that he, being a Christian, should
have proven that biblically to the citizens of the
United States before sending troops anywhere. With
that stance I can be labeled a heretic,
antichrist, and anti American. So much for free
speech.
In
Luke 6:27-36 we are told to love our enemies, do
good to those who hate us, turn the other cheek.
Some people will argue that is meant for the
individual not the collective. They will say this
even when there is no scripture to back it up.
So,
can Christians disagree on political issues and
still be Christians? I think we can. We can't get
the whole sprinkle/immersion baptism thing thought
out; but we still agree we're Christian. I think
we need to have open dialogue on these sort of
issues. I end this with scripture that I feel
backs up my anti war stance. I encourage you to
study this issue. Pray about it. Think about it.
We
are not called to be lemmings. We are called to be
disciples.
Scripture:
Romans
13: 1&2
Matthew
5: 3-10 (emphasis on v.7-10), 5:38-48, 6:14&15
Luke
6:27-36
________________________
Chuck
Scott still lives in So. Illinois with his huge
family in a small house. Contrary to the mood of
this article, Chuck is not really a crank. Chuck
encourages everyone to be involved in life, and
dares people to email him.
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