Does your faith play a role in your political views?
Do your political views play a role in your faith?
I'm guessing one of these seems really obvious to you. Some of you might be thinking, 'why would he even put that other question up there?'
I can only speak to the Christian experience here...
I've seen a lot of people change their voting habits after making a decision to be a follower of Jesus. I'd say I've seen dozens, if not hundreds. You'd have to come to the conclusion that their faith took priority over their politics. Because of that priority, their political views changed. (in these instances)
I've also seen people who grew up with political leanings - and they generally ignore the basic views of their faith when it comes to a few issues. (they're not changing their vote for nothin')
I'd argue that their politics are their faith. They're not placing their faith in anything. They might agree with a lot of the basics of their faith....but ultimately they're following their politics or themselves.
"It's nice that this religion agrees with me on these points. I don't agree with them on these.
Basically I believe in me...and it just so happens that this faith agrees with me a bunch." My faith is in myself - or my political party - or the political party that I grew up in (it happens) and I could never switch...
I just think it's interesting....
I also think The Office is interesting....and by interesting I mean the best show on tv right now.
My guess is that most people don't agree with everything about their religion or political party. Unfortunately some people confuse the opinions of their religious leaders with dogma. I would hate to think that many Christians identify with the rantings of Pat Robertson, for example.I believe that God gave us a mind and free will and expects us to use them and not to blindly accept the direction of self appointed spokesmen for him.
ReplyDeleteDid Pat Robertson play a a mental patient in "One Flew Over the.."...oh, wait..taht was CLIFF Robertson...
ReplyDeletenever mind..
I'm not talking about following leaders or spokesmen - I'm talking about the basic tenants of one's faith. I agree that most people don't agree with everything about their religion or political party.
ReplyDeleteI'd just say there's a difference between the two.
I don't think Jesus ever meant Christianity to be a list of things we all have to agree with. Many people argue that too many Christians are picking and choosing from the Bible, and thus, ultimately believe in themselves (I think I recently read something like that in a blog). But is it possible that Jesus was really only concerned about one key belief, and people (some well-meaning and some not) have distorted everything else?
ReplyDeleteThe Old Testament says a lot of stuff that most Christians ignore, and it says other things that Christians talk about constantly. Is it possible the whole point of Jesus was to say all that stuff doesn't matter anymore, because there is a new covenant (wait, that seems like nearly a direct quote).
Wait, did that comment have anything to do with your post? How about this, then: Yeah, The Office rocks.
Most people who appear to be voting against the tenets of their faith are being empathetic. They understand that not everyone believes in the same things. They think that while religious laws should control one's own behavior, they should not be used to cudgel others into behaving the same way.
ReplyDeleteThe most prolific religions today both had icons who did not seek political power while they were on Earth. Their message was one of tolerance in a vindictive society.
I really feel like everyone is missing my point (except Fuller)
ReplyDeleteThe Office is really a great show...
Murph,
ReplyDeleteplease stop telling people that their missing your point and reiterate in a clearer, more direct, way.
Hey, remember when Jim moved Dwight's desk into the bathroom? Oh, that was funny. Hey, remember when they made the racial comment about the bathroom being whites only because the symbol was white? Oh, that was funny.
ReplyDeleteYou're right Murph. The Office is the best show on TV right now.
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
ReplyDeleteThank you Mr. Bragg - for making my original point - the office is the best show on tv
ReplyDeleteYep, facial hair. Moustache. Yep. :)
ReplyDeleteAnd I would have to weigh in on the side of my faith playing a role in my political decisions. I hope that I am ruled by God, and not by man. And politics, are after all, of man. :) Just me.
What about the politics of dancing, the politics of (ooo) feeling good...
ReplyDeleteI like that, one, too.
Oooooh... what a good topic. yes, my politics changed over time as i grew closer to Christ.
ReplyDeletei love the office, too. LOVE IT. LOVE IT!
I think that Jesus had a much higher view of the old testament than you're giving him credit for, Steve.
ReplyDeleteJesus went to a lot of trouble to make sure that every promise of the Old Testament was fulfilled in him, specifically saying that he came not to abolish it, but to fulfill it. The Old Testament is all about Jesus.
The New Covenant isn't about saying that the old stuff doesn't matter anymore. It's about 1) revealing the whole truth that the old covenant only partially revealed and, 2) fulfilling BOTH the PROMISES and DEMANDS of the old testament.
I think that you're right in saying that Jesus didn't mean for Christianity to be about agreeing with a whole bunch of stuff. It's about agreeing on ONE thing... and that ONE thing ultimately conforms us to Jesus. Jesus desires for us to love him. What happens when we love Jesus? Guess what - all of a sudden, we start obeying his word and becoming more like him in our minds and hearts. We will no longer be conformed to the pattern of the world but will be transformed by the renewing of our minds. So, the point of Christianity isn't for us to agree on a bunch of topics, but the outcome of Christianity IS that we will reach a broad-ranging consensus on a lot of things, because we're all in the process of being conformed to the same image.
And that is why Murph noticed that faith impacts politics. I think that's a healthy thing. Unfortunately, I think that the religious right and the emerging religious left (or "red-letter Christians" as they so humbly call themselves) are guilty of their politics impacting their faith. The right ignores the poor and focuses on the powerless. The left ignores the powerless and focuses on the poor. Why? Because that's where their political leanings take them.
Honestly, I think that it is an unfortunate circumstance that we have today when people have become so cavalier with the way that they look at scripture and try to pick out the one overriding theme and be okay with anything that seems to fit within that one theme, rather than understanding that the whole thing is about one thing, and that all of it and its commands contribute to that one thing and should not be ignored or cast aside.
When Jesus came to institute the new covenant, he didn't lower the bar. Jesus raised the bar. Jesus said, "be perfect, as your heavenly father is perfect." Not only that, but he met that requirement for us and died that we might, more and more, be able to meet that requirement in our own lives. Jesus didn't die so that we could ignore the law. Jesus died that we might be able to live in obedience to God. His love contrains us to obedience.
I am troubled by the attitude that I see among Christians my age that says "hey, I'm a sinner, and I'm a mess, and that's A-Okay with Jesus." Frankly, that's not A-Okay with Jesus. Jesus died so that we could begin to NOT be a mess. We'll still be a mess, but the point is for us to, little by little, grow out of the mess. Again, to reference Romans 12, we are to be TRANSFORMED and RENEWED. And that is what is missed by so many Christians today who have missed the point of grace.
Yes. I'm a mess. I need to acknowledge the mess and get past it. Not wallow in it.
Okay. Enough of my ranting.
Also, I'm curious as to what stuff most Christians ignore in the Old Testament?
ReplyDeleteThere's a good deal of stuff in Deuteronomy that I ignore. Such as:
ReplyDelete"1 No one who has been emasculated by crushing or cutting may enter the assembly of the LORD.
2 No one born of a forbidden marriage [a] nor any of his descendants may enter the assembly of the LORD, even down to the tenth generation."
Deut. 23:1-2
There's a good deal of stuff in Deuteronomy that I ignore. Such as:
ReplyDelete"1 No one who has been emasculated by crushing or cutting may enter the assembly of the LORD.
2 No one born of a forbidden marriage [a] nor any of his descendants may enter the assembly of the LORD, even down to the tenth generation."
Deut. 23:1-2
"If any clothing is contaminated with mildew—any woolen or linen clothing, any woven or knitted material of linen or wool, any leather or anything made of leather- and if the contamination in the clothing, or leather, or woven or knitted material, or any leather article, is greenish or reddish, it is a spreading mildew and must be shown to the priest.The priest is to examine the mildew and isolate the affected article for seven days." Lev. 13:47-50
ReplyDeleteI usually just throw it in the washer, sprinkle a little Tide in there. Or at the very least, Fabreze it.
Very rarely do I involve a priest in this matter.
not obeying the old testament law as written and without greater scriptural context does not constitute ignoring it.
ReplyDeleteI don't do any of it, but I don't ignore it.
There is a purpose for the laws of the OT. Not following them today does not constitute ignoring them.
oh my word, there are a lot of words here... :)
ReplyDeletei don't think it's really possible to compartmentalize what you believe from the rest of your life. the choices you make, one way or another, in one area of life or another, say something about what you really believe, what you really value. that's not to say that i think there's a one-size-fits-all way to approach to the way every christian should approach politics (not every christian even approaches theology the same way). it's just to say that the same factors that influence how we think about faith are influencing how we think about political issues, and vice versa, and we don't have multiple brains to think about those things with.
and the office is really great. i haven't watched it in a while. i should be on the lookout for it. :)
Brian Masterson!?!? THE Brian Masterson?! Wow..I just read the comment thinking this was Justin (you'd think the "Brian" would have clued me in)
ReplyDeleteYou're alive!
Ok, I feel like saying first we need to be careful we are not being disrespectful to things we cannot understand. Jesus did fulfill the Old Testament completely. Yes, there are many things we do not understand. Nevertheless, they apply to us in some way I feel. I will copy a response I made to something a few months ago on fuller’s blog. People can check out the full comment/post here; stevenfuller.blogspot.com/2006/03/old-vs-new.html#comments.
ReplyDelete“One last illustration to show how the Old Testament teaching is still relevant is when Paul quoted a passage from Deut. 25:4
“I'm not just sounding off because I'm irritated. This is all written in the scriptural law. 9Moses wrote, "Don't muzzle an ox to keep it from eating the grain when it's threshing." Do you think Moses' primary concern was the care of farm animals? 10Don't you think his concern extends to us. Of course. Farmers plow and thresh expecting something when the crop comes in. 1 Corinthians 9:8-10 (The Message)”
He uses an Old Testament passage to illustrate a principle for ministry in the New Testament. The old covenant is dead, thank god. The teachings and recording of god’s word is the Old Testament is still relevant today.
Feel free to respond or comment. I myself would like to learn more.”
God is a god who delights in hiding things in plain sight. Jesus actually thanked him for doing this! Is it a test see who would be sneering, cynical, disbelieving or just plain lazy? To see who would be those who would think they were seeing, but instead remained blind? who thought they knew everything, but really knew jack?
So that is my response to the Old Testament things. Politics, hmm that is like a red cloth to me, I will think about it some more before posting.
And for the record, loved the old office obsessively, haven’t really seen the new one but I heard it is mucho bien.