“My Christian brothers who vote badly—very badly—are righteous. They are bathed in the righteousness of Christ. That makes how they vote insignificant to my regard for them, relatively speaking.” - Dan Olinger
By Jordan Standridge. Reposted from The Cripplegate, November 15, 2016. (HT: Zeteo 316.)
We were warned. I feel like it was over and over again. Pastor after pastor told us that if politics becomes an idol in our heart that those who don’t agree with us will slowly become the enemy. We were told that when we put our hopes and trust in the one who sits in the Oval Office and into avoiding persecution and holding on to religious freedom then when people speak out with opposing views from us we will despise them and treat them like an enemy.
“The Bible tells me that abortion is a sin and great evil, but it doesn’t tell me the best way to decrease or end abortion in this country, nor which policies are most effective” - C.Post
“Yes, there has always been the reality of churches mixing in too much politics, but this is different. It’s not necessarily about the pastor being too political, as would be the common claim before our current political climate. Today’s criticism is more focused on what the pastor is not. This usually takes form in two different outrages…” - F&T
“It’s been painful to see the church in America follow the national discourse….. Watching old college friends—who never expressed political opinions before—suddenly waging virtual war on Facebook regarding justice (on both sides) reveals just how all-consuming politics has become.” - TGC
My thoughts below predate COVID-19, masks, hydroxychloroquine, or churches defying public health emergency orders. Last fall, different controversies were exposing problems in how believers evaluate conflicting claims and decide what to believe.
But those problems are still with us, and the current raft of controversies is exposing them even more painfully.
“I really can’t support Christian friends passing on lies and half-truths in support of Trump or any other candidate. So many of the ‘internet memes’ tell less than half the story, it would be better for us to not say anything at all, rather than passing on lies because we like to ‘stick it’ to our opponents.” - Don Johnson
“Although every believer must filter their outlook through Scripture, all believers come to the table with different upbringings and lived experiences. This is none more evident than in the world of politics.
“Politics and theology both exist on broad continuums. By virtue of Mark Galli’s editorial and CT president Tim Dalrymple’s follow-up, we’ve situated ourselves on these continuums in a kind of extreme middle—in censorial critique of the president and yet open to conversation as well as critique.” - Daniel Harrell
