Do you have to be partisan? Does a Christian need to align with the right or the left, with the Democrats or the Republicans?
Both sides of the political divide put pressure on followers of Jesus to endorse things maybe they shouldn’t and to ignore things that maybe they should pay attention to. In this episode, we talk about the partisan pressure and how to think about it as a follower of Jesus.
The right tempts the church by co-opting elements from the church. The right tempts the church to throw in with them. They invite a syncretism that suggests the state can accomplish the kingdom goals of the church. The identity of the church is compromised because the lines are blurred between the church and the state. The right tempts the church by offering power.
The left tempts the church by coercion or compromise. Either they bully (cancel) the church for disagreeing. Or, they entice the church to comprise to get a hearing for the gospel. The left tempts the church by withholding power.
Both right and left think they are doing the work of God.
How can the church not attempt to place itself on the political spectrum between left and right? How can it not be co-opted or compromised?
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Music:
Little Lily Swing, Tri-Tachyon, Attribution-Noncommercial 4.0 International, https://freemusicarchive.org/music/Tri-Tachyon/the-kleptotonic-ep/little-lily-swing
Sorry, Comfort Fit, Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Germany (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0 DE), https://freemusicarchive.org/music/Comfort_Fit/Forget_And_Remember/03_Sorry