Time for A Christian Political Party?

Christians in Politics

For about the past thirty years we have seen putative attempts by Christians to form political parties and to enter into the political arena. These have not been blessed with success. In fact, quite the opposite.

Every so often we at Contra Celsum are asked whether we would be interested in standing for Parliament, or whether we have any thoughts on yet another attempt to form a Christian political party. The answer is always no, and no.Now, lest any misunderstand we emphatically do not hold the view that government and politics is beyond the realm of God's Kingdom. It most certainly is. Government has to do with the administration of justice, pure and simple. Justice and considerations over justice lie at the very heart of God's Kingdom. Our view remains that as God's Kingdom extends, develops and grows; as more and more of creation comes under the rule and sway of God's Spirit; and as communities and societies come increasingly to respect and reverence the Word of God, civil governments will inevitably be drawn into God's Kingdom.

But not yet. The current weakened and attenuated state of Jerusalem in our day means that Christian political endeavour is premature and therefore inappropriate for our times. If we compare our current situation to that of the Roman Empire, entering political service today would be tantamount to Christians in the early centuries seeking political office in Caesar's Rome in order to arrange and administrate Caesar's public games. There was nothing Christian about standing in Caesar's place arranging for, and administrating the public execution of Christians and other innocents, and the murderous bloodletting of gladiatorial combat all to entertain the mob and keep them happy.

So in our day. Here are four critical reasons why we believe it is inappropriate for Christians to seek political office in our day.

1. Whipped parties. In Jerusalem, one of the most important institutions is the believing and confessing heart. In Romans 10: 9,10 we read: “ . . . if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you shall be saved; for with the heart man believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation.” This means that each individual must be free, as a Christian, to profess and act according to his belief. The institutions of Jerusalem are built on this principle. This is why Luther's declaration at the Diet of Worms is in accord with the heart of the Gospel and the Kingdom of God:

Unless I am convinced by Scripture and plain reason - I do not accept the authority of the popes and councils, for they have contradicted each other - my conscience is captive to the Word of God. I cannot and I will not recant anything for to go against conscience is neither right nor safe. God help me. Amen.

But the modern political convention of whipped parties, where one is bound to vote and act, not according to conscience but to the policy of party, means that Christians in the modern political arena are inevitably forced to approbate and vote for actions, laws, and policies which they know to be wrong and intrinsically evil.

Of course, opponents would counter by pointing out that this does not preclude a Christian party from participating, provided that such a party stipulate that all votes would be conscience votes. This is true, as far as it goes, but we immediately see that such an approach would be virtually inconsequential within the current functioning of Parliament itself, contributing little to justice and the legislative task. It would therefore be of little use. There are far more urgent and practical things which Jerusalem should be engaged in at the moment.

2. The Prevailing Dominant Ethic of Secular Humanism. We have seen in recent history that parties can only win reasonable support if they ground themselves in the incumbent control-beliefs of our day. Every political party can only build appeal if it agrees with the following controlling creed:

a.) The Living God has no relevance to politics and government.

b.) All government must be secular.

c.) Government is the ultimate power in our society.

d.) Government has a duty to expropriate income from some and extend welfare to others.

e.) Government has a duty to provide for the health, education and well-being of its people.

As long as people generally are held in the thrall of this creed, no Christian or Christian party can make any meaningful contribution. However, when sixty or seventy percent of the society are professing Christians who fear and love the Lord, it will be a very different matter. The creed of secular humanism will be seen for what it is and Christian politics and government will come into its own.

3.The Small Numbers of Believers. Part of wisdom in God's Kingdom is knowing when something is appropriate, and when it is not. In the end, government and law reflects the heart of the people. When such relatively small numbers are found in Jerusalem, talk of political activities is premature. The priorities before us now are the extension of the Kingdom through the preaching of the Gospel, on the one hand, and the building up a Christians in the faith, on the other. It is only as we act consistently with our God-given duties and responsibilities that we can expect the covenantal blessings of God to fall upon us. As they fall, the cultural power and influence of God's people in the community will grow as an inevitable result. Eventually, the citadels of unbelief will be surrounded, and the halls of government captured. But we must build an army first—a host of God's people living, working, serving in the community, doing good to all men, but especially to those of the household of faith.

4. Vacuous Christian Minds. The majority of professing Christians have been taught all their lives in the state's secular education system. They have been indoctrinated to think as humanists in almost every area of life. Jerusalem's great and urgent duty is the reformation of Church, Family and School. Until we are able to educate our children in a manner consistent with our faith, we cannot expect that the Christian community will be able to distinguish between the counsels of secular humanism, on the one hand, and faithful Christian principles, on the other.

Until our children are properly taught and educated, we will not produce faithful Christians who think and act Christianly in their professions, whether they be in science, medicine, law, the liberal arts, or whatever. It is only upon such a foundation that true, God-honouring political views can emerge.

If Christians cannot distinguish between the justice of secular humanism and the justice of Jerusalem we are utterly ill-equipped and malformed for roles in politics. If we are not clear according to Scripture on the God-ordained roles and responsibilities of the Church, the Family, the State, the School, the Corporation, how could we distinguish between the policies of God and of Baal in the civic and public sphere? And if we cannot even get our thinking right on these matters, any actual Christian political involvement will end up as an abortion.

So, when folk ask about Christian politics our position is, No, not yet. Let us heed the counsel of Jeremiah:

If you have run with footmen and they have tired you out, then how will you compete with horses?
If you fall down in a land of peace, how will you do in the thicket of the Jordan?
Jeremiah 12:5

Or, in the vernacular, Jerusalem needs to learn to walk, before it thinks about running.