What does a Christian have to do with politics? To engage or disengage? If engage, how to engage? In this hyper-politicized world, these questions are more urgent than before.
Some out of a false of piety avoid politics like plague, arguing Christians shall be “spiritual” rather than being interested in or involved with politics. Some pessimists think all dies have been cast. Christians can do nothing, even if we want to do something. Some optimists think nothing should be done because there is nothing wrong. Some say we should engage in politics but we do not care about how. In the end, their politics does not differ from the unregenerate in essence. Thus we have the hyper-spiritualists, the pessimists, the optimists, and the Machiavellians, besides those who have no particular views since they are not comfortable to think or talk about politics at all.
The above groups may vary in their specific reasoning, but what they are in common is the lack of solid, comprehensive, and distinct biblical worldview. For the hyper-spiritualists, politics is entirely missing from their worldview; for the pessimists and optimists, politics is so marginalized that even if it exists in their worldview, it is irrelevant; for the Machiavellians, politics may be part in their worldview, but their worldview is not Christian. We could further reduce the four groups into two: the passive and the active, the disengaging and the engaging.
Actually the two parties, those advocating disengagement and those advocating engagement, are on the same boat. Both think politics functions practically outside the Christian worldview. The only difference is that: one retreats from politics since it is outside, and the other engages in a non-Christian way since it is outside.
Many Christians think they are too spiritual to care about politics, and those who care, are too uninformed and unequipped to deal with politics. That is the problem we face today, if not always. The outcome is that Christians have given up politics to non-Christians, not only that, but they also blindly trust the ideologies and policies spit out by unbelievers. The Christians in the traditionally Christian nations have basically surrendered to the neo-pagans because their naivety is capitalized by the latter. The Christians in the non-Christian nations have willingly received whatever the pagan government has imposed upon them concerning politics, if not everything.
Here we are not trying to persuade Christians to participate in political activities or discourses; we are here to discuss how Christians should treat politics, how politics fits in the Christian worldview. First of all, there is no escape from politics. Politics will always find you, and politics matters to you in all kinds of ways. Politics is spiritual just as everything in this world is spiritual, because you are a spiritual being and the God of the world is Spirit. This does not mean politics is as important as justification by faith, but it does mean politics is an integral part of Christian life just as justification by faith is. You may not have the opportunity or gift to participate in politics, but you are being influenced by politics through information, policies, and power. Politics does not just talk about politics proper; it is trying to tell (if not coerce) you how to think and how to behave, even when you trying to avoid politics. If you do not have discernment, you are a willing object for pagan brainwashing. Your understanding of politics may not matter to others (as most people do not have political influence), but it matters to you and it shapes your thinking as it is the channel through which politics influences you. You may not be called to change a policy, but you should guard yourself from accepting pagan values flushed out in politics. You should not be a supporter, colluder, or co-conspirator of the pagan ideology, whatever name the political machine may carry. Your political discernment is not primarily about political or social wellbeing, it is about spiritual wellbeing; it is not primarily about changing the society, it is about protecting you and your family.
The widespread disinterest and naivety of Christians concerning politics have made politics a convenient avenue for the infiltration of anti-Christian ideology, just as science has been. Some think we can just leave politics to politicians, just as we should leave science to scientists. Yes, to certain degree, this is right. But not quite so, because neither politics nor science is value-neutral. Anything blindly left to the unregenerate means anything will in the end become the vehicle of the unregenerate mind, then it will affect Christians through these vehicles.
So Christians should think about politics, and think about it biblically. And if, we mean if, a Christian is given the opportunity and gift to engage in politics, voting or holding an office, he should engage biblically. And this would be complicated. Often the error is to oversimplify it. Some think Christian engagement in politics is just to enforce Christian moral values over the whole society; some think Christian engagement is just to maintain general peace and order. However, the biblical teaching is never that simple. It is never “just” about something. We do not look into the extensive biblical data; here we only need to think about David and Daniel. When one examines their political engagements side by side, it is not one-sided, not to say the political environment is not one-sided.
A Christian politician is not a pastor but he must be a saint; he is a politician but not a political jellyfish; he works with pagans and sometimes works for pagans, but above all, he works under a Christian principle for God. He may not be a successful politician, but he should be a faithful one to God; he may not be a successful politician, but he should not be charged with lacking wisdom and grace. This is difficult, no doubt. But a solid, comprehensive, and distinct Christian worldview should equip those called and gifted to act wisely and faithfully. God’s grace is sufficient to accomplish all that God intends to accomplish. Anything lacking is our fault. Any hole on our worldview is where the rat sneaks in. That is why the church should teach the whole counsel of God.
Within the biblical worldview, there is engagement and there is disengagement; but neither the engagement nor the disengagement is what the pagans understand. Both are distinctly Christian. In a totalitarian government, neither an ordinary Christian nor an ordinary non-Christian could engage in politics formally. But this Christian, if he is faithful to God, is different from this non-Christian in his disengagement. In a modern democracy, both an ordinary Christian and an ordinary non-Christian could engage in politics formally. But this Christian, if he is faithful to God, also differs from this non-Christian in his engagement. For most matters, it is never a simple do or don’t, but a complicated how. This is where Christian mind and character come in.
