My Political Statement
I hate politics. (Though, sometimes I am guilty of playing them.)
There is as much hope to be found in politics as there is in religion and religion is a lie.
There is no hope to be found in any political candidate.
There are no men worthy to be looked to as leader of the free world. If such a man existed, he would not be vying for the position.
Christian, no system of government makes your job any easier. Only easier and harder in different ways.
Understand that no matter who you vote for, you will still be in danger of being a slave to the world’s system, and the world is a cruel master.
Liberals have it wrong in many ways. Conservatives have it wrong in others. No matter how good they sound, Or say they are.
Sounds like you just stubbed your toe on something, Matt. This is quite the rant.
I hope that most Christians don’t think as you do or we will be looking at each other from behind bars or worse as a result of the government that “we the people” elect. Now that might make you smile thinking that most Christians throughout history have suffered a similar fate. But I’m not so willing to sacrifice my children’s future or the future of the unborn, because I have become disillusioned or disgusted with politics.
Let’s practice I Timothy 2:1-4 and get involved in politics through prayer and diligent action. Other Christians who have gone before us did, and we live in freedom and prosperity because of it.
Hey Matt,
first of all I wanted to say it was good seeing you and pat the other night. The other thing is that I COMPLETELY agree with you. It seems to me that the church was most effective and alive when it was an underground movement as opposed to being sponsored by the state. It also strikes me as interesting that Jesus refused to get involved with politics. I dont think Jesus is trying to tell us not to vote, but maybe He is wanting us to reevaluate what we are putting our faith in.
I agree with Tim, we need to be involved with politics (I just realized this a month ago). If your struggling to find a good candidate for president, check out Mike Huckabee (mikehuckabee.com). He’s a man committed to the Lord, and a man of great integrity (those to should be synonimous). Anyway, check him out…
(he’s Chuck Norris approved too)
if people hate us because of our Lord, that is something where we can have joy in persecution, hurt as it may. if people hate us because we fall in line as a voting bloc for a candidate because we are told it’s the christian thing to do, annoying just about everyone else in the process, that seems pointless to me. that’s the disturbing trend i see that will probably only get worse until evangelicals either form a new party (and become irrelevant) or are driven underground. hopefully i have bad eyesight.
disclaimer i think mike huckabee is a good guy and would be my second choice for a candidate, this post has almost nothing to do with him personally. it’s too bad i feel i have to add that disclaimer, but i do.
I don’t think that Matt is saying that christians need to throw away politics completely. I think he is more warning about putting your hope in politics. Hopefully it is a vocal minority but I have read and seen a lot of christians that in my opinion are putting thier hope in Huckabee. Hopefully I am just seeing things but sometimes it is scary.
p.s. Adam, in no way am I implying that you are one of those people.
Hey Matt! I just stumbled upon your blogs and have enjoyed what I’ve read so far.
I guess my thought on politics is that yeah, what happens in politics these days sucks. But I think a core part of God’s vision for our (the Church’s) work is to establish the Kingdom here on earth, which is inherently a political act. Especially when you consider where “politics” comes from: issues that arise when people live in societies and communities.
So maybe, as with the rest of the broken world around us, we can look for ways to reclaim politics. Will that happen by voting Republican? Probably not. Will that happen by voting Democrat? Probably not. Is that going to happen through voting, even? I would challenge that idea. Do I have any idea what that would look like? Absolutely not, but I’m young and idealistic enough to believe there’s a way : )
Keep up the good work, both in web design and for the Kingdom!
I agree with Matt AND Tim. How’s that for a political compromise.
After the Bush Wars in 2000 and 2004 with other Christians, I’ve concluded that we need to participate in politics because God wants us to be good citizens. I am a conservative because I think conservatism is best able to meet the needs of people. But people who call themselves conservatives don’t always govern as conservatives should because they don;t truly have the needs of people at heart. Same could be said for liberals.
Bottomline for me: We’re in a battle being waged by God against the gates of hell. It’s not a political battle, however, and not about prayer in school or amnesty for illegal immigrants or the flat tax, etc. The battle is a rescue mission for people’s souls. So everything should take a back seat to that mission.