PREACHERS AND POLITICS

The Covid lock down has had some positive side effects. One is that many churches, whether they are meeting in person or not, are also online with either web streaming or posting their sermons on YouTube or both.  Over the last few weeks and months I have watched parts of many online services from a variety of different denominations.

One thing that bothers and outright annoys me however, is to see how many preachers have turned their pulpits into political soapboxes. Whether the issue be COVID conspiracy theories, the US presidential election, or God forbid, the scandal mess that is Canadian politics.  Frankly, I am surprised that the congregants of such preachers tolerate this.  I always assumed that people do not go to church to hear a political speech, but rather to worship God and be instructed in the Word of God.  While it is mainly the mega church pastors with national and international profiles that are guilty of politicizing the pulpit, other churches are jumping on the bandwagon as well.  More surprising is that it is primarily protestant churches – churches who profess to believe in the separation of church and state – who are guilty of this.

Let me clear up one thing right from the start of my rant, and that is that I am greatly interested in politics.  Politics is my favourite spectator sport, and I follow political events the way others follow the Stanley Cup (when it can be followed). I have political convictions and opinions.  And during my brief retirement, I even voiced some of them.  But now that I am again practising ministry, I keep these views  mainly to myself, and I bite my tongue when I am in the pulpit, or on social media, or this public blog.

The reasons for that go beyond the separation of church and state, though I believe in that firmly.  As a preacher of the gospel of Jesus Christ, I am called, along with the entire Christian church, to proclaim that gospel to all people and all nations.  No matter what a person’s political conviction, the good news of salvation in Christ is directed to them, and there is a place for them in the church.

The New Testament teaches, that the church is about the Kingdom of God. Jesus said that this kingdom is “not of this world”. (John 18:36) He also said, “The Kingdom of God is within you (or among you). (Luke 17:21) Actually, Jesus had a great deal to say about where the Kingdom of God comes from, how to get into it, who will be included, who will be excluded etc.  Christians, when they pray the Lord’s Prayer, pray that “thy Kingdom come”.  It is a mystery.  It is already here, and it will one day come in a vert visible way.  Right now it exists everywhere that Jesus truly is King, whether in an individual human life, or in gathered churches over which Jesus’ Kingdom of love and truth and justice truly reigns. The calling of all messengers of the Gospel, namely us preachers, is to work for the advancement of that kingdom.

The world of government and politics is its own world that is necessary for the preservation of order and peace in society.  The New Testament clearly teaches that we are to pray for, and be subject to, the government of the day. In Romans 13:1 Paul makes the astounding statement that “there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God.” It is important to note that neither Paul, nor Jesus for that matter, lived under a democratic government.  The Roman government in Jesus and Paul’s day was a ruthless autocratic and often cruel government.   But neither Jesus nor Paul could be called political activists, and certainly they were not revolutionaries.  Jesus urged His followers to “give to Caesar what is Caesar’s and to God what belongs to God.”  (Matthew 22:21)

People often mistakenly assume that democracy is their God-given right.  While I am thankful to live in a democracy,  we must remember that Christianity flourished under the pagan autocratic regime, and under the regimes that followed it. It also flourishes today in countries that are not ruled by democratic governments.

Living as we do in a democracy, we do have the right to express political opinions even if they are contrary to the government of the day. We have a right to call out politicians who are corrupt, immoral, hypocritical or dictatorial.  We have the right to advance our own ideas for solutions.  But we do NOT have the right to mix this activity, and confuse it with our religion.  When a nationally known preacher says on television, that “a true Christian cannot possibly vote for ….”, then in my opinion he has clearly stepped outside of his proper role of preaching the gospel (the good news of salvation through Christ).  And that is a two way street. Politicians need to keep their nose out of the church and not prey on people of any religion to gain their support.

I was in Kenya in 2017, when the Supreme Court of that nation declared the results of the presidential election null and void, and ordered that a new election be held.  I followed that election with great interest, and I have to say it was the nastiest campaign I have ever seen, and it included violence that led to many deaths.  It also included politicians who visited churches on Sunday morning and were allowed to speak.  After the service they would curse and tell lies about their opponent on the steps of the church.   I witnessed politicians speaking at a funeral that I attended, and apparently they also visited weddings.  Both weddings and funerals are usually largely attended events in Kenya and so considered fair game as places to go and seek votes. To his credit, the Principal at the college where I was teaching, got up in chapel one day and declared that he wanted teachers and students alike to leave their political opinions outside the gate of the college campus.  And they did.

So what would I do if a politician came to my church?  S/he would be welcomed and greeted as any other visitor (we usually do not announce names of visitors). They would be welcome to worship as anybody else.  They would not however be allowed on the platform, nor would my message be tailored for or against them.

Let me end with an apparently true story.  In a church in the British countryside the king of England unexpectedly walked into the church while the preacher was in the midst of his sermon.  Immediately he changed what he was preaching on and launched into a eulogy of the king and the royal family.  Later in the week a package was delivered to the preacher.  Inside was a crucifix with this note: This crucifix is to be hung on the pillar opposite the pulpit, so that its occupant might be reminded of his proper subject. 

POST ELECTION THOUGHTS

On Tuesday, October 22, Canadians woke up to find that the sky hadn’t fallen, and the world hadn’t come to an end.  It will, but not just yet, despite the most acrimonious federal election that I can remember.

As I watched the returns on Monday night, I tried to count how many election nights I had watched – some of them in the very living room where I now live, when I stayed up together with my father and waited to find out who had won.  Since Dad had to get up early the next morning to go to work, he often didn’t sit it out until the end, but I usually liked to stay up at least until the losing political leader had conceded the election.  If I liked the winner, I would stay up for his victory speech, if not I went to bed.  But that was many years ago when I had more energy.  This time I packed it in soon after the outcome was apparent. So I missed the Prime Minister’s rude victory speech that apparently began before Andrew Scheer could finish his concession speech.

Most of us, I’m sure, are all “electioned out”. Even before the campaign officially began, we knew that it would be one of the nastiest in our history.  Enough lies, character assassination to go around.  It was more about sound bites than explanation of platforms or policy.  A farcical English language debate, with a ludicrous format that was carefully crafted by the organizers  appointed by the government to avoid discussion of anything embarrassing to the prime minister, or for that matter things of interest to the voters, such as economic policy or foreign affairs. The prime minister did not have to account for the deficit that his government created, nor his ineffective performance in Canada’s tenuous relations with foreign powers.

During his four years in office, the prime minister has broken almost every promise made in the 2015 election, including the promise of electoral reform.  Now we know why.  To be able to win an election while losing the popular vote.

This time around, about a third of Canada’s eligible voters decided to sit the election out and not vote.  I don’t agree with that, but I do understand the frustration of people who wonder what difference their vote makes, when the outcome of  electing a government for the entire nation is decided in two provinces and a few big cities.

I did vote on Monday, and as I walked into the polling station, I remembered being in Kenya during their last presidential election, and I  thanked God that I live in a country where we can do this in peace, without the violence and deaths that accompanies elections in Kenya.

But needless to say, I think the outcome was not good.  For one thing, we don’t have a truly national government that represents the interests of the whole country called Canada.  The fractured minority parliament represents an array of  regional divisions and alienations.  Western provinces have little representation in the government, and two are not represented at all.  Quebec has a large number of members of parliament whose only interest is “what is good for Quebec” and they have put the minority government on notice that propping the government up comes with a price tag.

For another thing, the governing party managed to become that by sowing and nurturing this disunity throughout the campaign by demonizing provincial premiers who disagreed with the liberal position.  And this was orchestrated by a sitting prime minister who had been found guilty of breaking conflict of interest rules – twice – and whose outright lies on so many issues are well documented.  As it became evident that he once again would be the prime minister, I had to think of 2. Thessalonians 2:11 that talks about people  believing a lie.

Nevertheless, for better or worse, we now have a government, whether it is to our liking or not.  For the Christian this means that while this government may make it more and more difficult for us to live by and express our values, it is still our government.  This means we have the obligation to submit to it, and to pray for it, as 1. Timothy 2:2 commands us.  That verse, to pray for those in authority, was written from prison by the Apostle Paul who was subject to the authority of a government that was much worse than the one Canadians have just elected.  The Roman government under which Paul lived was not a democracy, it was an oppressive regime that persecuted Christians relentlessly.  Ultimately, Paul suffered the death penalty under that government.  So things have turned out badly for Canadians (or at least so I think) but it could be, and perhaps will be, much worse some day.  We’re not there yet.♦

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