Religion and Politics by Alison Inglis
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Religion and Politics
Christians involved in the political arena are a people of strong emotions, tough resilience and fierce defenders of what they believe to be right. They work tirelessly and sacrificially, in the cause of developing world debt relief, defence of the environment, community rebuilding and faith based welfare - to take a few examples.
The Lens of Faith
What unites these people is the manner in which they view the political process as they view it through the lens of faith. There are different priorities, those on the left call for wider social justice solutions, those on the right create more of an emphasis on personal morality, but the motivation is the same. The world is not as God wants it to be, according to Biblical imperatives, and the enactment of legislation is a means by which we can attempt change.
Political Christians
Political Christians, as is Biblical, have rejected the concept of a sacred/secular divide. Chris Wright, the Old Testament scholar, says: (Politics is) " the ordering of social relationships and structures, locally, nationally and globally.' These structures and relationships are under tremendous pressure and it is the calling of the Christians to demonstrate and communicate God's love and compassion to those whose relationships and structures are fracturing and to be the prophetic voice that calls the nation, and the world, to account for its wrongs.
Resisting Conformity
There is a danger, pointed out by the William Nelson Cromwell Professor of Law at Yale Stephen Carter in his book: "The Wrongs and Rights of Religion in Politics", that Christians, like everybody else, may be tempted by politics, he says: "Seduced by its efficiency. By its potential...