Should Christians be involved in
politics?By Jack Kettler
Should
Christians
be involved in politics? Sometimes one hears the
question what would
Jesus do? In seeking to answer the first question,
the second question is a
non-starter. In what way? It is hard to see Jesus
running for the U.S. Senate.
Just because Jesus would not does not necessarily
mean He might not call one of
His disciples to this duty.
What is a simple definition of
politics?
“Politics
(from
Greek: Πολιτικά,
politiká, 'affairs
of the cities') is the set of activities that are
associated with making
decisions in groups, or other forms of power
relations among individuals, such
as the distribution of resources or status. Politics
– Wikipedia”
Even
the
Church is not free from politics. In the Church, one
finds ecclesiastical
politics. The present study is not examining the
question of the Church
engaging in politics, but rather, can or should
individual Christians
participate. Many Christians vote. Voting is a
minimal form of political action.
Do Christians sign legal contracts? Legal contracts
are the result of politics.
To escape politics, one would have to be a lone
hermit on an island.
A Biblical basis for political
involvement:
The
greatest
commandment is to “love thy neighbor,” (Luke 10:27)
and is a command
to be involved in culture via political action.
For example:
“When
the
righteous thrive, the city rejoices, and when the
wicked perish, there are
shouts of joy.” (Proverbs 11:10)
All
laws
legislate morality, and in the case noted above in
Proverbs, it is better
to have righteous rule rather than criminals. Laws
are in harmony with
Scripture or opposition. Western societies have
implemented the law code of the
Old Testament, which was and is Biblically applied
to political action.
Consider, for example:
Alfred,
known
as Alfred the Great (born 849—died 899), was King of
Wessex (871–99) in
southwestern England. King Alfred drew up an
important code of laws that incorporated
many of the Old Testament's first and most basic
expressions of Mosaic law,
namely the decalogue.
Next, consider the following:
“For
if thou
altogether holdest thy peace at this time, then
shall enlargement and
deliverance arise to the Jews from another place;
but thou and thy father's
house shall be destroyed: and who knoweth whether
thou art come to the kingdom
for such a time as this?” (Esther 4:14)
In
the
above passage, Mordecai appeals to Esther and risks
her life in Esther 4:16
when she says: “I go in unto the king, which is not
according to the law: and
if I perish, I perish.”
It
is
indisputable that a tax collector is a government or
a political job. Zacchaeus
was a tax collector whom Jesus commended in Luke
19:9-10 and said nothing to
him about quitting his political job. In addition,
showing respect for
governing authorities that protect good and punish
evil doers in Romans 13:1-7
is a political act.
An example of the positive
benefits of
political involvement:
Roe
V
Wade (1973) is a case in point. It took 50 years of
Biblically motivated political
involvement to overturn the wicked law, which was
done by electing the right
candidates who appointed the right judges.
Theologian Abraham Kuyper had
this to say about
God’s plan for government or the state:
“In
order that the
influence of Calvinism on our political development
may be felt, it must be
shown for what fundamental political conceptions
Calvinism has opened the door,
and how these political conceptions sprang from its
root principle. This
dominating principle was not, soteriologically,
justification by faith, but, in
the widest sense cosmologically, the Sovereignty of
the Triune God over the
whole Cosmos, in all its spheres and kingdoms,
visible and invisible. A
primordial Sovereignty which eradicates in mankind
in a threefold deduced
supremacy, viz., The Sovereignty in the State; The
Sovereignty in Society; The
Sovereignty in the Church.” (1)
American theologian Francis A.
Schaeffer introduces
another concept, namely dominion and its
relevance:
“Fallen
man has
dominion over nature, but he uses it wrongly. The
Christian is called upon to
exhibit this dominion, but exhibit it rightly:
treating the thing as having
value itself, exercising dominion without being
destructive.” (2)
As
noted
in the above quotes, this would be Biblical Godly
dominion or faithful
stewardship under God’s directions.
How
is
dominion defined? Does dominion include the concept
of governance?
KJV
Dictionary
definition of
dominion:
DOMINION,
n. L.
See Dominant.
1.
“Sovereign or
supreme authority; the power of governing and
controlling.
The
dominion of
the Highest is an everlasting dominion. Daniel 4.
2.
Power to
direct, control, use and dispose of at pleasure;
right of possession and use
without being accountable; as the private dominion
of individuals.
3.
Territory under
a government; region; country; district governed, or
within the limits of the
authority of a prince or state; as the British
dominions.
4.
Government;
right of governing. Jamaica is under the dominion of
Great Britain.
5.
Predominance;
ascendant.
6.
An order of
angels.
7.
Whether they be
thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers.
8.
Persons
governed.
9.
Judah was his
sanctuary; Israel his dominion.” (Psalm 114”
From the International Standard Bible Encyclopedia:
“DOMINION”
“do-min'-yun:
In
Ephesians 1:21 Colossians 1:16 the word so
translated (kuriotes) appears to
denote a rank or order of angels. The same word is
probably to be so
interpreted in Jude 1:8 (the King James Version and
the Revised Version
(British and American) “dominion”), and in 2 Peter
2:10 (the King James Version
“government,” the Revised Version (British and
American) “dominion”). See
ANGEL.” (3)
As
seen
above, dominion includes the idea of government or
governance, which means
men and things are to be governed. Therefore,
Christians must opt for Biblical
government.
The dominion mandate is set forth
right at
the beginning of Scripture:
“And
God said, let
us make man in our image, after our likeness: and
let them have dominion over
the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air,
and over the cattle, and
over all the earth, and over every creeping thing
that creepeth upon the earth.”
(Genesis 1:26)
Dominion
is
stewardship and is Godly stewardship, not a license
to rape and pillage the
planet.
Godly dominion happens when:
“When
it goeth
well with the righteous, the city rejoiceth: and
when the wicked perish, there
is shouting.” (Proverbs 11:10)
“When
the
righteous are in authority, the people rejoice: but
when the wicked beareth
rule, the people mourn.” (Proverbs 29:2)
It
can
be asserted at this point that man is inherently
religious and political. Therefore,
the rest of this study will look at believers who
participated in politics.
Historical examples of Christians
who
engage in politics:
War
is
the last resort when political negotiations have
failed. War itself is a
political action. Resistance to illegitimate
government is a political action.
The Old Testament book of Judges is a history of
tyrants and their despotic
reign, who are deposed by righteous Judges raised up
by God to deliver His
people.
Individual Christians who have
been active
in politics:
John Knox was
a Scottish
minister, a Reformed theologian, and a writer who
was a leader of the country's
Reformation. He was the founder of the Presbyterian
Church of Scotland –
Wikipedia.
The
following
title was against Mary Tudor, the Queen of England,
whom Knox called “Bloody
MARY”in The First Blast of the Trumpet against the monstrous regiment of Women.
By
John
Knox in 1558 can be read online at
https://www.gutenberg.org/files/9660/9660-h/9660-h.htm.
During this time of conflict,
which
spanned the reign of Mary Tudor, the French Mary
of Guise, and Mary Queen of
Scots, Knox wrote:
“The
faithful, if
afflicted by a female sovereign, ‘ought to remove
from honor and authority that
monster in nature.’ Furthermore, if any support her,
Christians ought to
“execute against them the sentence of death.”
Further still, not to revolt
against an idolatrous ruler was ‘plain rebellion
against God.’” (4)
In the “Third Confrontation with
Mary
Queen of Scots” (April 11, 1563), Knox said this:
“The
Sword of
Justice, Madam, is God’s and is given to princes and
ruler for one end, which,
if they transgress, sparing the wicked and
oppressing innocents, their subjects,
who in the fear of God execute judgment, where God
hath commanded, offend not
God, neither do they sin that bridle Kings from
striking innocent men in their
rage…” (5)
It
can
be argued that Knox’s five confrontations with Mary
Queen of Scots should be
a model for Christian ministers in their
confrontations with civil magistrates.
Historically following Knox, perhaps this is why the
Calvinists were known as
the fighting Protestants.
The History
of Calvinism - By Loraine
Boettner explains:
“In
Scotland and
in England, and wherever Protestantism has had to
establish itself at the point
of the sword, it was Calvinism that gained the day.
However, the fact is to be
explained it is true that the Calvinists were the
only fighting Protestants.” (6)
Knox’s
theology
laid the groundwork for the War
of
Independence from the tyrannical British
Parliament that had no
authority in the Colonies and the King who did not
restrain them.
John Witherspoon
was a Scottish-American
Presbyterian minister, educator, farmer, and
Founding Father of the United
States, president of Princeton Seminary, now the
University. He was the only
minister to sign the Declaration of Independence.
The British considered his
college to be a “seminary of sedition” (quoted in
Morrison 2005: 13).
Born:
February
5, 1723, Beith, United Kingdom
Died:
November
15, 1794, Princeton, NJ
Resting
place:
Princeton Cemetery
Education:
The
University of Edinburgh, University of St Andrews
Organization
founded:
Princeton University – Wikipedia.
William Wilberforce
was a British
politician, philanthropist, and leader of the
movement to abolish the slave
trade. A native of Kingston upon Hull, Yorkshire, he
began his political career
in 1780, eventually becoming an independent Member
of Parliament for Yorkshire.
Wikipedia
He
was
also a member of the Clapham Sect, a group of
evangelical Anglican
Christians.
Abraham Kuyper
(born Oct. 29,
1837, Maassluis, Neth.—died Nov. 8, 1920, The Hague)
was a Dutch theologian,
statesman, and journalist who led the
Anti-Revolutionary Party, an orthodox
Calvinist group, to a position of political power
and served as prime minister
of the Netherlands from 1901 to 1905 – Britannica.
Theological Books by Kuyper
The
Work
of the Holy Spirit; Rooted & Grounded: The
Church as Organism and
Institution;
Our
Program:
A Christian Political Manifesto (Abraham Kuyper
Collected Works in
Public Theology); Common Grace (Volume 1): God's
Gifts for a Fallen World; Calvinism:
Six Stone Lectures, and On the Church, to name a few
titles. While arguably the
most powerful conservative theologian in the
Netherlands, Kuyper became prime
minister.
Contemporary examples of
Christians engaging
in Biblical politics:
Dr. James Dobson
Evangelist,
author,
and psychologist Dr. James Dobson earned much fame
when he founded
Family Talk, the Christian conservation
organization. Using the radio to spread
his evangelical ideology, Dobson gained
international fame, and his radio show,
“Focus on Family,” was broadcast to more than 164
countries. Dobson remains a
major presence in the conservative movement and is
often seen as a successor to
evangelical powerhouses Jerry Falwell and Pat
Robertson.
Jerry Falwell, Jr.
Though
he
has proven to be incredibly controversial amongst
even those who describe
themselves as Conservative Christians, there is no
denying Jerry Falwell, Jr.
is a leading figure of the religious right. In 2007,
Falwell took over the role
of president of Liberty University from his father,
the equally controversial
Jerry Falwell, Sr. Since then, Falwell has dabbled
in national politics. He
endorsed Donald J. Trump for president. While he
turned down the position of
U.S. Secretary of Education, he was appointed to
chair a task force on reforms
for the Department of Education.
Mike Huckabee
Former
pastor
Mike Huckabee got his political start as governor of
Arkansas from 1996
until 2007. Huckabee became well-known during the
2008 presidential election,
during which he campaigned heavily for the
Republican nomination. Huckabee
landed a role of a different kind, a television
host. His popular Fox News talk
show ran from 2008 to 2015. Huckabee remains a
frequent contributor to a
variety of media outlets and has written a number of
best-selling books dealing
with the topic of politics and religion.
In closing:
Political
issues
are Biblical issues, i.e., abortion, sex education
and education in
general, taxation, going to war, et
cetera. It is impossible to escape politics
without escaping the teachings
of Scripture.
The
following
citation is from Francis A. Schaeffer, in which he
identifies the
heresy that undergirds withdrawal from society or
politics.
An excerpt from chapter one, The Abolition
of Truth and Morality by
Francis A. Schaeffer, on false piety and its
defective view of Christianity:
“There
are various
reasons but the central one is a defective view of
Christianity. This has its
roots in the Pietist movement under the leadership
of P. J. Spener in the seventeenth
century. Pietism began as a healthy protest against
formalism and a too
abstract Christianity. But it had a deficient,
“platonic” spirituality. It was
platonic in the sense that Pietism made a sharp
division between the
“spiritual” and the “material” world — giving
little, or no, importance to the
“material” world. The totality of human existence
was not afforded a proper
place. In particular, it neglected the intellectual
dimension of Christianity.”
“Christianity
and
spirituality were shut up to a small, isolated part
of life. The totality of
reality was ignored by the pietistic thinking. Let
me quickly say that in one
sense Christians should be pietists in that
Christianity is not just a set of
doctrines, even the right doctrines. Every doctrine
is in some way to have an
effect upon our lives. But the poor side of Pietism
and its resulting platonic
outlook has really been a tragedy not only in many
people’s individual lives,
but in our total culture.”
“True
spirituality
covers all of reality. There are things the Bible
tells us as absolutes which
are sinful — which do not conform to the character
of God. But aside from these
the Lordship of Christ covers all of life and all of
life equally. It is not
only that true spirituality covers all of life, but
it covers all parts of the
spectrum of life equally. In this sense there is
nothing concerning reality
that is not spiritual.” (7)
Man
is
inescapably religious in the totality of his being,
which includes politics.
The question to ask is a person’s religion and
politics righteous in line with
God’s Word or evil in opposition to God’s Word.
Politics is an inescapable
concept. The Christian must determine what ethical
system or whose morality
undergirds the discussions of political ideas.
Even the ancient Greeks had
enough sense
to see:
“Just
because you
do not take an interest in politics doesn't mean
politics won't take an
interest in you!” - Pericles
“One
of the
penalties for refusing to participate in politics is
that you end up being
governed by your inferiors.” - Plato
Christians
are
stewards of God over the earth. The Christian is to
be a good steward. An
application of this is voting, which helps control
the direction of the nation.
Non-involvement is turning the culture over
politically to wickedness.
Pietistic quietism has nothing in common with the
Reformation that culturally
and Biblically changed many nations.
Ultimately,
all
political issues are spoken of directly in Scripture
or by implication.
According to an irrefutable principle of Scripture,
there is no neutrality. The
issue of neutrality covers every area of life.
Therefore, every issue must be
decided Biblically; therefore, involvement in
politics is spiritually
inescapable.
Quotes:
The Geneva Bible Notes,
1557-1644, Here
is a summary by Lewis Lupton of the notes
against tyranny,
including Gen. 6:4; Gen. 10:9; Deut. 17:20;
Esth. 10:3; 1 Sam. 11:2; Jud.
9:54; 1 Sam. 26:9; 2 Kings 9:33.
“When
Kings
reign perfidiously, and against the rule of
Christ, they may according to
the word of God be deposed.” - Tom. I. article. 42.
- Ulrich Zwingli
On Daniel 6:22:
“Earthly
Princes
depose themselves while they rise against God, yea
they are unworthy to be
numbered among men: rather it behooves us to spit
upon their heads than to
obey them.” - John
Calvin
Commentary on Rom. 13:1:
“Understand
further
that powers are from God, not as pestilence and
famine, and wars, and
other visitations for sin are said to be from Him,
but because He has appointed
them for the legitimate and just government of the
world.For
though tyrannies and unjust exercise of
power, as they are full of disorder (ἀταξίας)
are not an
ordained government,
yet the right of government is ordained by God for
the well-being of mankind.”
- John
Calvin
Rutherford,
Samuel
– Lex Rex: The Law and the Prince, Buy
1644 318 pp. see especially
Questions 9, 12, 13, 14, 16, 18, 22, 23, 25, 29, 30,
40.See
Questions 20 & 36 for the Doctrine of
Interposition.See Questions 28, 31, 32,
& 33 regarding the Doctrine of the Lawfulness of
Armed Resistance Against
Tyrants.
“Study
to
shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that
needeth not to be ashamed,
rightly dividing the word of truth.” (2 Timothy
2:15)
2.Francis
A.
Schaeffer, Pollution
and the Death of
Man, Complete Works of Francis A. Schaffer, A
Christian Worldview Vol. 5,
(Westchester, Illinois, Crossway Book), p. 42.
3.Orr,
James,
M.A., D.D. General Editor, “Entry for 'DOMINION,'” International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, (Grand Rapids, Michigan,
Eerdmans, reprinted 1986), p. 869.
4.John
Knox
as quoted in Christian
History
originally published this article in Christian
History Issue #46 in 1995 by
Richard G. Kyle and is professor of history and
religion at Tabor College,
Hillsboro, Kansas. He is author of The
Mind
of John Knox (Coronado, 1984).
5.John
Knox,
The History of
the Reformation of
Religion within the Realm of Scotland, p. 317.
6.Loraine
Boettner,
The Reformed
Doctrine of
Predestination, (The Presbyterian And Reformed
Publishing Company,
Phillipsburg, New Jersey), p. 381.
7.Francis
A.
Schaeffer, A
Christian Manifesto,
(Westchester, Illinois, Crossway Books (1991) p.
213.
Mr.
Kettler
has previously published articles in the Chalcedon
Report and Contra
Mundum. He and his wife Marea attend the
Westminster, CO, RPCNA Church. Mr.
Kettler is the author of books defending the
Reformed Faith. Books can be
ordered online at www. Jack Kettler .com