Friday, November 21, 2014

Tangental?

I don't often comment on current political items. Most of the time they are just a distraction—especially given the current political deadlock and polarization. Christians need to stand above the chaos and speak peace (shalom-type peace) and love into every situation. The problem comes when certain positions become labeled as "Christian" and certain other ones "unchristian" despite the lack of scriptural backing for the categorization...

One of those areas is immigration reform. Everyone acknowledges that the system is broken. But no one can agree on the solution. I certainly don't have the answer! But I do know that as Christians we are called to stand by the stranger in our midst. To stand up for them against the oppressor (whoever that oppressor might be). We are strangers and foreigners in the land ourselves; our true citizenship is elsewhere.

Now it appears that the President has decided to take action—Congress hasn't been able to and certainly won't in the next 2 years. It's too hot a political potato to risk with a Presidential Election coming up. After all, in the wisdom of the world, getting elected is what it's all about, right?

Given the antipathy of certain large segments of the Evangelical community to the current president, this puts them in an interesting position. They claim to be concerned for the "stranger in our midst" but how can they support the actions of a person they dislike? (I could say hate, but that wouldn't be nice—although when I hear the venom in their voice when they mention his name...well, let's just say it isn't love.) Ken Schenck has a good observation and post on the whole thing today. But here's the part I think hits home the best:

[M]any American Christians can't tell the difference between being a certain kind of Republican and being Christian. Well-intentioned to be sure, many American Christians can't clearly see where their faith ends and their particular form of Republicanism begins. It's called civil religion, and it is a major problem in the American church.
Of course, I would expand that observation to include a lot more than just immigration reform...
</idle musing>

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