Curious Christian

People seem to think that separation of church and state means Christians shouldn’t get involved in politics as Christians. That they should somehow think secular when addressing secular issues.

But the reverse is actually true. The real problem is that Christian involvement in politics generally hasn’t been Christian enough. They’ve have used the means of the state – legalised violence and the theat of legalised violence – in the name of the church. When really what they should have been doing is rejecting the means of the state as a prophetic witness against it. The primary political instrument of Christians is not the state, it’s the creation of contrast communities. Communities that live by a different ethic.

This approach is no less political, its just politics by alternative means. And if you take this line of thought to its logical conclusion, the primary political task of us Christians today should be the cleaning up of our own backyard. We should be less concerned with legislating for non-Christians and more concerned with living alternative lifestyles as a form of political protest and social activism.

So, less energy directed at changing abortion legislation, more energy directed at welcoming struggling single mums into supportive community, so that they aren’t so inclined to feel abortion is the only realistic option. Now, what sort of attitudinal changes does that imply is required in some churches? What? More welcoming to broken families? Tough call, its easier said than done, particularly when you’ve got kids of your own that you’d like to protect from a broken world. But remember ancient Christians started some of the first orphanages and hospices, this is our heritage.

So for a moment, just imagine this, a network of alternative communities where the abortion rate is way, way below the national average because they support single mums so compassionately? Wouldn’t that be a witness against the world? That’s the politics of Jesus.