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by Alaina Arp

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Experts Debate How Christians Participate in Politics

Dr. Gronke (left) of Reed College and Dr. Babcock (right) of Liberty University.
--Drs. Gronke and Babcock, photos

Controversy followed Pastor Rick Warren's two-hour civil forum with presidential candidates John McCain and Barak Obama. Saddleback Church hosted the civil forum on Aug. 16, and Pastor Warren acted as moderator, asking the candidates about their moral policies and core faith values.

Pastor Warren's actions sparked debate among conservatives and liberals alike, bringing up the question of how churches, and Christians, should be involved in politics.

Gary Schneeberger, vice president of media and public relations for Focus on the Family Action, said that the Saddleback civil forum was beneficial to Americans.

"The questions that were asked of Senator Obama and Senator McCain that evening are not questions that they're getting asked by the mainstream media," he said. "[The forum] shows the importance people of faith will have in this election."

However, many people disagreed with Pastor Warren's methods. Dr. Michael Babcock, author of "Unchristian America" and humanities professor at Liberty University, said that using the church as a political forum is biblically problematic. He said that pastors should focus on ministering, not politics.

"The last thing Jesus instructed His disciples [to do] was to go out and make disciples of all men. We do not see a political agenda placed before them," Dr. Babcock said.

Dr. Babcock added that IRS tax regulations prohibit churches from being involved in politics. However, he said that individual Christians must be involved.

Dr. Gary DeMar, president of American Vision and author of "God and Government," agreed that Christians need to take part in politics. "The civil government is actually God's institution," he said.

But before Christians get involved in government, he said, they should know the proper role of government from scripture. Dr. DeMar said the Bible limits the role of government to protecting citizens and dealing with criminals.

"Too often, people [who] get involved in politics see it [as] a catchall to all problems," Dr. DeMar said. He said that Christians should resist the desire to use government to bring social change: The change needs to occur in individuals.

Dr. Paul Gronke, professor of political science at Reed College, said that religion has always been important in politics, citing the religious influence of the abolitionist movement. He said that in the '50s and '60s, religion was less important in people's political decisions but resurfaced in the '70s and '80s.

Dr. DeMar specifically cited the time between the Scopes Trial of 1925 to the Roe vs. Wade Trial of 1973 as a period of Christian noninvolvement in politics. Soon after, the rise of the political lobbying movement called the Moral Majority, organized by the Rev. Jerry Falwell, reinstituted conservative Christians into political activity.

But according to Dr. Babcock, the Moral Majority erred by becoming too closely aligned with one political party and candidate, creating the notion that God was a conservative Republican.

"I'm not saying the balance is that we should bring in both [parties]," he said. "I'm saying [politics is] not the function for the church, period."

Church involvement in politics inevitably suggests that the church has a political interest in the world when it actually has a spiritual interest, Dr. Babcock said.

Dr. DeMar said that Christian noninvolvement is dangerous: If Christians are politically apathetic, people with other worldviews will get into power and pass laws that contradict Christian ideals. Kristi Hamrick, president of the Campaign for Working Families, agreed, and said that the next election cycle will be crucial.

"The next president is going to appoint two or three members of the Supreme Court," she said. "In recent years, the Supreme Court has made rulings about whether we can have laws that govern partial-birth abortion, if marriage between a man and a woman doesn't matter.

"That's the kind of thing the Supreme Court is going to have in front of it in the next year or two. Don't Christians want to see their worldview reflected?"

When Christians aren't involved in politics, Dr. Babcock said, they withdraw a valuable voice from the political debate, a voice that speaks to truth and biblical morality. He said the apostle Paul worked within the political structures of Rome and Athens to express his faith and that Christians should do the same. And he said the most basic way for Christians to do that is to vote.

Mr. Schneeberger said that Christians should assess their values on the issues and then vote for the candidate who best aligns with their views, but they should realize that they will probably never find a candidate whom they agree with fully.

"I would encourage everyone to be prayerful about [voting] and to seek God's wisdom on whom to vote for and whom to support," Dr. Babcock said. "That's the way we honor and respect the leaders that God has placed in authority over us, by participating in that political process. I believe it's a biblical law to do that."

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