A searchable, downloadable PDF of the original article appears below. Barry Forsyth is the pastor of Knox Presbyterian Church, Cranbrook, B.C.
A short while ago, Cross-country Canada Check-up – a radio polling program on C.B.C. – conducted a poll on the inter-relationship of religion and politics. Just before the World Council of Churches met in Vancouver, they asked the question. “Should the Church (or Churches) be involved in politics?” The respondents were split evenly between those who said YES and those who said NO.
What is your view of the role of religion in society – and in politics? Do you think the Church should take a stand on political issues? In recent years, the World Council of Churches has been embroiled in controversy over the fact that it supported (directly or by implication) Robert Mugabe’s guerrillas of Zimbabwe against the white “racist” government of Ian Smith. Were they right or were they wrong to do that?
To begin with, I want to say that it is good for the Church to be able to influence the nation if it can. It is good for Christians to be able to speak out on what is good and bad in society. But, as that is done, we must be careful that we do not lose sight of our primary raison d’etre – our reason for existence which is to witness to Jesus Christ as Saviour and Lord! We must remember that we have a distinctive message which must not be lost sight of. The gospel message must be kept uppermost in our minds. The message that Christ is Saviour and Lord must be heard first and foremost – ahead of any other stands we want to take on any other positions. Let us influence the nation but not by intermingling the Church and the state. Let us speak out for what we believe in but without erasing the differences between the Church and the state.
I’ve already made mention of the Cross-country radio poll which discovered that people were divided equally over whether or not the Church should be in politics. I would suggest that if a poll were taken on the question. “Should the Church witness to Jesus Christ?” everyone would say YES! People expect the Church to teach about Christ. Society expects us to show the love of Christ.
Christians have different political views. Christians “push” different political causes, but all Christians are united in the fact that Christ as Lord is to be witnessed to unto the end. We will die in the cause of His gospel together. But, in any given political cause – one Christian might give his life and another not.
Clarke MacDonald, the Moderator of the United Church of Canada, was interviewed recently. He was asked about the place of politics in the Church. He sums up his feelings in these words: “You can’t legislate goodness but you can legislate against evil. Our job is to spread the gospel; heal the sick and deliver the oppressed. How can we deliver the oppressed such as native people here and the people in El Salvador unless we are involved in politics?”
I would humbly reply that if we can legislate ‘’against” evil we can also legislate “for” goodness. But, we should be doing that through our political parties – or through Christian or nonChristian action groups. We should not do it through the churches simply because it will divide the churches and hinder them from getting on with their central task of witnessing to Christ as Saviour and Lord in a Christlike way. The issue of political involvement creates schism in the churches. So, we as individuals should promote our political causes outside of the Church.
I would also suggest that the Church only “deliver” the oppressed Canadian native people and El Salvadoreans – by a simple faithful teaching and preaching of Christ. Our role is to teach them about Christ, feed and clothe them where necessary, and to encourage them to solve their own problems. We must not superimpose our culture, politics, or religion on them – we must simply love them by telling about Christ and then “standing back” so that they can find their own destiny under God.
Christ sent his disciples out not to make Jews or Romans – but Christians. They were to be His witnesses – bringing people to Him. He told His disciples they were to make disciples – they were not to make nationalistic “carbon-copies” of themselves. They were to love in Christ’s name. They were to preach His truth. They were to tell the story of what they had seen and heard about Christ. The Kingdom of Israel was to be restored, but, it was to be spiritual and universal. The same holds true today. The Church, as a body, must witness primarily to the spirituality and universality of the Kingdom. “Power” has been promised for that extension of the Kingdom – let us be sure we avail ourselves of that power.