I have wrestled a lot with the role of Christianity in politics. What exactly does “separation of church and state” look like? Because I certainly have a different view than some in that regard. As a Christian, I believe that God has His hand in everything. I don’t believe he threw us down on earth and said “hey, figure it out!”. He said that we were to obey the government that he would set up for us.
So what does that look like in an increasingly secular America? I don’t know that anyone would make the claim that we are a Christian nation anymore. We are most definitely not a theocracy. I do not believe the answer to this is electing officials who will try to serve as spiritual leaders.
The widespread attitude towards Christians in government is that we are all right wing nut jobs. Anyone who is open about their faith in Jesus is a lunatic who wants to force religion down the throats of the entire country. Sarah Palin was a prime example – she was shredded for her faith, even though I feel like she did a good job of separating it from her politics. In this current political climate, it is entirely to our detriment to force a Christian “agenda”. It will do much more harm than good.
That said, I also think that Christians should be active in leading our country. It is critical that we have Godly men and women in office – people praying for our government from the inside and providing guidance. The difference between an official who forces “Christian” laws into action an official who prays and makes decisions in response to God is critical. There is no question that the latter would be more effective, as well as much more credible as a national candidate.
So, those are my thoughts. I will do what I can to support qualified, intelligent, prayerful Christians in government. I do not, however, want my officials to double as my pastor. I’ve said before, the government does NOT need to compete with my God. They will always lose.
