Should Christians Abstain from Politics?

As a Christian leader, we must stand tall and proclaim God's righteousness in all we do. I do not quite agree with the view that we should avoid politics all together rather as Wolters said, "Politics should not be declared off-limits, but reformed," (Wolters, 2005). We are the messengers that are called to promote renewal according to Wolters.

This is a redemptive mission and according to Walsh & Middleton, "It is the vocation of the body of Christ to work together in a fallen world, seeking to bring forgiveness, healing, and renewal of God's rule to bear on every part of life. Although much like the coming of Jesus who came to restore creational obedience to God, we must do the same," (Walsh & Middleton, 1984).

According to Alan Storkey, the connection between Christianity and politics is "odd" because on one hand it seems seditious for passages as the Magnificat that says, "[God] has brought down rulers from their thrones," (Storkey, 2005). This has been done on many occasions and we can see this when Constantine departed his throne to bow before God. At the same time, though Christianity is seemingly acquiescent considering that, many have prayed for their rulers and that many Christians are model citizens. Storkey presents the question, "What does this mixture mean? Is the acquiescent model or the subversive model right, or is it neither?" (Storkey, 2005)

In order to answer this question we must untangle who Jesus was, and what he meant to the people. There is no doubt to this day millions of Christians closely follow his teachings and model of life to this day. At the time of Jesus the way that many of his followers viewed him was as a national deliverer not a spiritual deliverer, which was a constant struggle for Jesus.

Storkey portrays the political weaving of influencing those around him that he was the one who came to deliver the kingdom of god. As Storkey puts it, "the biggest insurrection is to dethrone the ruler and politics and put them in their limited place under the sovereignty of God. This change is at the fulcrum of world political history where politically they were ruler-dominated cultures," (Storkey, 2005).