Jesus and Politics, part 1

Submitted by yucan on Fri, 10/10/2008 - 00:32

Hello Ethnos:

I had a very surprising "run in" with the government this week. I was at a pastor's luncheon, actually, with the Chief Administrative Officer of San Diego County. "Who's this guy? What difference does he make?" Turns out this guy (Walt) and his office does a lot to keep our daily lives functioning, from making sure the gas pump isn't cheating us to managing the foster care system in the county, and a lot of stuff in between (for more, see http://www.sdcounty.ca.gov/cao/index.html).

As I and a bunch of pastors listened to him, I think we all began to realize- wow, we really don't honor our governing officials very much. I mean, we tend to focus on the bad- that's what especially gets the news' attention. But guys like Walt- day in, day out, they try their best to serve the 3 million people of San Diego County, doing things we take for granted. Our eyes were opened, to say the least, and we were all motivated to better honor and bless our government and county in the ways of Jesus.

As we tackle the issue of Jesus and politics for another week, let's not forget the many different aspects of government that we live under. There's definitely the flashy stuff and people that get everyone's attention, but there's the unseen stuff that... well, Jesus was really drawn to those sorts of people, right?

Blessings this week-
Yucan

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Resources on Jesus and Politics:

As mentioned on Sunday, we will try and provide some resources on Jesus and politics during this series... Here are some interesting links to begin to check out:

- Good General Links on Jesus and Politics:
1. http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/special/campaign2008.html. Great up to date stuff on how Christians view things (includes the article "How to Pick a President," about the need for virtue/character vs. policy).
2. http://www.leaderu.com/focus/pol_rel00.html. Good, well-thought out essays on politics and Christianity.

- An Evangelical Manifesto
http://www.anevangelicalmanifesto.com/
A document recently composed by leading Christian thinkers of our day. Some great words, many of which I personally agree with.

- One theological perspective on Politics and Jesus: the Anapbaptist tradition
http://www.jesusforpresident.org/ , based on the book "Jesus for President"
A good modern work on the Anabaptist position. As with many books written by a new wave of Christians today, it gets you thinking about the "empire" of the US and how to live like Jesus in it. There are some debatable interpretations for sure, but definitely worth wrestling through. Be sure to check out the challenging Appendix, which includes an interpretation on Romans 13.