Faith in Politics
Spring into March by renewing your prayers and support for the Lutheran Center for Religious Liberty’s efforts to contend for the freedom to proclaim the faith.
I post a lot on Christianity, a lot on Lutheranism, but also politics, and what it means to us as Christians. But when it comes to liberal and conservative, these are not two sides to one coin. It cannot be dismissed as CNN vs. Fox. I love God first and recognize that the family matters. Politics matter because our neighbor matters and because we care about the things needful, including the sanctity of life and the free exercise of religion.
But on the other side, it's different. I have a lot of liberal friends who post about liberal issues all the time, much of it to do with what they perceive as justice. But Christ hardly comes into view. In some ways, there was a lot more talk about Christ loving the immigrant or the homeless person, and that was used as an argument for bigger government. But among younger people, Christ hardly comes into view. Liberal Christianity was a kind of step on the way, but hardly holds the minds or inspires the hearts. And so it goes that a liberal Christian often finds her enemy is the conservative Christian, the one who cares about the Virgin Birth and Christ as the one redeemer, the only begotten Son of God.
As so many fall away from the faith, they find faith in something else, and that's politics. I have no pictures of Trump or Reagan in my house. My walls belong to Christ, some saints, apostles, and evangelists. And, my family, of course. But young people who have left Christ have nothing left. It's politics, all politics. It's humorous to rail against Christians who engage in politics, for most of us do so to preserve and protect things that matter much more. But once Christ is gone, not at the center, politics gain a religious following and devotion. And that means those who call themselves Christian are no longer able to say that Christ is Lord.
And indeed, that's the most basic confession. Christ is Lord.
You know I am vocal in pushing for infant baptism, the real body and blood, and salvation apart from works. There can be in these things no compromise. And yet, I can find friends and even brothers among the Baptists and Romanists, for they call Jesus Lord, and that means what the Lord says matters, and His Word trumps all things. But to watch the falling away is tragic, for those who do so become more religious than they ever were, though their religion, their obsession, is in a form of Marxism, the benevolent state. But it leaves them empty and hateful.
Again, that does not mean that conservatism means Christianity. Hardly. The Mormons, largely conservative, teach a damnable doctrine. Islam is "conservative" in a way that Christians never are or were, but they are not held to account, as they are not friends of Christ. The enemy of my enemy is my friend. Liberalism has chosen a path that rejects Christ and our humanity. If this were not the case, we would expect many more liberal Christians stand up for the unborn, and against the transgender butchery and sterilization of minors. But theirs is another religion, and Christ's teaching, if at all mentioned, is incidental.
The Rev. Dr. Peter Scaer is chairman and professor of Exegetical Theology and director of the M.A. program at Concordia Theological Seminary, Fort Wayne, Ind.
Be Informed
Father Frank Pavone—national director of Priests for Life and Missionaries of the Gospel of Life, and a compassionate defender of the pro-life message in the public square—explains how free speech, free association, and religious liberty allow a pro-life culture to grow organically—through persuasion, compassion, and truth—rather than coercion.
Be Equipped
Learn more about Elon Musk and his comments on detaching children from marriage and sex in a recent article by Joy Pullman of the Federalist.
Be Encouraged
[Husband] “stems from the Old Norse—hus (“house”) plus bondi (“dweller” and “bonded serf” or “slave”)—and literally means house dweller. The husband settles down and confines himself to a particular household, serving and providing resources and protection for its inhabitants. He is bound to this house. . . . He becomes a whole other kind of man, taking full responsibility.” –Glenn Stanton, Focus on the Family
