Biblical Principles for Political Engagement

Family policy matters and engaging and informative weekly radio show and podcast produced by the North Carolina family policy Council hi this is John Ralston, presidency, family, and were grateful to have you with us for this week's program is our prayer that you will be informed, encouraged and inspired by what you hear on family policy matters and that you will flow better equipped to be a voice of persuasion for family values in your community, state and nation, and now here's our house to family policy matters.

Tracy David Griggs, thanks for joining us this week for family policy matters. As we all know this is an election year and it can seem like an overwhelming job to keep track of all the candidates and where they stand on all the issues therefore were pleased to spend some time talking about a very helpful resource that we are making available to voters in North Carolina in partnership with the family research Council to help you with that serious task of being responsible and educated voters will be a dynamic duo on the show today and see family Pres. John Rustin and David Clawson from family research Council in Washington DC who serves as their Dir. of Christian ethics and biblical worldview.

David and John, welcome to family policy matters returns agreed to be with you Tracy. It's great to be with you as well and by David especially for his good work on the resource it will talk about today, but also just express how appreciative we are of different research Council of the partnership working with the name of the resource were discussing today is biblical principles for political engagement, worldview issues and voting. David why is this publication necessary, and also an important read for us. We are excited to publish this resource in partnership with 21 family policy councils and this is 2022 important election year in alert right now people the tensions and rightly focused on the coronavirus pandemic.

But if people begin to turn their attention to the election. People are talking about this all over the country. Everyone seems to have an opinion. We we publish this resource to help Christians enter into these conversations with their friends and neighbors from a biblical perspective cuckoo really want Christians and especially pastors to be active participants in the conversation of the people are having right now about these political and theological issues and we believe that the church people of faith need to be leading on these issues, especially issues that the Bible speaks to go before we talk about the how how we do that, let's first talk about why why is it imperative that Christians engage in politics on all levels.

Federal, state, local, in addition to who our judges are beginning with the local level and on up, would you simply say that we should care because we believe the gospel has implications for all areas of life, and that includes politics that includes public policy and obviously for those who are paying attention. We live in a time of acute political polarization which is exasperated by the 24 hour Cable News Network we sell this in 2016 but were seen and now there is a temptation and in some corners of the church where people are just turned off by the polarization and by how toxic that is in the cow want to wash their hands clean. But if politics is inherently about how people order their lives in their affairs than the Christian worldview has much to say about that. It has much to say about our civic responsibility and about the role of government is conservatives who maybe think the government should be smaller than what it is we have to face reality is our government has its tentacles and all areas of our life and it affects the basic principle that the freedoms and liberties of people and as Christians who love their neighbors. We we have to be engaged in this area.

Tracy agree with everything that David just said just add it for listers think about all of the areas of government that impact them directly to their families, which pretty significant.

I mean you got your local school board you got your millionaire in your city Council you got your County commissioners you got the state legislature.

We got judges from District Court all the way up the state Supreme Court, Court of Appeals, by a middle course up to the federal courts and the US Supreme Court and our representatives in Congress. And we have a great opportunity for a lot of to elect our officers and all of those arenas. Legislative, executive, and judicial branch and so when we consider how much of our lives were impacted by those decision-makers. Those policymakers and then how much of an opportunity we have to influence who those people are, and as Christians believing that we know God's truth and God has a plan and a purpose for our lives, we can engage that truth as it applies to public policy.

A lot of folks there that truly are representatives of the values that we hold dear. And then of course Holderman, accountable while the rental show there so much that goes into this but it's really vital that Christians are involved and engaged at all levels of elected government. John specifically when talking about voting for candidates. How do you think we should evaluate candidates and what principles should inform our decisions about which candidates to support and vote for will clearly people vote for candidates who share their values represent their values and I think that's a real key is Christians as we read the Bible and think about God's truth as it relates to our lives. You know what are the issues that we really care about in one of the issues that are nonnegotiable.

Consider those to be matters of sanctity of human life. About traditional marriage between a man and a woman biblical standard of human sexuality, and so I think that it's important that we first of all are educated and understand the issues that are key to our faith, and key to our lives. We may also have issues with her very personal to us like adoption. For example, or other matters, and those may be higher priorities for Austin for some other people and so, though all of those issues inform us those biblical principles and foremost and think it's important that we match up those principles and those priorities with the candidates and find out as best we can, where they stand on the issue and them support candidates that represent the values that we care about David pastors play an important role in all of this Dante not just as individual voters but as shepherds who help guide their congregations. But there is often some concern about not overstepping boundaries between church and state.

So what you think pastors need to do as far as how to proceed. That's a great question for pastors do need to be wise and discerning in this area, but one of the reason I was inspired to write this booklet was what I heard from one prominent pastor during the 2018 midterm election pain. This pastor actually said in an article he said that he that he will preach through the issues when they come up in the textbook.

Beyond that, he didn't want to do anything that would be perceived as to political and yet I read that I listen to that argument, and I think that's the wrong attitude. You know, of course think pastors should get up and endorsed candidates from the pulpit.

It would be absolutely out of line for pastor to say that that their congregation must vote first third certain candidate to prove their faithfulness to Christ you know II think pastors should take the responsibility to shepherd their people seriously and think about how they conform the conscience of their congregation to think about these political issues in a way that honors God be the issue that were talking about her first and foremost, not political issue that there there theological issues as artist for practical things that I would pastor one is to preach about the moral issues when they come up in the text, putting the flood pastor should pretext positionally into preach the books of the Bible when the issue comes up in the text. You can't be accused of going out of your way to be political good as they are in the text a number to outthink pray publicly for leaders in government, pray for them by name. Pray for the governor pray for your Congressman pray for the president, it number three, the churches can absolutely host voter registration drives and the number for distributing voter guides, but we want people to be informed think that all pastor should want their people to be aware. What are the significant issues that are going to be decided at the ballot box, many of those issues of their moral and spiritual implications, and I think by distributing good literature.

Pastors can play a significant part in this process, such as what do you say to Christians who are inclined to withdraw and focus on their prayer life. Their relationship with God, their families and communities just to disengage from the messy culture around us. The question in a course. Christians ought to focus almost major use of the prayer life. Their relationship with God father family how to engage in the community. Those things are all extremely important that Christians also should get engage in public policy and in politics.

Look at a particular chapter of Matthew five, you know it's the first chapter of Jesus's sermon on the mount, and often times when we talk about engaging in public policy.

We talk about being salt and light in our culture, but also think it's important to look at the couple of verses immediately preceding that we refer to any of those verses is the Beatitudes where Jesus is blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven and someone but then when you get down to verse 11 and 12 Jesus said blessed are you when people insult you and persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you. And so I see Jesus saying that we all to rejoice and be glad when were persecuted for his sake, not because will be taking things to get persecuted for that but because in applying biblical principles to public policy. We are going against the grain of the culture speaks when when I read this a couple years ago.

It really struck and also you know who the prophets and what were they doing in a course. These were the prophets of the Old Testament were speaking God's truth to the culture, and particularly to the political leaders of the day. And so Jesus he says, that is, Christians were all to be salt and light. We are salt argument culture for living out our faith, but were also likely to be persecuted for that in the same way that the prophets who came before us were persecuted. So I think it's just to clear calling the word to engage the culture and apply these these Christian biblical principles as we do that, but one where prayerfully considering the issues before us.

There are some that will come to different conclusions and that that's okay right so it's absolutely okay and you know that there are some issues economic issues in the exact size and scope of government and we go with the national sales tax or flat tax. How many immigrants do we let any cheers as those are questions that we can have serious conversations on but there's really what I would say, no, thus saith the Lord.

There's no chapter and verse.

There are theological principle solely might disagree on certain issues when it comes to poverty alleviation and exactly how to turn tackled the race issue, which is such an important issue right now knows we might disagree disagree on the sum of the specific policies, but underneath that were Christians need to be just abundantly clear is that all people are made in God's image and that we we affirm the dignity of every single person I think that is what really sets us as Christians who engage in the public square, a battle set us apart. Those who know just very angry and upset that is Christians you know we we are going to speak truth in love, but see everyone made in God's image deserving of that dignity and that respect, thank you so much for just about out of time for this week before we go.

First of all, David, where can our listeners get a copy of the resource biblical principles for political engagement, worldview issues and voting yes at FRC we do have it available on our website@frc.org/engage and that's a part of our new worldview series, the listeners can check out@frc.org/worldview specifically for this one FRC.org/engage in. John, you mentioned a couple of times North Carolina family policy Council's excellent resource are our voter guide. When will that be ready and how can people get that thank you Tracy just voted out of is in production right now we are surveying candidates for state-level offices for the legislature, the government accountable studies judicial offices and also Congress and we will be working over the summer and early fall to put all those resources together and prior to early voting, which starts the beginning of October before the November 3 general election. We will be publishing and making public that voter God. So not only in the print version, but also all of the voted out of website. So for more information.

People get our website attention. Family.org you so much great resources. Good information David Klassen with the family research Council in Washington DC and John Reston president of family policy Council here in North Carolina. Thank you both for joining us today on family policy matters.

You can listing the family policy matters. We hope you enjoy the program and plenitude in again next week to listen to the show online and to learn more about NC families were to inform, encourage and inspire families across Carolina website it NC family.org that's NC family.org.

Thanks again for listening and may God bless you and your family