Partisan Politics is a Problem - Part IX of Religion and Politics

At the birth of Yeshua the angel said to the shepherds, “Do not be afraid for behold I will bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people. For there is born to you this day in the city of David, a Savior who is Messiah the Lord.” Note the proclaimed good news was for all people: Jew and Gentile, man and woman, even later for Democrat and Republican, liberal and conservative. Increasingly, however, the gospel message is associated with a particular political party and a certain type of political agenda. In my view, the association has undermined the gospel message and created a barrier for many people to hear the good news of Yeshua the Messiah.

As I’ve written earlier, I served for several years as a counsel in the US Senate. While there I led a Bible study for Congressional staff. Many people attended who worked for both Democratic and Republican Members of Congress. We had one rule: when entering the doors, discussions about politics and legislation remained outside. Inside, I taught from the Bible, explaining the stories and making them applicable to our daily lives. We then took personal prayer requests, and I prayed about every request, as long as it was not political in nature. I kept a record of the prayer requests in a book so we could see how God answers prayer. I also posted several gospel tracts I wrote, called, “Is Something Missing”, on a bulletin board outside one of the Senate’s restaurants. Over a few years, many of these tracts were taken. Finally, when I left Congressional work, my former boss, a US Senator, wanted me to come back and counsel other Senators and their families on how the legislation I worked on would affect them. I met with at least fifty Senators and their families from both parties. At the conclusion of each session, I explained to them about the book of prayer requests I kept, and asked if they had any personal prayer requests. All of them heartedly shared requests, and many of them were very personal and heartfelt. Why am I writing this? Because everything was done in a non-partisan way. Politics was not discussed. Rather, it was always about God and the people.  The gospel is for all people.

I worked on Capitol Hill when the Moral Majority was formed. While I agreed with some of their views about social issues, I vehemently disagreed with their approach. I believed organizing churches around the country to elect certain types of candidates, campaigning on their behalf and becoming a public political organization was a grievous mistake. I saw numerous religious leaders say the most bizarre things about Congress, the Presidency and politics. At one point during a Congressional meeting, I challenged Pat Robertson, host of the 700 Club, who was becoming increasingly political, about the mixture of religion and politics. He pooh-poohed my concerns.

I left Capitol Hill in 1987, went to seminary and entered the ministry. I led Tikvat Israel Congregation, a Messianic Jewish Congregation in Richmond, Virginia for twenty-two years. I prohibited the placement of political brochures and Congressional voting records in our congregation. I never spoke about political issues, with the exception of the one message in 2008 about this very subject – Religion and Politics. I shared from the bimah (pulpit) at the opening of every service by stating, “our goal on every Shabbat is to come into contact with the living God and be transformed into His image.” Thus, my messages were about knowing God, hearing from God, walking with God and living a godly life.

This is the good news: that God broke into a dark world in the person of Yeshua the Messiah to transform humanity. As the Apostle Paul said, “the gospel is the power of God unto salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first, then the Gentile.” This gospel message is wholly separate from politics and certainly partisan politics. As the angel said, it’s for all people. Please consider what has happened in the US. At least one-half of the population, if not more, is turned off to this message because of its association with partisan politics. The United States is in desperate need of a revival, but as the Apostle Paul also said, “judgment first begins in the house of God.” I challenge religious leaders across the spectrum to distant themselves from politicking and return to sharing the good news of Yeshua the Messiah.

Next time – is there a role for religious people and leaders in the political arena?