I was reading in the Congregations magazine by the Alban Institute, an article about politics and religion. It addresses the issue of whether or not churches should engage in endorsing political candidates and how to honor the separation of church and state. One of the issues that the author addresses is that the separation of church and state is to protect the government. He argues that it is equally important that the wall protect religion and religious people. He speaks about the freedom of religion from political domination and contamination. I thought it extremely helpful to think about the process in this way. Political contamination. I think the point that begs to be highlighted here is that God is not our pawn to throw around and pick to have on our side of the political playing field.
My favorite quote out of this article is “However, we are not looking for a candidate who best represents the interests of Christians. We are looking for a candidate who will best represent the authentic interests of all Americans. For the interests of all the people and the interests of God are identical, one and the same.” (26) If, and that is a mighty big word, if we could all look out for the interests of all people, we would not need to throw God around as if we needed the extra player on our team to ensure we win.
My favorite quote out of this article is “However, we are not looking for a candidate who best represents the interests of Christians. We are looking for a candidate who will best represent the authentic interests of all Americans. For the interests of all the people and the interests of God are identical, one and the same.” (26) If, and that is a mighty big word, if we could all look out for the interests of all people, we would not need to throw God around as if we needed the extra player on our team to ensure we win.
