Christians as members of Political Parties

The past two presidential elections have been particularly trying for the body of Christ in Zambia. Many Christians have divided over their respective political affiliations. Here are Martyn Lloyd Jones thoughts on the matter.

“The Christian is never to expect too much from the state. This is always a difficulty. People always expect too much from it. Let me emphasize that by saying that Christians should never get excited about the state. They should never get excited about politics. They are to be interested; they are to vote; they must be intelligent and informed; but they are never to get excited about one political party or the other. But Christians often do, and to the extent that they do, they come under the condemnation of scripture...

So often, and to their great shame, Christian people have quarreled over politics. This is quite unforgivable. Ultimately the disagreement is often caused by a view of what the state can achieve; otherwise no one would get so heated. I have known churches to divide on political issues. I have known Christian people who do not even speak to one another because of their political views. It is almost unthinkable, but it has often happened, and it is due to a failure to understand the teaching of this great and important section of Romans 13. It is quite all right to have differences of opinion, as I have already indicated. There are equally good Christians in all the political parties. Bit Christians must never let their political views harm their fellowship with other Christians.”

P58 Martyn Lloyd Jones, Romans: Exposition of Chapter 13 Life in two kingdoms, Banner of Truth

Should we stick to spiritual things?

Should Christians get involved is a business as nonspiritual as politics?

Here is Martyn Lloyd Jones take on the question

"But that is a very dangerous heresy because Christians still have to function in the flesh, they still have to live in this world. All the orders of nature are still there; they still continue. Moreover, we are told that it is the duty of Christians to recognize and submit to the governing powers and obey them as best they can. There are certain qualifications, which I will deal with later, but as principle, that is what we are told. So we are concerned with things of this life that are not specifically Christian.

Let me go a step further: like everybody else, Christians are involved in matters that are not specifically moral or spiritual, but are neutral. Let me give you an example or two. What is Government concerned about? It is concerned about preventing robbery and theft, keeping order, regulating the traffic, ensuring proper drainage, preserving public health. Now those are not moral or spiritual matters – I would call them neutral. From the standpoint of public health, law and order, driving on the correct side of the road, observing the road signs and the highway code, there is no difference between the Christian and the non Christian. Christians are involved in all of them, and they should therefore be interested in all of them.

Or take economic issues. Speaking generally, I hold the position that questions about the economy are also not spiritual or moral but neutral. Yet they are very important. When they are handled properly, they benefit all of us. If they are handled badly, we all suffer, Christian and non Christians alike. So as Christians, it is our duty to take interest in these things. We should be concerned to ensure that the best minds are applied to them. We do not contract out. We realize that local and national Government are essential to the ordering of life, to making civilized life possible for the community of men and women. And we not only recognize this, we submit ourselves to it."

P40 Martyn Lloyd Jones Romans: Exposition of Chapter 13 Life in Two Kingdoms, Banner of truth

The Declaration as a Sociological Statement Pt 2

The Declaration as a Sociological Statement Pt 2

The next major objection to the declaration of Zambia as a Christian nation is that it is an expression of tyranny. According to this view the Christian segment of society use their influence to oppress those with view contrary to theirs. A prominent example of such a view point is homosexuality.

I do not find this viewpoint persuasive for two reasons. Firstly, democracy presupposes that views of the majority will take precedence over the views of the minority. Democracy is a political tool that creates national consensus on governance issues among groups with differing viewpoints through elections. Secondly, I do not think that majority rule and tyranny of the majority are synonymous. In most democracies the rule of law guards against the violation of fundamental human rights.

So that is the declaration of Zambia as a Christian nation as a sociological statement. Next post the declaration of Zambia as a Christian nation as a moral statement.

Christians and Politics

Here is a quote from Edmund Clowney on Christian Participation in politics.

"Since democracy gives its citizens a voice in Government, Christians have the responsibility of their privilege to participate. There is every reason for the general office of the Church ('laity') to consult together on political issues. So, too, the special officers of the church must provide biblical guidance and wisdom to assist in Christian analysis of political questions. The Church has a prophetic role to perceive and expose ethical questions that underlie political issues. Where God has spoken in condemning sin, whether sodomy or financial exploitation, the Church cannot be silent...Yet Christian involvement in political life does not cancel out the spiritual form of Christ's kingdom. Calling the sate righteousness does not mean calling it to promote the gospel with political power or usher in the last judgement with the sword. Christians are not free to form an exclusively Christian political party that seeks to exercise power in the name of Christ. That would identify Christ's cause with one of the kingdoms of the world. Political action on part of Christians must always be undertaken in concert with others who seek the same immediate objectives. Such objectives, promoting life, liberty and restraint of violence, are the proper goals of civil government. They are not the goals of faith and holiness that Christ appointed for his Kingdom" Edmund P. Clowney The Church p.193

The Biblical Worldview and the Purpose of the State

These are quotes from an online essay by New Testatment Theologian Norman Thomas Wright:

"like everything else in Jewish and Christian theology, all Biblical wisdom about God and Government goes back to Genesis...Genesis declares two things: first, that our world is the good creation of a good God; second, that humans are given a place of special responsibility within that world. The doctrine of human beings being made made 'in God's image' is about the vocation of humans to bring God's wise, fruitful order into the world, and in turn to sum up the praises of creation before the creator....And it isn't only gardens that humans are called to look after. The concept of humans bringing God's order to the world lies at the heart of all ordering of human society, all leadership, all government."

You can read the whole essay here.

Charles Kachikoti on Church and State

The following are extracts from two articles posted on Kabwata Baptist Church's website. They are by Veteran Zambian Journalist and current Chief Policy Analyst for Press at State House Charles Kachikoti.

The Church plays not only vital but decisive roles in the moral and spiritual
development of the citizens of Zambia, but also provides crucial uplifts in
areas of health, education, agriculture, human rights and governance, and
economic development at large. The list is inexhaustible. It is true that
politicians meet people, but pastors always have ready audiences in the
individual souls they attend to by way of personal or familial ministry, and in
the congregations they address weekly and, in certain circumstances, daily.
Therefore, the Church, speaking on issues that cause communal disquiet and
anxiety, is in a competent and authoritative place to air people’s concerns. And
when it does so, Government must listen.

If it is Christ Jesus that the Church serves, and the people in their diverse fortunes and misfortunes, it can afford in certain circumstances to speak one language. A pro-government church will not help anyone because it will decorate Government mistakes or failures and deceive the rulers of the day; and an anti-government church will harm everyone because it will ridicule every Government success. The three mother Church bodies (The Christian Council of Zambia, The Evangelical Fellowship of Zambia, The Zambia Episcopal Conference) are highly informed in practically all sectors of the economy and have the ability to competently engage Government point for point. This strength alone precludes the use of words of mass destruction by the Church. It also warrants a respectful view of Church by Government. From ancient times the Church has been a resilient, persistent pilgrim for change. Not always have churches been able to engage governments at the very time they wanted to. Previous attempts to iron out the creases may not have worked but the current President of all Zambians is a listening leader, contrary to media portrayals of a leader who is too far to hear anything.

The complete articles can be found here and here

For Laughs

On the subject of politics:

"Politics is the art of looking for trouble finding it, misdiagnosing it, and then misapplying the wrong remedies"

Groucho Marx

The State and Morals

I have quite a backlog of posts for the Zambia as a Christian Nation series, but as you wait, here is a quotation on the relationship between statecraft and morality.

Frank Beckwith writes in his book Politics for Christians: Statecraft and Soulcraft,

“’Statecraft,’ Aristotle instructed his pupils, “is soulcraft.” He meant by this that the state or government, by its policies, procedures and actions, places moral ideas in the social and legal fabric of a political regime, and that these ideas serve to shape the quality of its citizens’ character.”

Is America a Christian Nation

I know the blog is called salt and light Zambia, but I think it doesn't hurt to hear what other Christians think about a nation being charterised as "Christian".

Here is are the some thoughts from Albert Mohler on why America can be considered a Christian nations.

America is not a Christian nation by constitution or charter. There has never been a time when all Americans were Christians or that Christian identity could be assumed as evangelical.

But, American citizens are overwhelmingly Christian. This has always been so, and is so now. This is why G. K. Chesterton would refer to America as the “nation with the soul of a church.” The American experiment in religious liberty has produced a nation that, unlike most of Europe, has resisted complete secularization.

The vast majority of Americans identify themselves as Christians. This simple fact points to the “Christian” character of the nation. America is not Christian by constitutional provision or creedal affirmation — but its people are overwhelmingly Christian by self-affirmation. Thoughtful evangelicals will not overestimate the convictional character of this self-identification.

The Declaration as a Socialogical Statement P1

In my first post I categorized the various understandings or viewpoints held by people on the meaning of declaration of Zambia a Christian nation. In this post I will look at the first category, the Declaration as a social fact.

According to this viewpoint, the majority of Zambian’s are Christian, therefore, as Zambia can rightly be described as a Christian nation. Now any honest person will need to admit that this is a demographic fact. The question remains however, whether this demographic fact should influence our constitution making process. There are a number of objections to this view point that we will consider below, as I do this please remember that I am interacting with the arguments and not passing final judgment that will come later.

The first objection is that it is immoral to bind future generations of Zambian, who potentially may not be Christian to the declaration on the basis of the fact that today most Zambian’s are Christian. I would like to point out that this objection could be posed to any clause in the Constitution and that ultimately this type of reasoning undermines the very practice of writing constitutions. A constitution is a document that a particular group of people assent to at a particular point in time, it is possible that in some future point in time the decedents of that group of people (whether physical or civil) may take issue with the constitution and change it. This process is called constitutional amendment and it is widely practiced around the world. In light of this I think that today most Zambian’s are Christian, therefore, it is fair to say that Christianity is a predominant characteristic of the Zambian people. If at a future date most Zambian’s will not be Christian’s it will be their prerogative to amend the Zambian constitution to suit the Characteristics of Zambia at the time. I further believe that it in drafting the constitution our emphasis ought to be on present facts and not hypothetical possibilities.

A Christian in Politics

In line with one of the theme's of this blog during the month of July In have decided to draw your attention to a professing evangelical Christain who chooses to engage in the "dirty game" of Zambian politics. The person is Mr. Watson K. Lumba MP. He was elected as Solwezi Central Member of Parliament on 19th November 2009.

What makes this kind of person tick? Well here is a part of his maiden speech to Parliament:

Mr. Speaker, allow me to digress and give some aspect of my life story that inspired me to seek to serve the people. I come from a family of 14. My father, who is 79 years old and he has spent the last 40 years as a pastor in the Christian church. Growing up in that family, we were taught, as many in this house I am sure were, values and virtues rooted in scripture that called on us to love God first and then our fellow man. I therefore believe that without a sense of wanting to serve fellow man, man used generically to include woman, politics becomes devoid of its soul. But how can one serve man without love for him/her? And how can one love man without the love of God, the giver of true love? Mr. Speaker, I strongly believe that service to our fellow Zambians and our country should be informed by principles of virtue that will once again make our people proud of themselves. It is only when we believe that we can and should take care of our neighbours that we will have a fearless energy to drive this country forward. With this, we must reject an infamous proclamation of one of the leading western leaders of the last two decades when she said that “ there is no such thing as society.

The rest of his maiden speech, which includes reference to his views on free society, Zambian development and economics can be found here.

The Christian and Politics

I know I have taken my time writing my first post on Zambia the Christian Nation, I have been thinking and re thinking my approach in light of the comments I have received. I have however resolved to write the post as I initially conceived it and you will be able to read that post on Friday. After I finish the series I will take time to interact with your comments.

But before that here is something from C.S. Lewis' Screwtape Letters. For those unfamiliar with the book, it is a series fictional letter from a senior tempter (demon) to a junior tempter, these letters provide the junior tempter with advice on how best to tempt Christians. The value of the book for the Christian is as a means of reflect on the temptations that Christains face in the various stages of thier lives.

This is a portion of a letter that touches on the subject of the Christian and politics:

About the general connection between Christianity and politics, our position is more delicate.
Certainly we do not want men to allow their Christianity to flow over into their political life, for the establishment of anything like a really just society would be a major disaster.

On the other hand, we do want, and want very much, to make men treat Christianity as a means; preferably, of course, as a means to their own advancement, but, failing that, as a means to anything—even to social justice.

The thing to do is to get a man at first to value social justice as a thing which the Enemy [=God] demands, and then work him on to the stage at which he values Christianity because it may produce social justice. For the Enemy will not be used as a convenience. Men or nations who think they can revive the Faith in order to make a good society might just as well think they can use the stairs of Heaven as a short cut to the nearest chemist’s shop. Fortunately it is quite easy to coax humans round this little corner.

Where are the evangelicals

Kabwata Baptist Church recently held a day of studies with the theme "Christian Volunteerism: the Vanguard of Civilization. Pastor Conrad Mbewe explored how the Christian can be salt and light in our world be volunteering. This clip is from the first session of the workshop. You can hear more here