In recent times it has not been uncom­mon to hear Christians and others saying Christians should not be involved with politics.

When Christians make these sort of claims, it’s often not clear what they are trying to say. Do they mean that Christians shouldn’t vote or hold political office? Or are they suggesting that Christians shouldn’t support political par­ties or act as advisers to party leaders?

Of course, if this is the case, are they willing to concede a number of hidden assumptions that lie behind their position, namely, that the Bible has nothing to say about politics; that Christians are not suit­able to govern a nation; that atheists, humanists and socialists make better political leaders; and that the Bible offers no advice to rulers and those in govern­ment? When Christians express senti­ments such as these, they have a responsi­bility to make clear to the rest of us pre­cisely what they mean.

In my experience, those who advance the proposition that Christians should not be involved in politics usually offer a number of well-worn excuses to justify their position. I must confess that I don’t find them particularly convincing, espe­cially when they seem to stand in contrast to Christ’s clear command in Matthew 5:13-16 that we are to be shining lights and high-quality salt in all aspects of society. Let’s look at some of these excuses.

First, some claim that religion and pol­itics don’t mix. However, the reality is that politics and religion are already mixed, whether we like it or not. Political systems are simply the expression of a culture’s most deeply-held beliefs about human life and the means by which a soci­ety can best achieve its ideals in the realm of government. The question should rather be ‘Which religious or ethical prin­ciple should form the foundation of poli­tics?’ If Christian values and principles do not form the foundation of politics, then rest assured someone else’s values and principles will!

Second, some say you cannot legislate morality. But Charles Colson reminds us of an important truth when he says:

All law implicitly involves morality; the pop­ular idea that ‘you can’t legislate morality’ is a myth. Morality is legislated every day from the vantage point of one value system or another. The question is not whether we will legislate morality, but whose morality will we legislate?

Third, some suggest that politics is an inherently “dirty” game. This is not sur­prising in view of the fact that a consider­able number of humanists, socialists and atheists have applied their values as the basis of their legislation and behaviour while many Christians have made excuses as to why they (Christians) shouldn’t be involved. As long as this continues, other “isms” will dominate political life, Christian principles will be watered down and assume second place, and politics will remain a “dirty” game.

David Holloway in his book A Nation Under God describes Lord Shaftsbury’s experiences when he saw Christian princi­ples and politics going hand in hand: “(Lord Shaftsbury), of course, saw these two things going hand in hand — politics and the Christian faith. He suffered for allowing his Christianity to affect his pol­itics.” Lord Shaftsbury was victorious as was William Wilberforce in his long polit­ical fight against slavery.

Fourth, some are adamant that you can’t use the Bible to impose your ideas on those who don’t believe it. The ques­tion is, if the Bible is not appropriate as a source of political and social policy, then who decides whose ideas and philosophy are relevant? It is certainly not out of order to seek godly wisdom when debat­ing in Australian parliaments. The reason for this is that each day the Speaker of the House and President of the Senate offer prayer asking for Almighty God’s bless­ing and directions to enable the Parliament to advance God’s glory and enact legislation that will be for the wel­fare of all Australians. Here is an implicit recognition that our nation looks to the Bible as an authority for moral values.

Objectively, these values can be judged as desirable for the common good of society.

Fifth, some argue that Christians are called to preach, not to engage in political protest or to contest elections! The fact is, of course, that Christianity impacts every part of life, and a political campaign is an opportunity to declare the relevance of the Bible and its message for the prosper­ity and peace of the nation. John Eldredge, in a “Focus on the Family” pub­lication called Why You Should Be Involved, says: “When our Christianity fails to address all aspects of life, it appears to the world too trivial to be true.”

I well remember my own experiences as a Federal MP in the late ’80s and early ’90s when I was vice chairman of the newly formed National Parliamentary Pro-life Group. It was my task to introduce a Private Member’s Bill to limit the public funding for “abortion on demand”. At the time, there were about 90,000 pub­licly funded abortions a year.

I have to say that I was appalled by the unwillingness of some of my Christian colleagues to support the bill (mainly through fear of electorate backlash.) Even more concerning was the deathly silence of the majority of church leaders who had been well informed of the details. Sadly, it doesn’t seem that much has changed today.

In many churches where I am invited to speak on ‘Christians in politics’ or on general moral and family issues, I am invariably told that “our society is going down the plughole”. People ask: “What can we do about it?”

I have a stock answer: “Yes, society is going down the plughole. To find out why, the first thing to do is to put on your raincoat, your waterproof boots, trousers and sou’wester and go down the plughole into the ‘S’ bend. That’s where you’ll find all the churches and Christians!”

An impotent and decadent church always precedes a society into serious moral and social decline. The well-known words of Matthew 5:13-14 are relevant here:

You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything... You are the light of the world ... let your light shine before men.

The important thing to note is that the call is not to promoters of evil in our society to “pull up their socks”, but to God’s inactive children (that’s us) and his church (also us) to live distinctive Christian lives. The call is for us to get to know God in all aspects of his character. To get to know his holiness and compas­sion; to know his heart and his word; to begin to learn his compassion for the world and to rise up, without excuses, and act accordingly.

If we genuinely “turn up our wicks and increase our saltiness in society” as this verse implies, then our presence will make a distinctive difference.

Should Christians be involved in government? Proverbs 29:2 says,

When the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice but when the wicked beareth rule, the people mourn.

It seems to me that these words make it patently obvious that it is perfectly legitimate for Christians who are also cit­izens to be actively involved in the politi­cal process — in fact I don’t think they have a choice. In my opinion, any Christian who has the capacity to engage in political office and does not do so is not fulfilling his or her obligation as a Christian and a citizen.

Francis Schaeffer in A Christian Manifesto has some strong words:

A platonic concept of spirituality which does not include all of life is not true spirituality. True spirituality touches all of life; including things of government and law, and not just religious things.

US Senator William Armstrong is correct when he writes about Christian responsibility and public life:

I am con­vinced that only the Bible can provide the ultimate standard, the bench mark by which we may hold our public policy and our political leaders accountable. It is the only standard that has the authority, rele­vance, precision and power by which we may reform the thought life of this country. What is the battle plan if we are seri­ous about doing something about pornography, drugs, abortion, and low ethics in high places? The plan is the Bible!