spiritual politics

I tend to get a little philosophical when I read C.S. Lewis, and since I am in the middle of God in the Dock I have been very philosophical lately. Unfortunately, being philosophical is usually more of a mood than a mode of being more open or intelligent. When I realize this, I typically cease being quite so philosophical.

The book is simply a collection of letters and articles that Lewis wrote throughout his life and so every chapter is completely autonomous from every other chapter. This means I can sit down and read for fifteen minutes or two hours depending on how "in the mood" I am. Today, I was more in the mood to read than usual, so I got through four or five chapters, one of which was on the pitfalls of attempting to form a Christian political party.

I am not aware that anyone in the US is trying this now (though a lot of people claim this is the case with the more conservative side of the Republican party). Lewis' arguments, though, reminded me of a conversation that I had with "the guys" on Thursday night about what a person's assessment of Jesus would be based only on the Gospels and not on any other source. Throughout that conversation, I continually thought about how well Jesus avoided the politics of the day while still being willing to be controversial where it mattered.

Jesus would not state a position on paying taxes to Caesar and paid the temple tax without dispute, but he rallied against the corruption of the moneychangers in the temple. Jesus would not settle an inheritance dispute between two brothers, but he would state his opinions of how the religious and secular leaders of the day exercised their authority.

There seem to be two opposing types of "Christian" people when it comes to addressing difficult issues, both political and religious. Both types can easily find statements from Jesus that appear to agree with them simply due to the fact that Jesus was not a one-dimensional teacher. On one hand there are those who believe every issue is a matter of utmost Christian importance and that to disagree with a specific "Christian" stand is tantamount to denying God. On the other hand there are those who believe that Christians should stay out of any political process and often stay out of any process that requires taking an opinionated stand (I do not believe this is as popular a position as the first).

I would assert that Jesus' example is more one of determining what real truth is and living and defending that without shame. I believe that Jesus picked his battles because some were of importance or relevance and some weren't.

Of course, now that I've said this I have to try to live it.