Christian Politician

[Kim82]

The people who come into politics and campaign on the basis of being a Christian, do the Christians actually hold them to the Christian principles?

And can any Christian, who declares the word of God boldly, and actually lives by it, can such a person win any election? Won't he offend the majority?

And if a Christian has to compromise in order to get votes, I have to ask, what business does a Christian have running for office?

Doesn't the politician have to please the whole country, and not just the Christians? So the Christian gets into office, what next? Does he force his opinion on everyone?

How does this work? Really, I'm not sure.

Can a pastor be a politician? If he becomes leader, will he lock down the country on Sundays, and insist everyone go to church and if they don't they'll pay a hefty fine or jail time?

Will there be a law that says, no shaking up before marriage?

How in your view should a Christian politician or leader manage the country or the area he is in charge of?

 

[Nehemiah6]

Doesn't the politician have to please the whole country, and not just the Christians? So the Christian gets into office, what next? Does he force his opinion on everyone?

The whole country (anywhere in the world) will never be pleased with what a politician does. A Christian politician would apply Christian principles to provide good governance. Which means that he would uphold the Constitution and the laws of the land.

 

[JaumeJ]

And the constitution is thrown out, wet paper, no longer extant....got it?

A person may live pleasing the Father but I do not think pleasing politicians is in this scenario, not at all. Neither are their followers, all like lemmings pouring themselves into the raginin sea...

 

[jb]

Christian Politician

Christian politicians lie just like secular politicians, no difference in my experience...

Power corrupts, all power corrupts absolutely!

 

[Lanolin]

no idea but to use Jesus as a way to gain votes is sneaky if the voting population is a christian majority and the poltician is not actually a christian.

Im sure there have been christians in govt eg Jimmy Carter. And that informs their policies, seeing as God loved us while we were YET sinners, I would think anyone who is christian thats in govt would bear this in mind and not force anyone to believe as they do, but have love behind every action that they took that would affect their own country.

 

[Corban]

Our Lord Jesus said that His Kingdom was not of this world. The word "world" is "kosmos" and means "the arrangement of things". That is, Christ's Kingdom will not be run like the world's politics. Added to this, our Lord was rejected as King and will only take His position as King of kings after Armageddon. Who is the Christian who takes position of authority in the "kosmos" while his Master is in exile? We are to "seek FIRST the Kingdom of God and ITS righteousness." No Christian should dare be involved in the rulership of this present evil world.

 

[SoulWeaver]

I liked your thought provoking questions. I was sitting on that. This is my observations looking at my country over the years, questions being mostly rhetorical like yours.
I believe "politicians" started when Israel wanted a king, as "all other nations"... Human government as opposed to God being king. That day Israel subjected itself to human authorities.
Can we say that David was a politician? Or Solomon?
Daniel, as a high official in the kingdom, and Joseph, were they politicians?
It comes from the Greek term politiká (Πολιτικά, 'affairs of the cities', polis meaning city).
I would argue that every public servant is therefore a politician, but that's just me.
Politician in the last few centuries seems to mean someone who talks and promises much, to seduce people?
Some believe Christians must never be politicians - does this mean leaving the country to the unbelievers to run it and voting for the unbelievers and atheist driven policies remaining the only option?
Then the question of professing Christian vs the one who's living their faith out.
Then the difficulty of staying pure in that world - it really takes a person like Daniel or Joseph. The ungodly like to drag a Christian down, so they can say "Aha! You're not better than us", looking to find a fault in you or to cause you to sin. Trying to make you fall, not because you judge or condemn them, but because their own heart does condemn them, and they don't like hearing it. It does take a person like Daniel to stay undefiled. But how often do we find people like Daniel?
Seems people almost always vote for a "lesser evil" among the candidates nowadays. Is this inevitable, because we vote for men?
Why are there no people like Daniel anymore?
Most importantly, whom should we blame?

 

[Chester]

The people who come into politics and campaign on the basis of being a Christian, do the Christians actually hold them to the Christian principles?

And can any Christian, who declares the word of God boldly, and actually lives by it, can such a person win any election? Won't he offend the majority?

And if a Christian has to compromise in order to get votes, I have to ask, what business does a Christian have running for office?

Doesn't the politician have to please the whole country, and not just the Christians? So the Christian gets into office, what next? Does he force his opinion on everyone?

How does this work? Really, I'm not sure.

Can a pastor be a politician? If he becomes leader, will he lock down the country on Sundays, and insist everyone go to church and if they don't they'll pay a hefty fine or jail time?

Will there be a law that says, no shaking up before marriage?

How in your view should a Christian politician or leader manage the country or the area he is in charge of?

It is pretty difficult to be a politician and follow Jesus' way of life and relating to others:

Love your enemies
Do good to them that curse you/hate you

Let the leader of a political nation try that approach to his neighboring countries . . .

 

[Lanolin]

Daniel and Joseph were not politicians...the difference is they were appointed in govt positions but they were not elected by the people. They never campaigned. You can work in govt, be influential and NOT be a politician. You could be an advisor.

 

[Lanolin]

It is pretty difficult to be a politician and follow Jesus' way of life and relating to others:

Love your enemies
Do good to them that curse you/hate you

Let the leader of a political nation try that approach to his neighboring countries . . .

yep.

if you have no love for your enemies no matter what you say, thats not christlike. Doing good to others would be the exact opposite of what many leaders do, which is go to war.

 

[SoulWeaver]

Daniel and Joseph were not politicians...the difference is they were appointed in govt positions but they were not elected by the people. They never campaigned. You can work in govt, be influential and NOT be a politician. You could be an advisor.

I suppose it's down to how you want to view it.
Different times, different systems.
They did not campaign, obviously, but the pharaoh/king personally appointed them.
Similarly, presidents nowadays choose their staff members.
This issue isn't completely black and white, like people would want it to be.

 

[SoulWeaver]

yep.

if you have no love for your enemies no matter what you say, thats not christlike. Doing good to others would be the exact opposite of what many leaders do, which is go to war.

Yeah I'd agree with you in an ideal world. Again, not a black and white issue. Usually people who have not experienced war talk this rosy talk. Defending your innocent children from foreign attackers who want to kill them, then that goes through the window? So when someone tries to kill you you don't defend yourself, you let them rape you and kill you? It's a gray area, and people will never ever agree on this. Each man is fully convinced in his own opinion.