Jesus' words about sticking with the narrow gate are about entering the kingdom, and they risk getting distorted when applied to politics. It seems to me far better for Christians to be broad in politics. But we struggle to do it. In America, the Christian Coalition has booted out its new leader before he got started. Joel Hunter wanted to broaden the group's focus to look at both 'right' and 'left' issues—AIDS as well as abortion, poverty as well as sexual morality, global warming alongside . I don't know all the details, but it seems to me a shame.
To boast a little, Australian Christians are moving ahead of the US on this one. The 'About Us' page of the Australian Christian Lobby website still sounds very 'family values', but the group has worked hard in recent times to broaden its focus so that in the corridors of power it can represent Christians across the political spectrum. A quick look at their news and articles will see commentary and proposals on cloning, aboriginal health, business ethics, family wellbeing, and international poverty. This has got to be healthy for a Christian political vision that minimises its blindspots and represents Christ in all his fullness.
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Wednesday, 29 November 2006
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4 comments:
Good news re ACL. My impression is that they are still trying to work out what they stand for. And unfortunately in Sydney Anglican circles they have a slightly confusing acronym...
Was Joel Hunter pushed or did he jump? See here. Looks like a bit of both.
Good to hear. It is about time some distinction was made between Christian political virtues and middle-class consumerism.
Even though the bill for therapeutic cloning went through, I was heartened to read on the Herald website: Prime Minister John Howard and new Labor leader Kevin Rudd both spoke against the bill before it passed the House of Representatives last night.
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