There is a sentiment out there, among Christians, that Christians should not be involved in politics. But Christians aren’t on-again/off-again beings; we are either for Christ, all the way down, or we are against Him all the way down. The point: there are no abstract compartments in the Christian life. When this is applied to politics, or any realm, this means that it is not possible, if we are in fact political animals, to not be involved in politics. We can pretend like we aren’t involved in politics, but the reality will always be that we are inescapably embedded within them. As such, since there are no compartments available in the Christian complex, it is not possible to live this life as a Christian and not involve ourselves in this world. We will necessarily bring all of who we are [in Christ] to all aspects of this life; all the aspects we are inescapably related to as creatures with space and extension into the creaturely and concrete reality. Helmut Thielicke says it this way:

If the liberating significance of justification for all these dimensions of life is not indicated, the Christian is in danger of succumbing to schizophrenia. For he will live a life that is divided into different compartments. In his private life he will be a believer living, as it were, supernaturally in a kind of superworld. But as a man of the world he will follow the laws of the world. We know very well that highly unsatisfactory forms that such a divided, half-Christian humanity can take. We often refer to them—and not without cause—in terms of “hypocrisy.” The very same man who comes away from the solemnity of the divine worship on Sunday forgets it, or regards it as irrelevant, when he sits at his desk on Monday. His motto now is, “Business is business.” The heart may beat for God, it may honestly feel it is a redeemed heart, but it does not pump blood into the extremities. There are limbs which are cold and clammy, not yet connected to the heart.[1]

Clearly, this applies to more facets than politics; but politics seems to represent the most pressing application of this in our current moment. This is where the battle happens: i.e. when we attempt to be who we actually are in front of the world, not just the church. This is where witness for Jesus Christ obtains, as it is given friction through pressing up against the world that is not for Christ but against Him.

When we apply this to the political sphere there are Christians who are so sick of that whole enchilada that they simply want to shrink back and deny that their Christian life has anything to do with such evils. While this does represent the path of least resistance (for a moment), the reality remains that as humans we are inextricably related to politics. Like I have noted previously, the statement, Jesus is Lord!, is an undeniable political statement that forces the Christian to negotiate with His kingship; often in opposition to the kings and lords of this world.

In my view: Christians are well advised to constructively engage with politics in a way wherein the sanctity of human life is magnified above all else. Since I take all of human life to be grounded in the vicarious humanity of Jesus Christ, it makes sense that I would see the sanctity of human life, and all its implications, as the primary point of political contact that a Christian can have in the world. It wouldn’t make sense, then, to promote political parties, no matter what country, that denigrates and have a low view (by way of policy) of human life. Since we live in a fallen world we will never find a perfect match between the Christian witness and the secular politik; but, in my view, we must do our best to support the parties that do indeed represent this sort of Christian witness in regard to the holiness of human life vis-à-vis the vicarious humanity of Christ.

[1] Helmut Thielicke, Theological Ethics: Volume 1: Foundations, edited by William H. Lazarus (Philadelphia: Fortess Press, 1966), xiv.