A conversation on evangelical Christians’ political obligations.
Amid the tempest of the 2020 election season and all the anxiety it provokes, I’m comforted by the familiar image of Jesus asleep at the stern in a boat being swamped by a furious storm (Matt. 8:24–27). His terrified disciples, experienced sailors scared for their lives, could not fathom how their spiritual captain could seem so indifferent to their doom. But Jesus slept not because he was indifferent or resigned to their fate. Quite the opposite. Jesus was unafraid because he knew he possessed a power greater than the storm. Jesus spoke and the waves were calmed. “What kind of man is this?” his disciples asked. “Even the winds and the waves obey him!”
The whirlwind of American politics continues to swirl, and we evangelicals find ourselves caught up in the tempest. How to navigate a storm we cannot control is an immense challenge. In a political culture shot through with compromise and complexity, how do we advance the values we believe in without becoming complicit in values we do not? Being salt and light in the here and now entails engagement for the good of a world God loves, and yet, as Christians united under the lordship of Christ and Christ’s kingdom, our allegiance exceeds our citizenship.
In the wake of Mark Galli’s viral editorial about President Trump, CT called for a conversation around a common table. As we wrote, “It is time for evangelicals to have a serious discussion about how our identity as Christians shapes our activity as citizens. We will invite authors who represent a variety of viewpoints in a thoughtful and charitable manner.”
It’s taken some time to gather all the RSVPs, but over the coming weeks, we’ll publish a series of pieces …
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