The Left is Also Guilty of Marrying Politics with the Gospel by Dr. Michael Brown for Ask Dr. Brown
As we approach the 2022 midterms, and even more as we approach the 2024 presidential elections, Christian conservatives who are politically active will be accused of marrying the gospel with the politics.
“Have you not heard of the separation of Church and State?” our critics will ask.
But that sword cuts both ways.
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The left is also guilty of this very thing, to the point of celebrating the marriage of politics with the gospel.
To be clear, I believe that it is very dangerous to conflate the gospel with politics, as if the goals of both were identical.
I have addressed this concern in many relevant articles as well as in my recent book The Political Seduction of the Church.
Of course, I believe that our faith should inform our politics and we should be politically involved. I consider this part of our sacred stewardship in a country like America, as long as we don’t confuse the gospel with politics.
But, to repeat, it is just not the right that is guilty of blurring these lines. The left most certainly is, and even more blatantly.
Here’s an example from the past and an example from the present that underscore my point.
In 1988, both Pat Robertson and Jesse Jackson ran for president.
Speaking about Robertson, the Britannica.com website noted that in the 1980s he “became increasingly involved in politics, and he subsequently resigned as minister in order to run for the Republican presidential nomination in 1988.”
So, he was no longer “Rev. Pat Robertson,” but just Pat Robertson. This way, there would be no blurring of the lines between his beliefs as a minister of the gospel and his political agenda. He was here to serve all Americans as a potential president, not simply preach the gospel as a minister.
In stark contrast, to this day, Jesse Jackson is known as “the Rev. Jesse Jackson.” That’s because the left has no problem with blurring the lines between Church and State, as long as it’s for their causes. Be a reverend and be a politician. That’s great, as long as you are on the left.
Consequently, when a Republican candidate who is also a Christian speaks up for the unborn or points back to some of our founding, Christian values, he or she is accused of being a dangerous Christian nationalist. “You are a Christian dominionist trying to take over our country! How dare you try to impose a theocracy on us.”
