Why should Christians get involved in politics?
Fewer Christians nowadays dispute the legitimacy, indeed the imperative, of seriously getting involved with the socio-political world, although from the early twentieth century on they have generally manifested a marked reluctance to do so. In the face of contemporary society structures increasingly antipathetic or indeed hostile to the Christian worldview, some have advocated retreat into a sectarian inwardness or Christian ghetto mentality. Others, however, have vigorously embraced the historic Reformed conviction that the Church’s task is to ‘transform’ society. This approach claims that ‘being’ the Church involves preserving its God-given distinctives, whilst simultaneously engaging in a meaningful way with ‘the powers that be’. Politics is concerned with debate over values, with worldview, with the shaping of society. Surely that wholly coincides with the Church’s mission?
