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Originally Posted by Igzy
I'm with you here, Truth. The Bible clearly commands us to "do good works" and included in those works are helping the poor and seeking justice. That covers a lot of territory.
Of course, the natural thought is to use the force of law to accomplish these goals (that's what political means ultimately do, leverage the force of law).
However, we know that the work of the Holy Spirit in men's hearts is more important than the force of man's law. However, often the effect of changed hearts is changed law, which is definitely a benefit. So there is some gray area. Our work is spiritual. But it has practical effects in this age. That's what salt of the earth means.
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I agree. I'll accept this definition that Politics refers to the means by which we accomplish the goals of seeking justice and helping the poor. We certainly have been admonished in the NT to do both of these. The question becomes have we been admonished to use political means to accomplish them or not? I think this is a bizarre question that stems from super spirituality (to become so spiritual that you are of no earthly good).
As Christians we are trained in the way of righteousness. We are given a model of God's Holy laws in the Bible. We are destined to rule and reign with Christ. The constitution of this country was specifically written to give us both the right and responsibility to take part in the governance. You could of course do this while making sure you didn't reference Bible verses, but that is an unfair requirement. There is nothing in the New Testament to suggest that we should hide our faith or beliefs while walking in this world.
I would agree that much of what is done in the political arena is designed to smear the Bible or discredit it. But that just means it is even more incumbent on believers to stand up for what they believe and stop being "silent". To teach Christians to be a silent voice in this country is, imho, the worship of dumb idols.