Introduction

Politics: a range of activities concerned with making and implementing decisions for the community as a whole.

Why should Christians take an interest in politics? Why vote? Why be involved practically?

The following material is based on a British Bible study by Care that explores the Bible's attitude to such involvement. People may vote in an election for several reasons. They may simply want to get one party out of Government or to keep another party out. They may believe passionately in the policies of a party and want it to be elected. They may like the leader of a party. They may have been impressed or otherwise with one of the local candidates during the campaign, or with the sitting MP. They may simply vote as they have always voted, through a sense of tradition.

Increasingly, many people are no longer bothering to vote at all.

They see politics as dull, corrupt and increasingly irrelevant to their lives. Whatever your view of politics however, it is important that, as a Christian, you exercise your right to vote, and that you do so in a considered and thoughtful manner. In biblical times and until fairly recently, there were few opportunities for Christians to influence the governance of their country. However, in the last century or more, people struggled and died to secure the vote for men and women in Britain and other western nations . And with the vote comes political responsibility. So how do we respond? How do we set about deciding who to vote for?Once election day is over, we will also need to think about what our elected representatives will be doing for the next five years. Will they be representing us wisely?

How can we be involved during the years between elections? We can make a difference as Christians; we can stand up and speak out on biblical principles and ethical issues; and we can have a say in who we think should be running the country. We are fortunate that Canada does not deny Christians the right to voice an opinion, as many parts of the world do.

The growing secularism and declining morality in Canada today often suggests that the Christian voice is a faint one. However, the main parties are coming to recognise that the Christian vote can be influential. The mission statement of the Christian Coalition International Canada includes amongst its objects the following:

1) To represent the Christian point of view before local councils, provincial legislatures, the federal government, parliament and the senate.

2) To proclaim our values in the public arena and the media.

3) To serve as an umbrella organisation to train leaders for effective social and political action.

Christians today appear to take one of three positions on the issue of political involvement. There are those who tend to assimilate to the prevailing political culture, interpreting the Bible to suit the modern world.

On the other hand, there are those who are inclined to withdraw from the political process and perhaps not even vote.

There is, however, a third stance, which is the path that the Christian Coalition International Canada seeks to follow. This aims to engage without compromising the fundamentals; to reflect social changes and to add a biblical focus to the major social and moral issues of our day. We would encourage you to think about being involved in this way too.

These studies are intended to give Christians a deeper understanding of the biblical perspective on politics. We suggest that they be used before the next election in 2004 takes place, to encourage people to focus on the truths behind the media glare.

We recommend that the study leader takes time to think and pray through the study beforehand, and encourages all members of the group to participate.

The studies have a fairly loose structure and are aimed primarily to be thought-provoking. A number of questions are suggested for you to ask, and a number of Bible references are included, but feel free to add more and direct the study as you feel appropriate for the group of people involved.

Studies

Study One: Genesis ch.1- Creation: the original mandate for political authority

Study Two: Matthew 5:13-16: Being salt and light: leading a life that influences society.

Study Three: Genesis 39 and Daniel 1: Holding strongly to our faith: facing compromise under pressure

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