Glenn Beck

Doug Wilson gives sound advice for evangelicals as election day nears and political fervor increases in his article “Seven Things for Christians to Not Sip at the Tea Party.” It is pithy and practical and worth reading in full. Here is the outline.

1. Keep your head…
2. Conservative forms of postmodern relativism are no better than the others kinds…
3. Do not make the mistake of thinking that anything that makes the socialists, liberals, progressives, and commies froth at the mouth must be biblical. What they are advancing is evil, sure enough, but that doesn’t mean that anyone who fights them must be good…
4. Always act, and never react. Action needs to proceed from a biblically based framework of political principles, and not from fauxoutrage over the fact that your gored ox is not covered by Medicaid.
5. Don’t support any political movement in such a way that eliminates your ability to protest the inevitable compromises that will follow in the train of electoral victory, such compromises being undertaken and advanced by Republicans ten minutes after the election.
6. Take note of the fact that pastors, theologians and writers alive today, who actually embody the principles held by the Founders, will usually not be allowed anywhere near the microphones, at least not while the television crews are still there…
7. Above all, beware the idolatry of a Christless civil religion…We are Christians and the worship of a generic Deity is prohibited to us. There is no way to the Father except through the name of Jesus. But there are manifestations of the American civil religion that are seductive to evangelicals. And so we must be told, again and again, little children, keep yourselves from idols (1 John 5:21).

Wilson’s counsel is helpful. Like Moore’s article, it encourages evangelical engagement, but engagement that proceeds from a mind renewed by the whole counsel of God and one that is jealous to guard itself from the idol of civil religion. As we protest for liberty, may we never forget our greatest liberty comes from Jesus Christ alone (John 8:32; Galatians 5:1).

Soli Deo Gloria, dss

Whatever your thoughts about Glenn Beck’s rally in Washington, Russell Moore’s analysis, God, the Gospel, and Glenn Beck, is worth reading. Especially, if your Christianity and political interests intersect (which they should — the question is “How should they intersect?”), Moore’s commentary is salient reminder that the advance of the gospel and the advance of conservative politics are not one and the same. While promoting an active role in politics, Moore distinguishes between populist “God and country” rhetoric and the gospel of Jesus Christ crucified, buried, and dead.

On the topic, Moore writes,

We used to sing that old gospel song, “I will cling to an old rugged cross, and exchange it some day for a crown.” The scandalous scene at the Lincoln Memorial indicates that many of us want to exchange it in too soon. To Jesus, Satan offered power and glory. To us, all he needs offer is celebrity and attention.

Mormonism and Mammonism are contrary to the gospel of Jesus Christ. They offer another Lord Jesus than the One offered in the Scriptures and Christian tradition, and another way to approach him. An embrace of these tragic new vehicles for the old Gnostic heresy is unloving to our Mormon friends and secularist neighbors, and to the rest of the watching world. Any “revival” that is possible without the Lord Jesus Christ is a “revival” of a different kind of spirit than the Spirit of Christ (1 Jn. 4:1-3).

Because the gospel is about a kingdom, the gospel is political. And politics do matter. Paul urges us to pray for leaders and the peace of our nations, but because the gospel is empowered by a heavenly Spirit and is establishing a subversive kingdom, it is not advanced through national organizations and political machinations. The church is the wisdom of God for growing his kingdom and for bringing genuine peace into the world.

While Christians should engage politics, and take a stand as individual (and organized) citizens, we must not confuse the call of disciple-making (Matthew 28:19-20, Acts 1:8) with that of conservative politics. Moore’s article shows evangelical Christians should confront the world with a nuanced understanding of the Bible, and not just slogans passed down by winsome leaders. We must renew our minds and examine our hearts, even as we vote our conscience.

Check out the whole thing: God, the Gospel, and Glenn Beck

Soli Deo Gloria, dss