Christians and politics schmolitics

"Jesus said, 'My Kingdom is not of this world. If it were, my servants would fight to prevent my arrest by the Jews. But now my kingdom is from another place'" -John 18:36 to Pontius Pilate.

This is a poignant verse in the gospels. A sweeping statement by Jesus as He was on trial before Pilate. His kingdom is not of this world. His kingdom is not America or any other nation. His kingdom exists in the hearts of any person who chooses to love God and love their neighbor as themselves. A vast spiritual kingdom that is concerned with the things that God is concerned about. That people would love and know Christ (Philippians 3:10), they would help the poor (Matthew 25:35), feed the hungry (Matthew 25:35), care for widows (James 1:27), defend (I would argue non-violently) the defenseless (Psalm 10:16-18- David prays for God to defend the fatherless and oppressed).

All Christians, I would hope, would agree with the above values and many more that are expressed in the Bible. Of course, these values stem from the historic and foundational rising of Christ from the dead (1 Corinthians 15:12-14) which is the cornerstone and prime issue for the Christian worldview.

I have observed in this election that Christians (friends of mine) are supporting a variety of candidates. Many believers are supporting McCain or Obama and yet others are refusing to vote for the two powerful parties and instead are lobbying for third party candidates. Christian musician Derek Webb has written an article giving Christians permission to not vote at all if their consciences' are violated by the two top tier candidates.

With all of this diversity, how do Christians come together without being divided? In America, politics seems like the issue that quickly divides families, friends, and sadly the Body of Christ. The old cliche is: don't talk about politics or religion...at risk of some lame politically correct argument that we might offend somebody.

I would hope that everyone in our society is open to talking about religion and politics. These two important categories give us glimpses into someone's soul, what they value, and how they see the world. Of course, we have to be ready to engage in proactive listening and respectfully defend our own entrenched positions.

I especially want to speak to the church (and myself therein) which has a wide variety of political positions. We are all guilty, to some extent, of demonizing people of other political perspectives and even perhaps making them into not "true" believers...like us, of course. Sadly, this IS the game of politics. The realm of civil discourse has not become one that fosters interaction and healthy debates but one of mudslinging, lies and straw man arguments. The ideas themselves are sometimes not even spoken on in favor of name-calling and trying to "label" or characterize an opponent whose position is different than our own.

Yet, among all of us believers in Christ who believe very different political ideas, we are called to be unified. Jesus prayed for a unity that would be a testimony to the world at large. "My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, that all of them may be one, Father, just as You are in Me and I am in You." (John 17:20-21)

The question to all of us: how do we hang onto and articulate our political views AND remain unified as the Body of Christ as Jesus' prayer states?