“How ‘Bout We Stay Out of Politics”

One tactic used to silence conservative Christians

I had an interesting experience last week.  I posted my substack post about St. Paul’s teaching on false teachers in the church to a private Christian (mostly Anglican) Facebook group.  And someone pushed back with this comment, “How ‘bout we stay out of politics.”  That although the only way I see my article was political is I pointed out that false church teachers who push a “different gospel” include those who push secular totalitarian gospels in the church such as Critical Theory.  See for yourself.

I think that has to be said today in view of how CT and related ideologies, including Queer Theory, have infiltrated the church.  So in a way my article was actually against a lot of politics in the church. Yet I get pushback for supposedly being too political.

At this point I should say that, yes, there should be discernment in how political Christians should and should not get in church and church related settings.  To pick on my side of the aisle, I saw online a California pastor clearly endorse Steve Garvey for Senate in what appears to be a church service.  I don’t think that’s appropriate although I would definitely vote for Garvey.  I also think First Baptist Dallas has become political in inappropriate fashion in how it has supported Trump in recent years.  That even though I support Trump (although it took me a while to get to that point in 2016 and in this election cycle).

I restrain myself in this area.  For example I did not post my latest substack article, “Blue Urban Vomit”, in the aforementioned FB Christian group because it was not on topic enough for that group. (Not to mention it is slightly spicy.) I did not even post it to a private study email list I run.

And discussion about wise boundaries on politics in the church can be helpful if intellectually honest.  Wisdom in this area is indeed needful.  The Lordship of Christ extends over all areas of life, including politics.  At the same time, when a church overemphasizes politics or, worse, pushes evil political agendas or simply agendas faithful Christians can disagree on, good people can be driven away as I was from the mainline Presbyterian church.

But there is a kind of discussion that is not intellectually honest and is really more “Shut up!” than discussion.  And it is sneaky, to put it nicely.

Right minded Christians and allies push back against making everything political.  Unlike the woke, we do not want to politicize all the things.  We don’t buy such ideological nostrums as “the personal is the political.”  We especially don’t want church or church related activities to be too political.

Well, there are people who use those good instincts against us.  When we have enough of toxic politics and start pushing back against what the woke and the Globalists and their politics are doing to our societies and to our churches, these people then say that we are getting too political.  In other words, when we push back against the hyperpolitical ideologies harming our societies, families and churches, we are accused of getting too political.  Or those opposing us may simply whine, “Can’t we stay out of politics?”

So how should we respond?  If one is confident that the accuser is willfully being intellectually dishonest and is playing games to make us look bad and to shut us up, one course is simply to ignore them and keep fighting the good fight.  Personally, I often block the intellectually dishonest online as life is too short to deal with them, and I don’t want to give them views.  But I confess I am mean and awful.

But if one wishes to engage because you know the person or think their protest might be sincere or simply because you want to expose them, I think a simple question reveals to all whether they are sincere or dishonest.

Ask a question like “Have you told woke in the church or certain Black churches or Christianity Today types to not be so political?”  If they answer no or don’t answer or (most likely) evade an honest answer, you and onlookers can know the accuser is being intellectually dishonest.  They apparently don’t have a big problem with the woke or Black churches or Russell Moore and David French and Christianity Today and their ilk getting very political in church and Christian settings.  But if you get a little political back and oppose them, then here comes the whining.  Their problem is really not with too much politics.  Their problem is with people who have the common sense and courage to oppose their politics in church and Christian settings.

Often, if you dig a little, you may find they may be more political than you, and in a toxic direction.  Yes, I know — shocking!

But even if you do not want to take the time to expose them (And as James Lindsay points out, a common tactic of the woke is to waste our time and energy with their dishonest games.  As much as these may provoke us, we need to prioritize.), do not let them shut you up.

Yes, you should exercise wisdom about exactly when and where and how you oppose the evil political agendas of the woke and of the Globalists and their allies. I don’t think endorsing candidates from the pulpit or making politics a frequent topic of sermons is wise, for example.  As for people in the pews, respect that others may want a break from politics on Sunday mornings, especially this year.  Heck, just for my own spiritual health and balance, I frequently have to make myself step away from politics.

And, of course, Christians should be all the more careful about our political commitments as they reflect on our witness.  Don’t be another version of those supposed Christians who support abortion or who sided with Communists during the Cold War or with Woke Marxism today and thereby bring shame on the church and on its witness.

But opposing the evil ideologies taking over our societies and churches is praiseworthy and can be commendable Christian ministry even as it was when William Wilberforce opposed the slave trade and Dietrich Bonhoeffer opposed the Nazis.

So don’t let those whining about “too much politics” discourage or silence you especially when the whiners really just dislike your politics and don’t like it when their politics is exposed and opposed.  Carry on.