The upcoming November election is a critical moment of decision in our national history. The Community Forum, free and open to the public, is an important programmatic offering for our church and community this coming Monday night, September 30, at 7:00 pm in the Sanctuary. Dr. Robert Talisse, Philosophy Professor at Vanderbilt University, will address “Our Polarization Problem.”
One of the Presbyterian Church's founding theological affirmations is unwavering confidence in God's sovereignty. The living God is the creator of heaven and earth who maintains all things in their being and governs them by divine will, energy, force, and life. As people of God, we are called to exercise our faith in every aspect of our lives and follow Christ into the world to further God’s love, peace, and justice. This is a political calling.
When folks tell us pastors the church should stay out of politics, I always want to say, have you ever read Jesus’ first sermon? The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor, to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free and proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor. (Luke 4:18-19) You cannot get any more political than that! We live as disciples of Christ in and for the world.
That does not mean we all agree about political matters. Another tenant of our faith is that “God alone is Lord of the conscience,” and we are free to think differently about political matters. In community, we come together, engage in respective conversations from varying points of view, and together seek to better understand the character of God and how best to address issues pertaining to the common good and get to work for the sake of the gospel. Christians must address morality and justice in political spheres, but it is not the church’s job to endorse a particular party or politician.
I imagine we can all agree that political discourse has become increasingly hostile, causing great social schisms in families, among neighbors, and even within the church. Dr. Talisse argues that democracy is rooted in the idea of equality, writing, “Although democracy often proceeds by a kind of combat, we keep the temperature low by acknowledging that beneath it all, we remain one another’s equals… We owe it to one another to uphold this aspiration.”
Join us for Monday’s Community Forum as we seek to uphold this aspiration. The coming election is hugely consequential. We owe it to one another to consider how we move forward civilly, respectfully, and peaceably without giving up our strong, faith-based opinions about how our politics are connected to our calling as disciples of Jesus Christ.
