America Votes: Twitter Reflections on the Election - 4 Oct 2016
Next month, America will vote for a new President. This year, more than ever before, debate over the candidates has filled the 24 hour news cycle, all around the world…
Recently, 24-7’s good friend Glenn Packiam posted a series of tweets to his fellow US citizens reflecting on how to engage and maintain a big-picture perspective on the American Election – with active political engagement alongside an active Christian faith:
"Bear with me as I think out loud - I’m trying to do some theological reflection on Christian political engagement. Here’s what I’ve got…
1. To claim ‘Jesus is King!’ does not absolve us of the responsibility to engage politically - we don’t respond this way with other issues such as poverty or trafficking.
2. And confessing Jesus as King clarifies how we are to reflect on our engagement: through the lens of the Kingdom of God - the Sermon on the Mount, the Parable of the Sheep and the Goats, and so on…
3. These reflections may result in (at least) a few different voting decisions for different voters this year: whether that’s against Trump, against Hillary, against both (third party), or leaving your ballot blank.
4. Christians ought not bully one another into thinking there is only one ‘right’ choice. Until the Kingdom comes in fullness, there is not.
5. So let your own reflection be a robust Christological, Kingdom-of-God-shaped reflection - not a nationalistic, ethnocentric one.
6. And through this process, be most critical, most questioning of your own positions and conclusions, and most patient with others who land in a different place.
7. And recognize that no matter who wins, the Church will remain. That means thinking about the ‘future generations’ is about preserving our witness (not about making America ‘great’ or secure or prosperous).
8. For the Church to be a prophetic voice - speaking truth to power - and a faithful witness to a different Kingdom, we cannot ally with one party. "
Wherever you are in the world, join us over the next month as we pray for wisdom and guidance for individuals, communities and the American Church.
"Your kingdom come,
Your will be done..."