What struck me was that he was basically talking in political language, talking about how he hopes everybody in the city can get along with each other. There wasn’t really a hint in what he said or how he said it that he was talking to an audience of Christians. It reminded me of a talk I heard by Stephen Timms, a noted Christian politician, and then a minister, at the conference of a Christian debt counselling organization. Again, the speech was almost entirely a political one, with little religious content or context.

On both occasions, what was said left me somewhat uninspired and hoping for something which was explicitly Christian. They are also somewhat in contrast to how I approached specifically religious questions when I was doing hustings during the election. When asked, at a hustings hosted by a Catholic church, what inspiration I drew from the person of Jesus I basically talked about my own faith, and how the godly desire to speak up for the weak and the poor was a key factor in my decision to get into politics. And giving that answer was, in fact, my favourite moment of the campaign.

If my political involvement ultimately leads to me speaking to Christian audiences, I hope that both my content and my style are more like my answer to that hustings question than they are to what I heard from those other politicians. It seems strange to me that, even in a specifically Christian context, Christian politicians are often reluctant to put their faith to the forefront. If we are truly obeying the Biblical call to follow Christ, we should not be shy in talking about it, or in bringing specifically Christian perspectives when talking to other believers.

And whilst it’s right in a multi-cultural society that our faith should not be centre-stage when debating policy issues (as we would then never convince those of other faiths or none of our point of view), it should surely be a good idea to talk about it when engaging, as politicians, with communities from other faiths. Whilst there are clear differences between Christianity and other religions, there are certainly perspectives that we hold in common with other faiths that are not shared by those with no faith. And talking about those perspectives would surely enable our message to be heard more effectively.

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Of the six national parties with enough support to obtain Euro MPs, there are two that I consider to be particularly in conflict with Christian values. The first is the BNP – who are both racist and fascist. Their whole ethos is direct conflict with the core of the gospel. The second is UKIP. Whilst their central policy is an issue which is morally neutral, the party seems to be dominated by those with a “little Englander” mentality.

Of the remaining four parties, the Green Party’s values seem to me to match Biblical values a bit more than the other parties. They also match my political instincts, which may well colour my judgement.

So what are the values which attracted me to the Green Party?

Ecological Wisdom

The first, and most distinctive, of these values is the party’s commitment to the environment. Whilst Labour and the Tories talk about this issue a lot and the Lib Dems have a few good environmental policies, the Greens are the only party which considers how we treat the Earth as an issue of first importance. This is particularly important as we live in an era where climate change is one of the biggest dangers to the future of human civilisation.

This commitment to the environment is very close to the Bible’s teaching about how we are to relate to the rest of creation – we are to be good stewards of it, and practise what is increasingly being called “creation care”.

Social Justice

The Greens are strongly committed to the cause of the poor, both in this country, and globally. Unlike Labour, whose current leadership has downplayed its socialist roots (which, incidentally, largely lie in Christian Socialism), the Greens still put the welfare of the poor as a matter of high priority.

This commitment is, of course, a major theme of the Bible. If you don’t think that God hates injustice and oppression of the poor, then you either haven’t read the Bible or haven’t understood it.

Long-Term Perspective

The Greens are the only major UK party whose policies plan for the long term. The big three parties are particularly guilty of not doing this. Their policies, when they actually have any, seem to be driven primarily by short-term factors – being geared towards the next election, or making a splash in the press. The Greens may not take as long-term a perspective as God does, but they certainly aren’t as short-sighted as the other parties.

Nonviolence

The Green Party is committed to non-violent solutions to conflicts. Whilst I believe that some wars (such as World War 2) are a necessary evil, I believe that this approach to conflict fits far better with what Jesus taught (turn the other cheek, bless those who curse you, etc.) than the pro-war stances that Labour, the Tories and, to a lesser extent, the Lib Dems have taken over the last couple of decades.

Grassroots Democracy

Unlike the big three parties, the Greens are run from the bottom up. There isn’t central vetting of the activities or decisions of local parties, which means there are more opportunities to get involved at a practical level, and that local candidates actually have roots in the communities they seek to represent. It also means that the leaders aren’t behaving like the rulers that Jesus condemned in Luke 22:25, and imposing their leadership on the membership.

Focus on Community

The Greens are big on the value of community when it comes to economics. The major parties all agree that particular economic indicators (particularly economic growth) are the main measure of a successful country. The Greens, however, take a wider view, considering non-economic factors to be equally important. Society is viewed from a holistic viewpoint and not primarily in terms of how much money it produces.

Overall Values

Whilst there are certainly factions within each of the big three parties that tend towards most of these values (the Compassionate Conservatives in the Tory Party, the grassroots socialists in the Labour Party, and the Social Democratic wing of the Lib Dems), I believe that the Green Party reflects the Biblical view the most. There are areas where Greens tend not to be as much inline with Biblical values, and other areas where they don’t particularly stand out. However, in the 21st Century Western world, it is my belief that the values I have outlined are particularly important. The major challenges of our era demand this kind of approach to politics in order to find solutions. And that’s why I chose to join the Green Party rather than any of the others.

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So how should Christians approach politics?

Christians should be “salt and light”

Jesus said that Christians are to be salt and light in society (Matthew 5:13-16). Back in the first century, salt was used mostly to stop things from going off. Light is, of course, what enables us to see things. What Jesus meant by these two metaphors is to say that Christians should, by the way we live, stop things from going corrupt and make it easier for people to see God through our actions and lifestyles.

For those of us involved in politics, that means that we should be beyond reproach in our conduct and serve as good examples to others. If there had been more MPs who had taken a biblical approach to the use of money and who were clearly seen to do so by other MPs, then would there have been the same culture of entitlement that caused the recent scandal about MPs expenses? Perhaps so, but at least it would have been less severe.

Such an approach should apply to money, campaign tactics, the way Christians in elected office serve their constituents, the way we relate to others within our party, and pretty much every aspect of political life. We are to demonstrate the fruit of the spirit (love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self control) in all that we do.

Christians should not aim to create a Theocracy

Whilst the Bible is clear that Jesus will, ultimately, directly rule over the whole Earth, it is also clear that, whilst God is still sovereign, this will not happen until He returns. Therefore, Christians should not try to preempt Him by trying to use the force of law to enforce Christianity (or, rather, the outward appearance of Christian behaviour) onto the kind of pluralistic society that exists in the Western world.

What I mean by this is not that Christians should not use the political process to fight against injustice or to help support institutions like the family. What I do mean is that politics should not be our first resort. In a representative democracy, politics tends to follow the culture (except, perhaps, when there are large sums of money involved) rather than lead it.

Unless we first win over public opinion to our point of view on an issue, any attempt to change things through our involvement in the political process is doomed to failure. An attempt to ban a sinful activity is likely to simply drive it underground (as happened in the US during the era of prohibition) unless people are convinced to abandon it. An attempt to stamp out an injustice needs enough public support to create the necessary political will in order to succeed, and that may take years or decades to create.

In short, Christians should be strategic in the way we engage with politics. If we wish to be salt and light, then we must pick the political battles we can realistically win and seek other strategies on those we cannot.

Christianity must not be equated with a political agenda

Whilst there are certainly political positions that are incompatible with Christianity (e.g. support for apartheid), and others that clearly arise from it (e.g. the campaign to abolish slavery), there is no one political party, election platform, or policy agenda that can properly be described as Christian. There are many issues, particularly in a 21st Century context, where God is silent, and there are others where a wide range of positions are compatible with what He has said.

Yes, our political views should ultimately come from the moral values we get from our faith. However, we must avoid portraying our personal politics as being the only political platform that is compatible with Christianity. That doesn’t mean that we can’t allow others to see the association between our faith and our politics. Terms such as “Christian Socialist” “Christian Democrat”, or even “Green Christian” make it clear that, whilst our politics are shaped by our faith, there are other political positions that Christians can legitimately take.

Ultimately, we must make it clear that our politics are not the core of our faith. Jesus, and particularly His death and resurrection, are.

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In today’s world there are many different takes on how faith and politics should interact. At one extreme, some within America’s Religious Right or in the Liberation Theology camp have been known to treat their faith as, essentially, a political ideology. At the other, there are some Christians who believe that politics is too worldly to pursue and some atheists who think that religion should be kept away from politics at all costs.

I would suggest that neither extreme is healthy or helpful. Christians, and those from other faiths, should be free to bring our faith into the political sphere without being criticised for doing so. But equally we must recognise that there are ways of doing so that are unhelpful and counterproductive, and seek to avoid those.

Before looking at the question of how Christians should do politics, however, we should first look at the reasons why Christians should do politics. I believe that there are three things that are key to any Christian understanding of politics.

The Bible neither commands nor forbids individual Christians to be involved in politics.

The New Testament doesn’t explicitly teach about Christian involvement in politics. However, it does provide us with clear evidence that there were Christians who were both involved in politics (the proconsul of Cyprus in Acts 13) and that many Christians were from social groups whose only method of political involvement would have been rioting (1 Corinthians 1:26). In the New Testament, politics was neither commanded for believers nor was it forbidden.

Sometimes our faith demands political action

Jesus summarised the law of Moses in two commandments. Firstly, we are to love God with our entire being. Secondly, we are to love our neighbour as we love ourselves. Jesus then defined “neighbour” so wide that it includes groups of people that we hate (Luke 10:25-37). If we are to genuinely attempt to fulfil the second of these commands, then we will eventually end up getting involved in politics.

If, for example, a church runs a homeless shelter and discovers that a particular law is causing people to lose their homes, how can they say they love the people they serve unless they campaign for the law to be changed? The only circumstance in which they could justify staying out of politics is if there is no chance that the law in question could be repealed or if there was a strong chance that the campaign would actually make things worse.

We should, of course, remember that one person or one church cannot do everything, and focus our efforts to love others on the specific things we believe God has called us to. But to deny ourselves the option of going into politics is to admit that our love for others is only skin-deep.

Our Christian faith should shape our political views

Christianity is not a faith that can be compartmentalised. The Bible contains teaching on every aspect of life. The two great commandments clearly touch on every aspect of the way we live our lives. Therefore Christians cannot engage in politics in a way that leaves our faith behind. Equally, politics without a firm foundation of moral values (such as the ones that religious faith provides) becomes short-term opportunism and a desperate grasping for power.

Religion and politics cannot be separated without diminishing both.

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