February 19, 2011

On Jesus and Political Advocacy

Many of you know my basic approach is to say hey, we need to advocate for the values of Jesus when it comes to public policy. (however imperfectly)  But as I'm reading in a book by Eugine Peterson titled The Jesus Way, it is not enough to believe in the theology or the values of Jesus. We need to behave like Jesus, we need to follow the way of Jesus. We have to do the right thing, the right way. (obviously)  For that reason, Eugine quickly moves beyond personal lifestyle questions, (who doesn't think they ought be like Jesus) and starts asking hard questions about how we do life in community, how we lead church, and how we live in a pluralistic democracy.  What Peterson goes on to illustrate is that there is a tension between standing up for what is right and how that is done.  For example, contrast the following two passages.