A General Election is once more upon us. Sadly, many people have been brought up to believe that religion and politics do not mix. But from the Greek & Latin, politics means ‘of the citizen’, or (in modern terms) ‘for the people’. Without people there can be no religion or politics! So, how seriously do we as Christians take our duties as citizens? And how easily are we swayed by popular, topical events.

Politics is a messy and often emotive human business. And, although most politicians have more integrity than the media would credit them with, there is no one political party or manifesto that could ever encompass God’s vision for our world. But there now is a growing awareness by most Christians that through politics we have the opportunity, and the moral responsibility, to begin to discern and be involved in God’s work in the world, in order to help bring about change and transformation within peoples lives and relationships.

Last year, amid many difficult national & international issues, Christians came out in large numbers for the American Presidential Election to vote for George Bush, himself a staunch Christian and a member of the United Methodist Church of America.

The UK group called ‘Christian Coalition’ states " Our first priority is to make sure people are saved; our second is to get them baptised; and our third is to get them to vote." The purpose of the Christian Coalition is to get politicians elected who will carry out what they see as Christian policies, but these tend to be focussed around family issues & values concerning sexual behaviour, abortions & euthanasia. However, Christians should also be concerned with issues like international trade rules, detention without trial, peace talks to eradicate terrorism & war, poverty, debt, child welfare, homelessness, binge drinking and gambling.

There are other Christian organisations working within the three political parties who may not agree on party policies but agree that Christians should take politics seriously. They offer encouragement & support to Christians who want to become involved & apply Christian reflection to political issues. The Methodist Church & member denominations of Churches Together in Britain & Ireland, have produced resources to help churches organise ‘hustings’ meetings, where people can meet with their local candidates for question times, discussion & debate (see website www.churcheselection.org.uk for details & practical advice)

We have all recently witnessed the moving events surrounding the death of Pope John Paul who, unlike his predecessors, has travelled to many places in the world, doing much good in uniting Roman Catholics and other Christian peoples in their tolerance of each other through their faith. It’s a pity that our own Methodist Church Presidents and other Protestant & Free Church Leaders, who do so much in terms of tangible outreach & mission throughout the world’s regions, do not receive the same accolades or media coverage. But, although Pope John Paul was not the ‘spiritual father’ for almost as many non-RC Christians worldwide, he was a popular Pontiff and a hard act to follow.

And we can be sure there were some messy politics and uncompromising differences afoot amongst the Cardinals who had the responsibility of voting in the new Pope Benedict as John Paul’s successor! However, we hope and pray that he will prove to be a liberal who will work to bring Christians of all denominations together in a world that desperately needs to hear the Gospel Message of God’s love through Christian faith values working in & through local & global politics.

No political party or Christian denomination can claim to have God exclusively on its side. But politics and the Christian faith working together are crucial in determining the kind of world we live in and if we are to ensure that all God’s people participate in shaping it. So, don’t just gloat- get out and vote!

God Bless You.

Iain