Politics and faith

I guess the debate about the place of faith in the world of politics will continue to simmer even now that the Presidential election is over. Faith will always, probably should always, present a challenge to politics and policy at all levels of government. 

I certainly would not be original in suggesting that no one political party can ever hold claim to being the true politics of faith. And I'm certainly not alone in worrying about the polarising of politics on and around single issues amongst evangelicals. Our problem is of course that we elect a government with whom it's inevitable we will disagree over some things. But a choice has to be made if we are going to exercise our democratic responsibility.

So how do we make that choice? It was interesting to read recently what Alan Beith had to say about liberal politics and faith. There's a short article about here.

What I thought was most interesting was his comment that:

The tolerance which is a hallmark of liberalism does not rest upon a visionless and lifeless political creed, but on a passion to serve humanity without enslaving it.

Is it me, or does that not sound a little like the kind of thing you'd expect to hear from Christians who are grace-filled and who share God's heart to love others. With vision and passion we seek to serve humanity in order to demonstrate God's love and earn the right to share the message of the cross. 

So, is it possible for a committed Christ-follower to be liberal? That, in part, seemed to be one of the many question being asked about Obama, his faith and his politics. 

You will have to answer that question for yourself. As for me I'm probably more liberal than conservative, just in case you were wondering!