Ministers’ Right to Address Politics

The Roanoke Times

November 3, 2017

by William E. W. Robinson

Robinson, pastor of Salem Presbyterian Church in Salem, Va., has a Ph.D. in Biblical Studies and is the author of Metaphor, Morality, and the Spirit in Romans 8:1-17.

In light of next week’s election and our nation’s political divisiveness, it’s an apt time to address those like Cal Thomas (“Be careful what you wish for,” Feb. 8 commentary) who think pastors shouldn’t speak to political issues from the pulpit.

Thomas gives three reasons why: 1) it “dilutes their primary message,” 2) it’s not what people expect to hear (“If I go to a political rally, I expect to hear political speeches. When I go to church, I am expecting soul food.”), and 3) it’s divisive (“Many political views are represented in my church. If the pastor began preaching on politics he would find people, including me, headed for the exits.”)

Regarding his first reason, Thomas doesn’t explicitly state what pastors’ “primary message” is or should be, though he indicates that it’s “the eternal” such as salvation. “The eternal” is undoubtedly emphasized in the Bible and in the Christian faith. It’s crucial. At the same time, the temporal is also emphasized. In fact, Jesus says more about the Kingdom of God (the Kingdom of Heaven in Matthew’s Gospel) than anything else, a reality that is both eternal and temporal.

In the Lord’s Prayer, for instance, Jesus teaches his disciples to pray: “Your Kingdom come on earth as it is in heaven.” To pray that petition is to ask God to rule on earth as in heaven, and in the Bible God’s rule is ultimately one of mercy, justice, and love. The prophets exemplify it when they criticize kings, rulers, judges, and any others who neglect, exploit, or oppress the poor and powerless. Based on the words of one of those prophets, Jesus proclaims that his mission is to fulfill God’s rule of mercy, justice, and love (see Luke 4:16-21).

While Jesus didn’t attempt to establish a political kingdom, God’s Kingdom opposes earthly “kingdoms” (i.e., political orders) that transgress his teachings and God’s emphasis on mercy, justice, and love, particularly for the poor and powerless, the stranger and oppressed, the least and the last. As a result, sermons that are faithful to scripture will sometimes criticize unjust laws and other words and actions — including political ones — that are opposed to God’s Kingdom.

With respect to his second point, Thomas is right: Sermons shouldn’t be political speeches, and in keeping with the Johnson Amendment they shouldn’t endorse particular political candidates or parties. At the same time, sermons based on the Bible may and should address political issues when governments or rulers oppose the values of God’s Kingdom. As a result, there will be times when “soul food” has a political flavor to it.

Finally, Thomas is also right that “preaching on politics” is divisive. However, sermons that address political issues aren’t necessarily so. For Christians, sermons shouldn’t be divisive if they’re faithful to the Bible: You’re not “preaching on politics” but preaching on a Bible passage that addresses a political issue or political conduct that transgresses Jesus’s teachings/opposes the values of God’s Kingdom.

Two final points are pertinent. First, sermons that address political issues will only be one slice of the preaching pie because of the Bible’s diverse witness and concerns. Second, Christians’ faith will be expressed politically at times precisely because of these Kingdom values. The question is whether Christians will actually do that, not only in how they vote but also in their commitment to help the least and the last, the poor and the needy, the powerless and the outcast, as Jesus himself did and expected his followers to d