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Over time, proper issue orientation became the sine qua non of evangelical political engagement and of Christian character assessment. It’s outcomes that matter. Concerns about process or relationships were secondary, at best. This is why you see so many Christians say things like, “If you vote Democrat as a Christian, you can no longer call yourself a Christian,” even though the Democratic Party contains millions upon millions of Bible-believing Christians. This is why so many Republicans believe Donald Trump is a man of faith. If he’s perceived as right on the issues — and has the right enemies — then he has to be a good man.
To many of these Republicans, it doesn’t matter if a Democrat professes faith in Christ, believes in the inerrancy of scripture and exhibits the fruit of the spirit — love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. The fact that she might also be pro-choice, support a legal right to same-sex marriage or find elements of critical race theory compelling and persuasive makes her destined for hell. I’ve seen the same dynamic in reverse, with more progressive Christians condemning as apostates those believers who don’t share their views on guns or race.
But the more I matured, and the more I recognized my own tendency toward combativeness and judgmental behavior in the face of disagreement, the more I realized that this approach profoundly misunderstands Christian moral commands. Let’s take the central verse of the After Party curriculum, Micah 6:8 — “He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?” Christians can’t shrink from confronting injustice, and we must engage with humility and kindness.
In many ways, humility is simply a recognition of reality. We’re imperfect people with imperfect knowledge and wisdom. Even on issues on which we feel that burning moral clarity is necessary, understanding complexity should give us pause.
You may believe that the United States has a moral obligation to ameliorate the effects of hundreds of years of legalized, violent racial injustice, and yet also understand that how to do so is an extraordinary complex and difficult question, one that requires an immense willingness to listen to others and learn from our own mistakes.
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