Rev. Mark Daniels – Should the church be involved in politics? (September 1, 1999)
September 1, 1999
The Community Journal
Mark Daniels made many good points in his editorial “Politics, church should be separate” (August 25, 1999). For example, he is right on target about; “gently and respectfully presenting Christ to others”, “allow Him to be the central figure in our lives”, and “believe in and follow Jesus.”
However, Mr. Daniels states that, “except in extreme cases, I feel that the church should stay out of politics.” He referred to the central mission of the church being the Great Commission and that politics equated to “coercion.”
I wonder what Mr. Daniels calls the incident when Jesus flipped over the money tables in the temple (Matthew 21:12). If that wasn’t coercion, it certainly must have been intimidating. What about when Saul (later the apostle Paul) was struck down on the road to Damascus (Acts 9:3)? Didn’t that lightning bolt go beyond intimidating?
It is not clear what Mr. Daniels was referring to when he said, “the church should stay out of politics.” (Normally, that type of statement is aimed at the bogus issue of “the separation between church and state.”) Based on the context of Mr. Daniels editorial, it appears that he is most likely alluding to social issues that can be directly affected by the electorate.
If the church stays out of “politics”, should she ignore the fact that 4,000 unborn babies are legally killed in this country every day? How extreme does it have to get? What about the condom pushers (Planned Parenthood) in Withamsville? Should the church just wink and nod? What about the two strip bars in Mt. Carmel? Should the church just whisper, “Jesus loves you?” What about Clermont County’s two obscene video stores? Should the church just ignore them and hope they go away? What about that disgusting “Advocate” (homosexual magazine) polluting Clermont County’s libraries? Should the church start celebrating perversion?
I’m sorry Mr. Daniels, but I must respectfully disagree. The church should not only be involved in these “political” issues, but should be leading the charge. A classic example is the Christian Life Center Assembly of God on Roney Lane in Mt. Carmel. Pastor David Cooper (and others) is leading many area churches to rid our community of the two Mt. Carmel strip bars.
Yes Mr. Daniels, we will be gentle and respectful. We will tell the wayward girls and the patrons that Jesus loves them. We will also tell them to “go and sin no more” (John 8:11). Please join us.
John E. Becker