Evangelicals, power and presidential elections

Jan 21, 2012
by Heidi Schlumpf

A blog post by David Neff, the editor-in-chief of Christianity Today, titled "Why Last Saturday's Political Conclave of Evangelical Leaders Was Dangerous," went viral this week, with lots of strong opinions pro and con about his assertion that Christians are not called to be kingmakers or pawnbrokers.

Neff quotes James Davison Hunter, author of To Change the World, who told CT in a 2010 interview:

"Whenever Christian churches and organizations partake in the will to power, they partake in the very thing they decry in society."

Instead, Neff advocates:

"Rather than trying to demonstrate power through the promise or threat of votes, evangelicals should use influence. Influence is a matter of education and persuasion—informing and convincing constituents and lawmakers alike."

The same advice could be given to Catholic bishops and activists, wouldn't you say?

Read Neff's whole piece here.

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