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Words For Change Podcast
Jump into the transformative world of "Words For Change Podcast," a thought-provoking podcast hosted by Rev. Lionel Bailey. Designed for those seeking inspiration and direction, this show delves into the power of change, transformation, and progress in our lives.
With every episode, Lionel Bailey, gives his unique blend of spiritual insight and contemporary relevance, sharing stories, and interviews that motivate listeners to embrace positive changes in their personal and communal lives. Rooted in Lionel's deep spiritual foundation, the show also touches upon various religious and moral perspectives, offering listeners a chance to reflect and connect on a deeper level.
Whether you're looking to evolve personally, spiritually, or within your community, Lionel provides practical advice and steps to help guide your journey.
Tune in to "Words For Change Podcast" and begin your learning and transformation journey with Rev. Lionel Bailey. Discover not just the power of words past and present, but the actions and impact they can inspire.
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Words For Change Podcast
Ep. 83 Christian Values in Politics
Can political leaders truly embody Christian values, or do they merely exploit them for personal agendas? Join us as we unravel this intricate question by drawing insights from influential thinkers like Nietzsche and C.S. Lewis. Reflecting on recent events and figures such as Brazil's Jair Bolsonaro, we dissect how religious values are often manipulated for political gain, and stress the significance of separating church and state. #faith #politics #integrity
Christians face the crucial responsibility of upholding their faith in social and political engagement. From Jesus' defiance of Roman authority to the transformative role of faith in the civil rights movement, history offers powerful lessons on resisting hate and promoting love, justice, and humility.
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The philosopher Nietzsche said this about religion and politics Least in fighting the dragon, you become the dragon. I see the confusion of politics and religion as one of the greatest barriers to grace. Cs Lewis once said that almost all crimes of Christian history have come about when religion is confused with politics. Politics, which, always run by the rule of ungrace, lures us to trade away grace for power, a temptation the church has often been unable to resist. That's what we're going to talk about today. We're going to talk about the problem with political leaders using the Christian faith to push their agenda. That's going to be our topic today. But before we get started, what day is it y'all? Well, it's November 12th and, hey, I want to say yesterday was Veteran Day, so happy Veterans Day. Good morning Vietnam. We're here on November 12th. We have a lot to cover in the news, a lot's going on. Obviously we have yeah, I got through the presidential election and, man, I'm telling you what a barn burner we went through with that whole process.
Speaker 1:I hope you guys were able to maintain your Christian witness, no matter where you stand on the aisle. Just remember that your allegiance is to God first and foremost. Allegiance is to God first and foremost, no matter how you feel about your political candidates either won or did not win. The world is not over, unless I check, god is in charge. And that doesn't mean we don't vote. That doesn't mean we don't have candidates that we support. What it does mean, particularly for those who claim the message of Jesus, that your allegiance is first and foremost, the kingdom of God and a betterment of humanity.
Speaker 1:Man, one of some of the things that are in the news is the veterans ministry. The Christians say that the suicide, suicidal issue and crisis is an epidemic within the military. And so, man, we want to keep your veterans and active duty personnel and those who are no longer active but still getting healed from the experiences they had serving in active duty. We want to keep them lifted up in prayers. The Bible says in Romans that we should always lift up those leaders and those who sacrifice for our safety and freedom. Keep them in your prayers, okay. Florida's abortion amendment becomes the first to fail since roving ways of reversal. On election night, pro-life has cheered the news that a six week ban enacted under Governor DeSantis will get to stay. Even a conservative in the Anglican church called for Archbishop to repent over same sex relationship Right.
Speaker 1:Gunshots at the Tuskegee University sent students running for their lives. Sent students running for their lives. One student said that she heard gunshots ripping across the Alabama campus amid homecoming celebration and ran into his dorm. It was a terrifying experience. The shooter left one man dead and one injured, and at least 16 others. On Sunday Dozens of them came on. The gunfire authority said his arrest was made in the late hours and many of the people were injured. The man killed in the homecoming weekend by the shooter has been identified as an 18-year-old, latavon Johnson of Troy, alabama, who was not a student. The local coroner said so please keep those people in that community in your prayers.
Speaker 1:Micah 6.8 says this he has told you, o man, what is good? What does the Lord require of you? But that you do justice, that you love mercy and walk kindly, walk humbly. The scripture says with your God, walk kindly and walk humbly with your God. Today we're going to cover a topic that requires careful navigation and examining the rise and the usage of the message of Jesus. To push political agendas is a problem. It's been a problematic for many, many years, and our goal with this episode is to foster understanding and to draw on our core values and not to pick and to be partisan. That's not the goal here at all. Now there are several examples in history of how politicians have used Christianity to push a political agenda. One example can be president in Brazil, jair Bolsonaro. John Barnazzaro courted Christians voters by framing the election as a battle between God fearing good and oppositional evil, so making a definitive line to which party was God's party and which party was not.
Speaker 1:And I want to encourage you guys to read a book. It's called the Godless Constitution A More Defense for a Secular State. Now for me, this book I begin. I first picked it up in graduate school, but it is a profound piece of work because of what it does, even though you may not agree with the secular state, but the goal is to maintain a separate institutions between church and state. One author said this in response to the book to persuade, persuasion and powerful. A book that is essential reading for anyone engaged in the never-ending debate about the nature of america, moral values, where it came from, how it preserves and perpetuates them. This was said from Robert Duran, who was a Georgetown University law professor.
Speaker 1:I'm not saying that you should agree or disagree. I'm simply saying it's a good piece of work to look at when you are just trying to do research and grab understanding of what are we talking about, when we have conversations around how our religion or Christianity or the message of Jesus is used to push political agendas. I don't know about you, but I used to go to a church and I remember that that church had the president of the United States come to that church and it was actually during an election season, and at that time I thought it was a great thing because it really, at least in my mind, gave, even though our pastor didn't come out and say vote for this guy. He never said that, but he implied it. Okay, and so why is it that politicians again only show up in religious spaces and places during political seasons? So this is problematic, right, and our goal is to navigate this today, right. So this president in Brazil, he attended religious events like marches for Jesus and rallies to solidify his support. Ok, he also was adopted a viewpoint, an agenda that aligned with where he was, with a particular evangelical values, and there's some who doesn't do it also on the progressive side as well. Barack Obama did this and if you guys remember the Jeremiah Wright controversy during Barack Obama's first term, at least while he was running for president. During Barack Obama's first term, at least while he was running for president.
Speaker 1:Okay, again, this is how politicians use the church kind of play with the religious systems. Right, politicians use biblical imagery I've seen that in religious language to appeal to Christian voters. Okay, some politicians compare themselves and religious language to appeal to Christian voters. Okay, some politicians compare themselves to biblical characters like David. Right, imperfect man, but anointed by God. You heard that before. I've even heard Christian pastors who do the same thing, right, claiming religious persecution, appealing to one side, whether it's conservative or christian, and claiming that their religious liberties are under siege.
Speaker 1:Some politicians advocate for policies based on the belief that america was founded as, and should remain, a Christian nation, which is problematic as well, and I'm not saying as I consider myself a Christian, right, and there are absolutely some value systems that I love to uphold as part of our Judeo-Christian heritage. Absolutely, but not everybody in America is Christian, and if there's not, anything we've learned, is that in America there's a consortium of people from all different backgrounds. Right, give me your tired and your poor. The inscription on the Statue of Liberty talks about people coming from other countries, which means that their faith and their backgrounds and traditions come with them. That is foundational to the American idea. Some politicians encourage churches to endorse candidates, which I think is absolutely should be restricted. This is just my viewpoint, right? But I'm talking about how the different ways that politicians can use their platform, use Christianity to strictly support their platform.
Speaker 1:Some Christians are defined their national identity and exclude other groups. Right, there's Christians that exclude Muslims as Muslims that exclude Christians, and it goes back and forth. Some politicians argue that the Bible should influence laws, but 50% of Americans believe it should have at least some influence. Okay, I'll be honest with you, I think there's some. Obviously, as a Christian minister, I think there's some values that the Bible upholds that are good, but I don't think all good values only come from the Bible. Right, that's also true. Politicians take advantage of the fact that religious groups often have polarized views of candidates. Right, it's important to note that that these this is very controversial and is often criticized and potentially undermines the separation of church and state and misuses our christian faith I would say even the message of jesus for political gain. Okay, another way that christian leaders do this is leaders may promote a particular religion as an integral part of national identity Suggests that true citizens belong to a particular faith. This causes a us-guess-them mentality.
Speaker 1:Leaders with divine justification thoughts and ideas may claim to be chosen by a higher power, suggesting that their actions are divinely sanctioned and beyond question. These are what some leaders do right on both sides of the aisle, absolutely. By aligning with religious institutions, one gains a sense of moral authority and justifies their policies right. If there's anything we've learned from the message of Jesus, it is the message that we should be about the kingdom of God first, that the kingdom of God doesn't hinge on power. That is not the goal of the message of the gospel, and so, if you want to know if we're heading in the right direction, this is something that you should consider Absolutely. That Jesus even talks about this in Matthew 18, that Jesus said that if his kingdom was of this world, he could send for angels to fight for him. But that is not the case. How many times have you seen Christians who want to say that God is voting for this candidate or that candidate?
Speaker 1:Now I'm not talking about right and wrong, clear right and wrong. I'm talking about using the scripture to promote a particular viewpoint. All right, right, religion can be used to mobilize supporters, and they can. People can. Leaders can use religious rhetoric to inspire fervor, and leaders may seek to control religious institutions and use them to promote ideological and suppress dissent. Okay, so if you are a thinking person with you in my audience, I know you are a thinking person I want you to seriously consider. Who are you, who do you have allegiance to? Ok, just because we're Christians don't mean doesn't mean we can't use our brains. Just because we're Christians doesn't mean we can't use our minds to think through the implications of how our faith interacts with these various political institutions.
Speaker 1:You will remember in the Gospels that Jesus was crucified by government power. Ok, principles that transcend political affiliation, where love, justice and humility and respect for all people is important. Right, this is talked about. Also. The whole idea of religion and Christianity is to make us better people. This is why, in Mark, chapter 13, jesus asked Peter what is the greatest commandment? And Peter said what is it To hear Israel, the Lord, love your Lord, your God, and you should love your God with all your heart, your soul and with all your mind and with your strength. This is in Mark, chapter 12, verse 29. Right. And the second is this you should love your neighbor as yourself. There is no other commandment greater than these. This is in Mark, chapter 12, verse 31. That's also in the Hebrew Bible in Leviticus 19, 18. 1918.
Speaker 1:So the values that are at the heart of our faith and provide us a moral compass, especially in times of social and political turmoil. When we witness rhetoric and actions that undermine these values, it is our duty to speak out, not to from a place of a political allegiance per se, but from a foundation of our Christian faith. We've seen how our Christian faith historically has played a pivotal role in challenging authoritarian regimes. Particularly, jesus did the same thing right Against the Roman Empire. So the courage of religious leaders and lay people, even another example I'm thinking about Dietrich Bonhoeffer and the Confessing Church in Germany against Nazi Germany, the civil rights movement in the 60s here in the United States these are examples of how our Christian faith works in action, standing up for oppressed people, speaking the things that are good and things that are true.
Speaker 1:James 1.27 says here is pure, undefiled religion. Treat the orphan correctly, take care of widows, take care of widows, take care of orphans and keep yourself unstained from the world. So this is important to let our faith speak, not from a political point of view, but from a religious, foundational and faith point of view. And when anyone, no matter where you stand politically, uses our faith or co-opt our faith for political purposes, we are giving away the power that Christ has given to the spirit, through the spirit, to the church, to be a change agent in the world, to be the antidote to the disease and need for power in the world, right? So these are examples that I gave that we should speak up and we are obligated to do so.
Speaker 1:So how can we apply these lessons? First, we need to recognize that we have a duty, a Christian duty and a moral one, to say what Jesus would say. Our faith calls us to act justly, to love mercy, to walk humbly with God. This means that we must reject ideologies that sow division. And if you consider yourself a Christian and I know I'm a little bit passionate here y'all this means that we must reject ideologies that sow division. And if you consider yourself a Christian and I know I'm a little bit passionate here, y'all forgive me, but this is it. We're getting out of hand with this thing and I often wonder whose kingdom are we really trying to promote here Respectfully. Promote here respectfully. So we must reject ideologies that divide the world and that promote hate, that concentrates on power in ways that oppress people. It's about embodying the teachings of Jesus in the public and in our private lives. This is why the church was influential in historic Judaic culture. Right, this is what the confessing church did in Nazi Germany, what the church did in Italy, what the church did in South America, why they stood against institutions that wanted to misrepresent their faith.
Speaker 1:Second, we must engage in our community. Right, we must engage in our places and spaces. The message of Jesus thrives when we are informed and committed to the common good. This means having conversations about issues, right, even when it's uncomfortable. It means building bridges across differences, even when it's uncomfortable. It means building bridges across differences, right, this is common Christian stuff. Christianity 101, finding common ground and working together is an important part of our faith and it upholds human dignity for every person, which is one of the reasons why I love the chaplain corps, because we have, we work with people from different faith groups. Even though we have different presuppositions of how the world works, we still have to find common ground. It is an American idea.
Speaker 1:Lastly, we must remember the importance of prayer and reflection. In times that are uncertain, we turn to our faith for clarity. We pray for wisdom. Bible says in James that we should seek wisdom and God will give it to us. We should pray for our leaders Romans 13. And we should pray that we have the courage to act in accordance with our Christian core values. This is how we navigate these challenging times, right? Let's commit to being the church, not just talking about it, but being about it, and doing so we will begin to contribute to a society that reflects the best of our shared values and standing against forces that divide us. Right? And if this is what causes the church to come under persecution, because we seek for the good of all people, even those who are different from us, then so be it. So be it.
Speaker 1:But the way that the church has power in the world is that it doesn't stand for power. It doesn't stand for financial gain, it doesn't stand for land grabs, but it seeks to speak on the humanity of people. Bring people together, cross divides, get people talking together, practice forgiveness, show love, as the scripture says in Micah 6.8, seek justice and mercy and walk humbly with God. Okay, so, guys, listen, I know I've gone a little long today, but I want you to think about this. I want you to think about being the church not just talking about the church that we can contribute to making the society reflects the best values that we uphold and stand firm against anything that is different.
Speaker 1:So, hey, I want to thank you guys for joining me for this here conversation and if you enjoyed the episode or if I made you think great, I want to encourage you to share it with people, share with your friends, share with your community. Let's continue the dialogue. Let us stay rooted in love and a commitment to the common good. Okay, so until next time, y'all be good, y'all be blessed. Let's keep doing a doggone thing. I keep doing God's work in the world and I thank you for your continued listenership and support. Okay, I'm Lionel, I salute you and stay on the side of acting justly and walking humbly with God. We'll see you in two weeks from now. Okay, god bless, peace, thank you.
