This sermon, the first in a series on politics and faith, argues that political ideologies have become idols and a new religion in America. Drawing on Joshua Ryan Butler's Party Crashers, it describes four political 'religions'—progress, responsibility, identity, and security—each rooted in a good God-given value that becomes idolatrous when placed above God and then sacrifices people such as the unborn, the poor, and immigrants. It calls Christians not to pick a partisan side or retreat to the center but to Jesus' side, pointing to Jesus' prayer for unity, Paul's teaching on one body and the broken dividing wall, and politically opposed disciples united in Christ. It closes with a gospel invitation stressing salvation by grace rather than works and Jesus as the only way to the Father.
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Keyword counts
Woke keywords
Counted246.2 points from 35 keywords, 243 matches in 10,431 words
- politic… 37
- religion 37
- america… 15
- idol… 31
- unity 14
- nation… 5
Doxa counts words and phrases from a fixed list, each worth some points. It doesn't read context, so a word counts however it's used, and a keyword ending in … counts every word that starts with it.
An election will not resolve the nation's political tension, which grows worse with every political cycle.
Christians have wrongly made their faith a private, individual matter and treated politics as other people's business, so they talk about neither.
Scripture is deeply political, yet it does not tell believers how to vote or which side, conservative or liberal, is right.
In his high priestly prayer in John 17, Jesus prayed for the unity of all future believers so that the world would believe the gospel, and that unity matters more to him than which political ideology is right.
Biblical unity is not uniformity of ideology or viewpoint; God designed diversity into humanity and gives each person unique gifts and perspectives to contribute to the body of Christ.
What believers have in common is salvation in Jesus Christ, not upbringing, education, political leaning, or ideology.
Living in ideological echo chambers leads people to assume that those who think differently must have something wrong with them.
By celebrating individualism, people elevate their ideologies and political views above Jesus and so create a religion of their own.
Worship is not slow church music but sacrificial obedience.
Politics has become the new religion and object of worship of our day, as society has moved away from reliance on God.
- Adopts· Friedrich Nietzsche
As society moves away from reliance on God, politics becomes its religion.
Idolatry creeps in subtly through the surrounding culture rather than by a deliberate decision to turn from God, as with Israel's golden calf.
- Endorses a source· Joshua Ryan Butler, Party Crashers
Party Crashers is a great book on living the faith of Jesus in a politically divided world.
- Adopts· Joshua Ryan Butler, drawing on George Packer
American political life divides into four quasi-religions—progress, responsibility, identity, and security—each with its own priests, sacred texts, and temples.
Conservatives and liberals each box Jesus into their own side, and doing so creates an idol like the golden calf.
The answer to political division is not for Christians to become moderates or move to the political center.
- Adopts· Joshua Ryan Butler
Jesus does not belong to any of these political values; the values belong to Jesus, because each is rooted in the gospel and God's creation design.
Each political value becomes an idol when it is placed above God who gave it, and idols demand sacrifice, often of human lives.
Progress is a God-given mandate from the garden, but the idol of progress sacrifices the unborn by trusting the science over the value of life.
Responsibility is God-given—God gave Adam a job before a wife—but the idol of responsibility heartlessly sacrifices the homeless and addicted by blaming them for not trying harder.
God gave identity in creating humans male and female in his image, and celebrating self-defined identity above God sacrifices the functionality of gender and race to individualism.
Security is part of God's design and the gospel, but the idol of security sacrifices people by exiling the foreigner and shutting out the immigrant.
Jesus is the true fulfillment of progress, responsibility, identity, and security.
Christians should remember that Jesus has called them to his side, which comes before red or blue, rather than picking a partisan side or hiding from politics.
Through the cross Christ breaks down the dividing wall of hostility and makes divided groups, including Republicans and Democrats, one new people unified in diversity.
Jesus' disciples included political opposites, such as Simon the Zealot and Matthew the tax collector, who were united by Jesus rather than ideology, so believers today can unite across politics.
Those who worship idols, including political values, become like them and lifeless, missing the kingdom of heaven, which is greater and lasts beyond the nation.
Christians should see those who differ politically not as enemies but as brothers and sisters made in the image of God.
Being right with God does not come from church attendance, good deeds, effort, or affiliation; salvation is a free gift in Christ that cannot be earned, only received.
Jesus is the only way to the Father.
All have sinned, yet God is not angry with or judging sinners but loves them and sent Jesus for them at their worst.
A prayer of salvation is not a formula that makes a person right with God but a declaration of faith accepting salvation and surrendering one's life to Jesus.
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