Evangelism just got harder. Irrespective of the rights and wrongs (or should I say 'rights and lefts') of the recent election in America, biblical Christianity is now firmly associated in many people's minds with conservative Republican politics. These two sets overlap: there are moral issues that Republicans hold in common with Christians, there are Christians who are Republicans, etc. But they are not the same: there are Democrats who are Christians too.
Saying such things within biblical Christian circles in America is becoming a hard trick to pull off without being accused of being morally limp-wristed. Even more alarming, fringe Christians and 'seekers' are distancing themselves from biblical churches because they do not want to be told how to vote (nor do they want to be thought of as Republican). As I say, irrespective of the moral issues that may be at stake, this means that evangelism just got harder.
I have had two conversations in the last week along these lines. They were not the simple, 'Oh yes, well some think that but I don't', they were heart-felt expressions of disgust at the idea that becoming a Christian means associating politically with a certain party. All those years ago, Martyn Lloyd-Jones warned that Christianity must never become tied to a particular political party at the expense of the others. Constantine eat your heart out; it's happening again.
