Preachers and Politics

Given the recent scandals involving Pastors and Christian Leaders who have become entangled in national and international politics, we are once again reminded that it is high time the church recovered the doctrine of the 'spirituality of the church' and remembered that her duty is to spread the Gospel and not to stump for political parties or causes.

Jesus told us that his kingdom is 'not of this world' and in this reading from two articles by Southern Presbyterian Theologian R.L. Dabney from 1855 and 1894*, we have explained to us why it is critical to the mission of the church that Pastors maintain the separation of the church from the kingdoms of the world and not allow their ministries to degenerate into a soap-box for the passing political issues of their day.

As R.B. Kuiper put it very well:

'Just because the preaching of the Word is so great a task the church must devote itself to it alone. For the church to undertake other activities, not indissolubly bound up with this one, is a colossal blunder, because it inevitably results in neglect of its proper task.'

*["Political Preachers", The Texas Presbyterian (May 4,1894) & "The Gospel Idea of Preaching", The Presbyteria Critic, (July 1855)]