Politics and your church
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Anonymous
| How political is your church getting right now? I feel like the local diocese for my church is getting a bit too political. The bishops even wrote a letter to the local delegate about certain issues. I am not sure how I feel about this. I am more conflicted over the fact that they wrote the delegate than about the issues within the letter. I agree with the church on many issues. However, I feel like this is mixing church and state. Also, our country is very divided right now. I worry that this could create more division within the congregation itself. Are other churches becoming involved in the political situation? |
Anonymous
| Trump is pro Christian so if they don't like him then you know the answer |
Anonymous
He's pro Christian, but not Christianity. Funny how that worked out. |
Anonymous
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I'm a Minister. I'm working for Hospice now, but was in a church before we moved. It's not easy for church leaders right now. Thankfully, my church was very tolerant and fairly liberal. LGBTQ friendly, diverse, open to discussions on different faiths, etc. We spent a lot of time trying to live like the Christ we claimed to follow. So, while I know we had members who were Republicans and conservative, I really doubt we had anyone in our membership who would support Donald Trump.
That said, ministers avoid politics in the pulpit. For one, we risk our tax exempt status. More importantly, ministers in church leadership positions should not be politicians. I'm not working in a church right now. I can be very active in my local political groups. And I am. I've spoken at several marches and Interfaith Prayer Breakfasts. I think clergy should be pointing out the hypocrisy of Christians turning away refugees. And frankly, if you support Donald Trump, you may claim to be a Christian, but you are behaving nothing at all like your Christ. |
Anonymous
| Mine takes no stand on politics. None. |
Anonymous
Shame on you. One could say the exact same thing about Hillary and her stances. The choices this cycle were very difficult for all people of faith. Many Christians voted to protect tehe supreme court. They did the bexst they could with the two terrible choices. |
Anonymous
No. Sorry, but you could not say the same thing about Hillary Clinton. I don't like her. But she is not even close to Trump. I'll just leave this here for consideration. http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-q5QHZdW9H0w/VlS63Nh0FGI/AAAAAAAAJss/w2zoLQV9V0A/s1600/11058186_10102105263097677_254630602442504098_n.jpg We are commanded to love our neighbor, but what does that mean? Galatians 5:14 explains: "For the entire law is fulfilled in keeping this one command: Love your neighbor as yourself." If we ask, as the teacher of the law did in Luke 10:29-37: "And who is my neighbor?" We read that Jesus responded by saying: “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he was attacked by robbers. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him half dead. A priest happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side. So too, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. But a Samaritan, as he traveled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him. He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put the man on his own donkey, brought him to an inn and took care of him. The next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper. ‘Look after him,’ he said, ‘and when I return, I will reimburse you for any extra expense you may have.’ “Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?” The expert in the law replied, “The one who had mercy on him.” Jesus told him, “Go and do likewise." That last sentence is really important. |
Anonymous
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That Bible passage in Luke says it all. Thank you.
There's no arguing with Hilary haters. They are blind to any forgiveness when it comes to her. |
Anonymous
| My (Catholic) church this weekend said NOTHING about the effects on the refuges and immigrants to this country and so I walked out. It could have been that particular priest as far as his homily but the prayers of the faithful (for non-cathloics - a lists of 'areas of concern' that particular week that are both broad and specific.) I wrote to all the priests expressing my concern and shock at the silence but as yet have not heard back. I understand that there is a line where you cannot advocate a political point of view but to ignore a humanitarian crisis - especially as the leader of our church, Pope Francis has been so vocal about, to me is unconscionable. |
Anonymous
NP here. No, I'm actually pretty ashamed of you. Please do not pretend that you are Christian. |
Anonymous
Pro Christian? I'm a Christian and Trump is not my idea of anything to do with my faith. He preaches hate and violence and apparently does little to nothing for charity, other than buying pictures of himself. The supreme commandment is to "love your neighbor as yourself." I don't see it. |
Anonymous
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My Catholic Church doesn't address politics directly but the homilies and prayers of the faithful are almost always about current events. It's how we can relate- linking the gospel to today's world.
They've been discussing how we need to have empathy for refugees and pray for our elected officials to have empathy as well. Of course it's a liberal, diverse parish so this isn't new for us. Most of the priests I know personally voted for Hillary. Trump is an abomination. |
Anonymous
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I'm guessing this is causing tension in many churches--particularly those that aren't uniformly progressive. My church is Protestant and evangelical, and takes a conservative stance on certain issues like abortion and gay marriage, but our pastors intentionally do not align with any political party or endorse any candidates and the church also puts a lot of emphasis on social issues. The congregation is a mix of conservatives and liberals.
After the election, one of our pastors made some very critical comments about Trump during a sermon, saying that American Christians had destroyed their witness to the country and world by supporting a candidate whose values were so out of line with Christian values. I agreed 1000% and was very appreciative that he said it publicly. But I learned later that a lot of people were offended by it. I think true Trump supporters are in the minority, but it probably will not be the last time they are upset. |
Anonymous
And you're a troll. No true Christian minister would make a statement like this, even anonymously. P.S. He's not "my Christ." He saved us all. |
Anonymous
Dude the pope essentially made this same statement. And I've seen many similar ones from pastors and priests across Facebook. It sucks but supporting trump was not christ like |