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The final question for Q&A week is a subject that I've touched on before in this blog but I try to avoid discussion of it because people usually are so polarized upon it that reasoned discussion is over before it begins.  I've also saved it for the 4th of July for a reason.  The question?

"Can a Christian really be a member of the Democratic party?"

Please pass the can of worms.

There are many ways to look at the situation and unfortunately all of them are going to offend the people who are so firmly entrenched on both sides of this debate that I'll likely end up getting hate mail from both sides.  So I'll just shoot straight with you on it.

No, a Christian cannot really be a member of the Democratic party who supports the party's issue positions if you want to say you're living out the ideals of Christ.  The Democratic party's platform of issues like abortion are not positions that someone who believes in Christ can reasonably say are in line with the teachings of Jesus. 

Now, at this point, most hard core Democrats who say they are Christians (and could very well be) have already gone to the comments section to make a more-than-likely hate fueled rant about Republicans and Christians and how dare I tell someone that they have to support President Bush or Republicans if they want to be a Christian.

Notice that's not what I said in answer to the question.

So let's ask the question that someone who is a Democrat and someone who professes Christ should be asking at his point.

"Can a Christian really be a member of the Republican party?"

No, a Christian cannot really be a member of the Republican  party who supports the party's issue positions if you want to say you're living out the ideals of Christ.  The Republican party's positions benefitting big business have made things harder on the working class in our country and have created more people in poverty that have not been helped by the current Republican power structure.

If you truly want to follow the teachings of Jesus then you cannot devote yourself to a man-made political entity like a political party and say that you support what they believe.  The teachings of Jesus are in support of life (therefore against abortion, a Democratic platform and against the death penalty, a Republican one); in favor of working (and thus against government taking care of you, a Democratic platform) but also helping those in need who cannot work (usually not the focus of Republican party planks.)  Eventually the man-made dogma of a political party (and that's exactly what it ends up to be) will come into conflict with your belief in Christ and you find that you compromise what it means to be a Christian so you can stay within a power structure.  The power, the prestige, the recognition that comes from being involved in politics overwhelms your faith in Jesus.

This is not to say that a Christian should not be involved at all in politics as some people would want you to believe.  (Believe me, those people who despise Christians want to keep them from voting at all costs because if you can silence your opposition there's nothing to stop you from using governmental power to end Christianity.) 

When Jesus said in Mark 12:17 (ESV) "“Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s" I think he was talking about more than just money.  At the time, the Roman empire wasn't a participatory republic like in America today.  The citizens didn't have the chance to have a say within their government and the right to speak out on the issues that matter to them.  In America, the founding fathers set up this country with the expectation that it's citizens would take the time and effort to be educated on the issues, share their opinions and vote for what they feel is best for the country.  You can do all of those things and still not be beholden to any particular political party and that is what I think is a very common misconception among Christians.

Vote.  Speak out.  Hold rallies.  Write letters to the newspaper.  You can do all of these things to stand up for the teachings of Christ and in that show the truth to the world.  Show them that your belief in Jesus doesn't end at the courthouse door or the schoolhouse door.  (Of course, in that your faith can't end when you walk out of the church house door, either.)

You need to realize your identity in Christ and your responsibility to follow Jesus supercedes everything else and that includes the tenets of the Democratic party or the Republican party.  If you want to belong to one of these parties, I'm not saying it's a sin.  However, if you blindly support their agendas just to maintain your position within that party then you would be denying Christ and thus sinning.  You have to know going into anything involving a political group (or any non-Christ centered group, honestly) that you will at some point have to stand up and say "no, this group I'm involved with is wrong.

God said in Exodus 20:3-4 (ESV): "You shall have no other gods before me.  You shall not make for yourself a carved image."  That includes the god of political power and the carved images of an elephant or a donkey.  The only image in your mind that should matter is the cross and the only power that you should strive to serve is God's.