This weeks Christian Today column – the original can be read here
As we head towards another general election it seems as though there are particular issues for Christians, one of which is the question of who we should vote for and whether we should vote for someone specifically because they are a Christian.
I recall being invited to vote for someone at the University of Edinburgh whose sole pitch seemed to be ‘I am a Christian, therefore I am honest’! He had no experience of student politics, yet was standing for a senior post on the basis of this rather flimsy manifesto. I didn’t vote for him and he didn’t get elected.
On the other hand, I have known fine, committed Christians, not just CINOs (Christian in Name Only) who have stood for, and won elections in most political parties. Tim Farron of the Lib Dems, Murdo Fraser of the Conservatives, Marsha de Cordova (Labour), and of course Kate Forbes of the SNP.
At one level I am more inclined to vote for a Christian because they would generally share the Christian values I would regard as important – but there are factors that might encourage me to vote for someone else. It’s not just the person, it’s also the policies and the parties.
The problem is that over the past few years in the UK it has become increasingly difficult for Christians to be involved in mainstream political parties – as the candidate selection process often seems to flag up Christianity as a negative factor. This is not new.
When David Cameron was desperate to show how compassionate/woke/normal the Tories were, I recall a prospective MP writing to me and asking me to remove her name from my website. It was only there because of a report I had given of speaking at her church, seven years previously, and she was only mentioned in passing as someone I was impressed with. Who would read that?
She explained that some activist groups were using search engines to try and find any dirt to lay on a prospective candidate – and even being mentioned in the past on a ‘controversial’ (i.e. Bible teaching) website would be a factor. Of course I complied, but she still didn’t get the post.
I think of another very active Christian Green councillor who was forced to withdraw from her job because of her Christian views. Or the Labour politician who was opposed to abortion and faced a deselection process. Or the most recent example, the Lib-Dem David Campanale, who despite being an award-winning BBC journalist, looks as though he is going to be cancelled by his party because, in the words of one activist, he is a ‘Christian nutter’. It makes me wonder why any Christian would vote for a party where they are so despised and discriminated against?
Here in Australia I have been reading the former Prime Minister, Scott Morrison’s account of his time in power, Plans For Your Good: A Prime Minister’s Testimony of God’s Faithfulness. It is a fascinating overtly Christian perspective. One thing that stands out for me is the level of abuse that came ‘Sco-Mo’s’ way, not so much because of his policies, but rather because of his Christianity. The lion’s den exists for Christians in modern Western politics!
One of the difficulties that Christian politicians can have is that they are demonised by some anti-Christians for being too Christian on the one hand, and criticised by their fellow believers for not being Christian enough on the other. Politics is the art of compromise and what is possible. It’s all very well for those on the outside to snipe and shoot arrows at those who have actually got involved and got their hands dirty, but it really doesn’t help.
It shows an immaturity and impracticality that makes life even more difficult for those Christians who are seeking to make a difference. Of course they will make mistakes, but then so do we – and perhaps all of us need a little more humility because sometimes we just don’t know what is going on. We should pray for our Christian brothers and sisters who are involved in the dirty business of politics, that they may be kept faithful, bold and loving. May they be as wise as serpents and harmless as doves.
An example of a young Christian woman who has had a remarkable impact on politics in Scotland is the Scottish Deputy First Minister, Kate Forbes. When Kate stated in an interview that she prayed to Jesus before deciding to stand, she was subjected to vile abuse to the extent that she was under great pressure to withdraw from the SNP leadership election. But she stuck to her guns and behaved with dignity, grace and clarity. As a result, she came within a whisker of winning, and if the SNP leadership had not shortened the election time, most commentators think she would have won. As a result of that, her personal and political credibility has risen to new heights.
In fact, Fraser Nelson of the Spectator thinks Forbes may actually be the game changer in the religion and politics debate. In a recent column he wrote: “Forbes may well never end up as first minister and, if she does, the SNP may still be doomed. But she has proven an important point: it’s OK, now, to do God.”
We can only pray so! May the Lord raise up many more ‘Daniels’ like her.
David Robertson is the minister of Scots Kirk Presbyterian Church in Newcastle, New South Wales. He blogs at The Wee Flea.
A vote is a privilege. Good to turn up and write ‘Jesus is Lord’ on the paper, even if there is no candidate’s boxes you wish to X.
Thanks David, as ever, for your insightful comments. However, I continue to be puzzled by the way Christian people regard the possibilities of Kate Forbes making a significant difference in the political where. The corrupt SNP establishment have, very cleverly, got her exactly where they wanted her. If I was a betting man I would bet my pension on what went on at HQ after Youssaff resigned. Swinney was persuaded to be the ‘stop Forbes at all costs’ candidate. Make her DFM because then her unpalatable views are silenced. For the dubious privilege of that position Kate Forbes has now openly embraced the principle of collective cabinet responsibility, meaning that she now has to publicly support and promote things she was once apparently against. Things like the GRR legislation, abortion, same-sex marriage, the new Hate Crime law, buffer zones near abortion clinics which, among other things, prevent people from praying for and offering help to women attending for an abortion and numerous other iniquitous policies of the SNP.
She has in recent weeks said, for example, that she will, as part of the government, promote, protect and enhance the rights of every LGBT person in Scotland – thereby promoting a lifestyle that is an abomination to God. She has said she defends the right of women to have abortion – thereby supporting the slaughter of countless unborn children. Any Christian taking that position has lost integrity and spiritual credibility.
She has also said, “I’m a servant of democracy and in a democracy you have a debate, there is a vote by majority, and then it’s for every leader to uphold.” I find that last statement deeply troubling and revealing. It means that the will of the people – not the Word of God – will determine what position she takes on issues. Logically, that would mean that if, for example, in a referendum, the majority of people voted for abortion up to full-term, for euthanasia and for the closing down of every church in Scotland, Kate Forbes would feel that she had to uphold that position to stay in politics!
What is the point of being a Christian voice in the public square, as she once explained her position to be in personal correspondence with me, if you just end up espousing the same views – at least in public – that the secular and godless world does?
What is the point of being a Christian in the political arena and then when you have the position and influence to do so you speak and act in a way that is the same as that of the enemies of the Gospel? You can’t be salt and light if you lose your saltiness to the extent that it is trodden under foot, and if a cover is put over the light just so you can maintain you position. You can’t, in your private life, say that you submit to the teaching and Lordship of Christ and then in public submit all of that to the lordship of the Parliament, the electorate or your party.
I often hear people say that what we need is more Christians in politics in order to influence policy. I am far from persuaded. The system is massively stacked against us. And what about such Scriptural injunctions as, “Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers” (2 Corinthians 6:14), or “Come out of her, my people, lest you take part in her sins” (Revelation 18:4). There is certainly no point in being involved in politics if in order to do so you have to speak and act in a way contrary to your beliefs.
What we really need in Scotland, and in the UK as a whole, is more pray-ers, not more politicians, Christian or otherwise. Pray-ers like Habakkuk – “O Lord, I have heard the report of you, and your work, O Lord, do I fear. In the midst of the years revive it; in the midst of the years make it known; in wrath remember mercy.” (3:2).
I ought to say that I have raised all of these points with Kate Forbes herself and offered her the opportunity to correct me if I am wrong, but she has not responded after several weeks.
John Brand
Like it or not, but the SNP have been successful in Scotland, not because they want independence, but because they have outflanked Labour on the left.
They are already facing the worst election in a long time. If they switch to Kate Forbes as leader many of their voters will see it as a betrayal because she has vocally opposed things like same sex marriage. Politics isn’t like supporting a football team, people will switch party if the party changes policy or is perceived to have changed policy
I totally and wholeheartedly agree with this comment. The Scottish Government has just passed the most draconian abortion buffer zone bill. I believe that only one MSP opposed it – John Mason, SNP. One can only surmise this means that Kate Forbes voted for it?
One further comment, if I may. I am always intrigued when folk make comparisons between people like Kate Forbes and other Christians in the public arena of politics and Daniel or Joseph. However, neither of those men were in their positions voluntarily but under a certain level of duress. While I appreciate that the phrase ‘the lion’s den’ has a broad application to trouble and affliction, the point is, of course, that Daniel was in that place precisely because he refused to compromise or capitulate; Joseph in prison for the same reason. If you want to stretch that analogy to this issue, the evidence would seem to suggest that Kate Forbes has chosen to dodge the den.
Thanks David. I find the tories a desperate lot until I consider the others.
My view is anecdotally now the same as most British people, but actually hasn’t changed since 2005.
The Tories have been such a dreadful government that have deliberately engineered a collapse in living standards and pushed people into poverty. Every one, Christian or not, should vote for whoever has the best chance of beating them in their constituency.