CHRIST ENDED TRIBES:

More and more, thoughtful (mainly young) Christians say to me, "I'm pro-life, I believe in religious freedom and free speech, I think we should welcome immigrants and refugees, and I desperately want racial reconciliation. Where do I fit in?" The answer is clear. Nowhere.

And that truth is a blessing, if you embrace it.

Late last month, Tim Keller, founder of Redeemer Presbyterian Church in New York City, created a stir by specifically resisting the political imperatives of negative partisanship. In the New York Times, he wrote that neither party aligns perfectly with biblical commitments to justice. And he decried "package deal ethics," where political parties "insist that you cannot work on one issue with them if you don't embrace all of their approved positions." Under this ethic, if your faction loses the primary, you have one choice--fall in line. Here's Keller:

This emphasis on package deals puts pressure on Christians in politics. For example, following both the Bible and the early church, Christians should be committed to racial justice and the poor, but also to the understanding that sex is only for marriage and for nurturing family. One of those views seems liberal and the other looks oppressively conservative. The historical Christian positions on social issues do not fit into contemporary political alignments.

As our culture becomes increasingly secular, there is no reason to believe that either party's political agenda will closely match the demands of biblical justice. And even if the parties were united in achieving biblical goals, then the means of pursuing those goals would still be subject to debate. 

So, what should we do when contemporary political alignments do not match Christian moral imperatives? Declare independence. 

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