Make America Just. Period.

A Moral Platform for the Christian “Justice Voter.”

Fall 2018

What does the Lord require of you, but to seek justice, love kindness, and walk humbly with your God? —Micah 6:8

The church is not, and must not be, a partisan tool. When pastors weaponize theology to declare that “good Christians” must vote for one side or the other, the open conversations essential to both church and state deteriorate. As God alone is Lord of the conscience for everyone, it is dangerous for people to claim God for one sect, one party, or one nation.

The same standard is set, in theory, for the Supreme Court. But in practice, as revealed in the recent nomination hearings, partisanship sometimes comes out—a reminder of why the PC(USA) voted to adopt the Johnson Amendment, which prevents official church endorsements of any candidate for office. We must walk humbly with our God, not claim that God supports our candidate. And to the extent that we are partisan, we should be partisan for God’s justice.

It is morally dangerous to stay on the sidelines. No person can honestly say “I seek justice” without touching the realm of politics in some way. Too much injustice goes on in that arena! And so, the question remains: How do we, as people of faith, invoke our principles in ways that witness for a just society without shutting down debate or holding that society hostage to our own self-righteous wills?

One answer, always available, is to point to Jesus. At the core of his radical acts of flipping hypocritical tables of power, healing those at the margins of society, and refusing to cast stones at the vulnerable, we find revolutionary principles of justice for all that continue to apply to our ever-changing contexts.

Another answer is to stay true to church polity: debate and adopt policies that the church supports on the basis of shared principle. Although not binding on individuals, church policies can lend significant weight to public witness on issues that are otherwise difficult to discuss.

A third answer is to stay true to our internal moral compass. Although representatives of the church cannot say “the church endorses X candidate,” individual citizens can and must speak from their own moral standing as followers of Christ. If they are honest in that capacity, they will point toward justice. This is what I mean by being “partisan for justice.”

In this issue, we will ask our contributors to do all of the above, drawing on faith, community, and conscience to call out injustice and seek a better way.