me and politics

I was reflecting that on this blog I have quite a bit of political comment and got round to wondering whether I could articulate my political principles and how they relate to my Christian faith.

There are probably a handful of basic principles that inform my political thinking and they are all grounded in my faith. One principle is to do with power. It seems to me that Jesus's teaching leaves little room for any attitude to power other than that the exercise of power is to reflect God's priorities and therefore to serve human welfare [the sabbath was made for humans, for exeample). Given also that we are fallen, I think that Lord Acton's dictum that 'power tends to corrupt and absolute power corrupts absolutely' is about right. Therefore it seems to me that the continual dispersal of power and the maximum accountability of those who hold it is important. Since power has a tendency to accumulate, it alse means that we need to set up systems of dispersal, like the Year of Jubilee was in the pentateuch.

We should also note that wealth is a form of power.

With regard to wealth, Jesus' teaching does not give encouragement to certain tendencies of capitalism. It is a moral hazard because it hardens one to human welfare and to God's agenda. Therefore we should be suspicious as Christians of any system that tends to create gross inequalities and to make wealth the sine qua non of society. The Law of Moses put structures in place to limit the inequalities that wealth tends to build up over time. We do well to find ways to do likewise.

The Bible has a lot to say about caring for the alien and even for enemies. Therefore it seems that racism, xenophobia and policies that require the designation of 'enemies' who are in effect dehumanised cannot claim the status of Christian policy. Reconciliation of enemies is clearly a God-shaped project and our aim should be as Christians to shape and support policies that encourage, enable and further reconciliation and the building of the common good globally.

God created a world [that is to say, God caused to grow ... ) where recycling and economy of effort is the norm. We disrupt those God-provided systems at our peril and at peril of harming our neighbours and our neighbours yet to be born. Therefore ecologically sustainable economies must be a God-honouring Christian priority.

On these principles hang all the politics I do.
I think.