MacKenzie Grizzard | Staff Writer, Gracie Savage | LTVN Broadcast Reporter
When the shadow of Nov. 5 looms over the hearts and minds of American citizens, there is a light at the end of the tunnel — not in the next American president, but by finally waving the white flag on the political battlefield and treating each other the way Jesus intended.
LTVN’s Gracie Savage highlights Curtis Chang and Rev. Aaron Zimmerman’s lecture.
Kevin Villegas, Dean of Intercultural Engagement at Baylor introduced two speakers to an audience of Baylor students in the Alexander Reading Room, searching for the intersection of Christian love and politics.
Curtis Chang is the founder of Redeeming Babel, a nonprofit “guiding Christian engagement with the broader world.” Its goal, Chang says, is to pursue a “biblically faithful approach to politics.”
Chang said our “war-like” behaviors concerning politics are turning us farther away from Jesus, which reflects the turmoil so often seen. Chang warned the audience not to get too caught up in the “what” of politics like ideology and focus more on the “how,” which boils down to community.
“I think for a Christian, there is no precedent in scripture to ever demonize or dehumanize the other person you’re talking about,” Chang said. “In the hyper-polarized media environment, the way we’re trained to talk to each other is awful.”
A study conducted by the PEW Research center in February found that 65% of adults in America felt “exhausted” by politics, and 55% felt angry talking about it. This polarization can only be rectified through a Christian lens, Chang argued.
“One of the best things you can do to prepare yourself as a Christian engaging in politics is to find someone who disagrees with you and try to listen to them,” Chang said.
In a time where many vie for political power, Rev. Aaron Zimmerman of St. Albans Episcopal Church in Waco warned against the pleasures of power.
“The scriptures as a whole are very skeptical of the long-term efficacy of political projects to really do anything,” Zimmerman said. “And you see this because Jesus Christ — twice recorded in the Gospels — rejects political power when it’s offered to him on a silver platter.”
Despite the separation of church and state famously outlined in the 1st Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, Zimmerman argues that Christians belong in politics. Or at least, Christian love does.
“Trying to make America a more moral place is an act of love,” Zimmerman said.
The idea of Christian love is something dutifully needed in this political landscape, according to Chang.
“Here’s the thing about love, especially the Christian version of love — love does not equal agreement,” Chang said. “[God] loved us while we disagreed with him.”
For Baylor students, voting and Christian values don’t always intersect, Rachael Murdoch, second year graduate student from San Jose, Calif., said
“I’ve experienced a lot of different perspectives politically, and I think that’s such an important part of the Christian call,” Murdoch said. “Loving other people is learning about them, knowing them and wanting to know them deeply.”
Political polarization is a wide-spread, pervasive issue dominating the minds of Americans. Chang says the solution to this is to treat others how “Jesus would.”
“All of politics now has been reduced to a binary choice of A or B,” Chang said. “Don’t reduce [people] to that binary choice.”
The panelists reassured listeners that despite what happens in November, hope will always fuel faith.
“Jesus is going to win out in the end over all forces of death, destruction and oppression,” Chang said.
