A group of evangelical leaders concerned about the growing polarization in American politics has launched a small group course to help Christians think biblically and “honor Jesus” in their political engagements.
A small group course entitled Afterparty: Towards better Christian politicswas launched earlier this year by Redeemering Babel and is designed, according to its website, for “a large number of faithful Christians who are tired of deploring the growing political divisions within the American church in recent years.” It is said that there is. This course is available online for free. The paper version will be released on April 23rd.
“This project is not aimed at any particular ideological or partisan group, but rather to encourage and equip Christians of all ideological stripes to glorify Jesus in the way they participate in politics.” says the website.
This small group course “helps Christians overcome harmful polarization by promoting a Christ-centered political identity” by Curtis Chan, founder of Redeeming Babel, New York – Born “out of a friendship” between Times columnist David French and editor-in-chief of Christianity Today. Russell Moore’s website says:
“We must reclaim the fundamental call of the gospel to love our enemies,” Chan said. Said At the afterparty launch event. “We must love our enemies, for our Lord and Savior exemplified this very practice in His death.”
Each of the six small group sessions is designed to take between 60 and 90 minutes to complete and includes videos, interactive exercises, and group discussion.
a teaser The print version says the curriculum is for people who “want to be culturally involved but are exhausted by family and church tensions.” This small group course will “rebuild our political identity outside of partisan divides while rebuilding strained relationships,” the teaser says.
This curriculum encourages Christians to abandon the “us versus them” mentality.
“Other humans are not our enemies and cannot be our saviors,” the website says. “Our deepest fears and hopes will not be answered by the victory of any political party or politician, but only by the wedding supper of the Lamb that marks the return of our King Jesus. It should radically humble all our “flesh and blood” political allegiances. ”
The course is neither conservative nor liberal, the description says. Neither Republican nor Democrat.
“The afterparty is designed to shift the focus of Christians from the ‘what’ of politics (ideology, policies, candidates) to the ‘how’ of Christian engagement in the public square,” the description reads. be. “That is, the Biblical virtues that should characterize Christian political life, whether we advocate conservative, liberal, or moderate policy positions.”
The afterparty course is nondenominational and “affirms the traditional orthodox understanding of the Christian faith as articulated by the early church in the Apostles’ Creed,” the website says.
Photo courtesy: ©Getty Images/lawcain
Video courtesy of Redemption of Babel via YouTube
Michael Faust has covered the intersection of faith and news for 20 years. His story was published in Baptist Press. Christianity Today, Christian Poecent, of leaf chronicle, of toronto star and of knoxville news sentinel.
