Exactly what is Christian Citizenship?

(Editor’s note: This is the first in a special two-part column series.)

In the midst of this strange year, there is one predictable and ominous event on the horizon, the November elections. And as the editorial page of the Sentinel reflects every week, many of us are anxious about the potential outcomes.

Christians are not of one mind about politics, and rarely have been. Three of the four Gospels record Jesus as saying, “Give to the Emperor the things that are the emperor’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” Faithful believers have long wrestled with the proper division of these two divinely ordained allegiances, God and earthly authorities. The apostle Paul insisted that governing authorities are sent from God for our good, and that Christian conscience dictates that we owe them our respect, honor, and even our taxes (Romans 13:1-7). Yet the book of Acts (the history of the first church) gives many examples of Christians standing courageously in bold opposition and sometimes self-sacrifice in the face of unjust authorities. Jesus himself was condemned as a would-be king…