If we were to remove politics from the Bible, we would have a 'holey' Bible indeed. Christians are those who have declared allegiance to one who declares, 'All authority in heaven and earth is given to me.' The claim that 'Jesus is Lord and Caesar is not' got the early Christians in hot water with the powers-that-be but somewhere along the way, the radical edge of that gospel has become rather blunt.
That's not to say that Christians are not and have not been politically active. But it is all-too-difficult to hear a distinctive voice in Christian contributions to political discourse and debate. As the era of Christendom fades behind us, we nonetheless find many Christians attempting to 'fit in' with the powers-that-be, or else persuade those powers that if they really looked and listened hard enough, they would find their agenda best justified by 'Christian values'. The 2007 Election 'me too'-ism finds its echo in many Christians' contributions to public life.
Discussions about the relationship between particular Christian convictions and wider political life or questions about the ways Christians can be involved in politics 'as we know it' are by no means easy. Our aim in providing thinking Christians with this website is to stimulate you to further thought on these issues. We don't provide you with a one-size-fits-all Christian how-to-vote slip, but my hope is that you discern here authentic Christian voices that are concerned to see God's will being done, even in a very limited and provisional way, not only in our common life as Christian communities but in wider society.
Ian Packer
Director of Public Theology
Australian Evangelical Alliance