Politics is the great American contact sport, with the Red Team and the Blue Team continually clashing. Can partisans who follow Jesus agree upon ground rules to prevent a comparison to mud wrestling? Perhaps two faith-full Irishmen — C.S. Lewis and Bono — can show us the way.

 

There are many reasons why political discourse has become so divisive. People of faith must accept part of the blame. Too often we improperly mix our faith and our politics.

 

Jim Wallis, the founder of Sojourners, puts it this way: “Our task should not be to invoke … the name of God by claiming God’s blessing and endorsement for all our … policies and practices — saying, in effect, that God is on our side. Rather, as Abraham Lincoln said, we should pray and worry earnestly whether we are on God’s side.”

 

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