On American politics -
Take George W, for instance. Most analysts seem to agree that he rode the evangelical movement in this country to victory. And what did they get in return? Abortion is still legal, gays can still get married in some states (ie, the constitutional amendment was talked about but never really pressed for), and the "Hollywood culture" here is still as strong as ever. And yet in the meantime many of these groups seemed to sacrifice Jesus' insistence on poverty and the idea that wealth can be poisonous to the soul so as not to offend his richer donors. Or maybe this was going on anyways, I've heard tell of so-called "prosperity gospels" used in some large churches to attract a wealthier congregation. Still, I get the feeling that part of it has to do with the marriage of certain groups of religious conservatives with the Republican party, which generally seems to promote policies more helpful to people making lots of money (I'm not here arguing for or against either of these groups. I have my opinions on that subject, but it's not the issue I want to get into here).
And so in the end, we ended up with some religious groups sacrificing some core elements of the gospels in order to have their issues heard in Washington, and you had Washington paying lip service to those issues, but in the end not strongly pressing for any of them. And for some reason the issue of gay marriage became more important than the radical generosity and grace of Jesus, at least on the public persona these groups put forth. I would say that may have to do with the idea that when Jesus' message is taken to its logical conclusion, it's not a popular one. Give until it hurts. Don't spend your money on things you don't need. Pray for others, commune with God, and spend less time worrying about your own needs and desires. If someone does violence to you, allow him to. If a man takes your goods, don't try to take them back. That sort of message doesn't tend to go over so well.
And of course, on the political side of things, you end up with the same sort of corruption of message. Now, I haven't yet figured out the theology on homosexuality. I've heard competing arguments either way, read the relevant biblical passages, and am not sure what to think. That said I can see why various people, at least from a biblical standpoint, can come down on either side of the debate, although clearly the "it's a sin" group would be in the majority. That said, LEGALLY, it should make no difference whatsoever what religious people believe. We have this wonderful principle in our constitution and our political culture generally referred to as the separation of church and state. Marriage has been given so many legal connotations, tax laws, visitations, wills, child custody, what have you, that it's currently indistinguishable from any other legal contract. Now, for most people it certainly carries a greater significance, but legally, it's merely a contract between two people. To deny that contract to a group within the population merely for religious reasons is insane. And yet most politicians won't press this issue mainly because it ticks off a lot of religious people.
In general -
A theocracy is a really, really scary form of government. Fortunately, we don't have one in this country, although it seems sometimes as if some people wish we did. The simple reality is that you cannot force people to be "moral". And God certainly wouldn't have it that way. If God wanted us all to follow His laws all the time no matter what He would never have given us free will. Of course He wants us to follow His laws, but He wants us to do so willingly, and I can't imagine that He doesn't realize that in the meantime we are going to mess up a LOT. It's part of the journey to becoming children of God. Of course, a theocracy wishes to take away that journey, to use the weight of law, of violence, to make sure that everyone is in compliance. And that's just insane. It's peoples' hearts that matter, not their actions. And if hearts are in the right place, actions will inevitably follow.
In the end, there are quite a few biblical passages that talk about how as Christians we must become weak and humble, because in the end such things are where true strength lies. In the story of Jesus, an omnipotent deity allowed himself to become a baby, to grow into a man and be tortured and killed, when He could have saved Himself with a word, and did it all for the salvation of humankind. His weakness became the greatest strength. And thus Christianity and political power will never mix. And that is a beautiful thing.
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