In the News
Political Division and the Bible
Jesus picked a tax collector and a zealot for the same team. Matthew and Simon had to eat dinner together.
Family dinners have become minefields. Group chats fracture along party lines. The national mood has shifted from disagreement to contempt — each side convinced the other is not just wrong, but dangerous.
The Bible was written under empires and occupations. Its authors lived in politically charged environments. And consistently refused to be claimed by any faction.
Jesus' Final Prayer Was for Unity
17 records prayer the night before his crucifixion — his last recorded request. It was not for his side to prevail. It was: "I pray that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you."
Unity was his dying concern. Not uniformity of opinion — unity of love. If it was important enough to be final prayer, it should carry weight in how his followers treat one another across political lines.
The Dividing Wall Is Down
wrote to the Ephesians that "destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility" between groups that would not associate with each other. He was describing the deepest cultural rift of his era — Jews and Gentiles — and declaring it over.
The move is not "my side wins." It is "the sides no longer define us." Christ created, in Paul's words, "one new humanity out of the two." That vision stands in direct tension with a culture built on tribal loyalty.
Jesus Refused the Political Trap
In 22, opponents tried to force into a political position: should they pay taxes to Caesar? The question was designed to make him either a rebel or a collaborator. He held up a coin and said, "Give to Caesar what is Caesar's, and to God what is God's."
He did not take the bait. He pointed to a that transcends both parties, both empires, both sides. His allegiance operated at a different level entirely.
Factions in the Church
wrote 1 Corinthians in part because the church was splitting into camps. "I follow Paul." "I follow Apollos." "I follow Peter." His response was sharp: "Is divided?"
The question was meant to be rhetorical — obviously not. But when political identity becomes stronger than Christian identity, the answer becomes less clear. Paul saw factions as a fundamental betrayal of the .
No Room for Favoritism
stated it plainly: "If you show favoritism, you sin." You cannot rank people by their political affiliation, their economic status, or their cultural markers and call it faithfulness. The of does not have party lines.
The Bible does not pretend disagreement is trivial. But it refuses to let disagreement become dehumanization. You can believe someone is mistaken without believing they are worthless. That is the baseline of Christian ethics — and at the moment, it is a standard very few are meeting.
Kingdom identity comes first. Everything else is secondary.