Remaining silent is now considered political

[GaryK]

To me, the heart of this is that we need to have compassion for people and pray for them even if they are harming others, but we also need to do things like protect others from harm and work together to be in touch with the truth when there is such a fog of lies.

As I also understand the gospel of Jesus, while there is recognition of the tragedy of sin, there is also a call for repentance. One of the things that puzzles me is that while people are unhappy with the President's behavior and some argue for compassion, there's also no call for repentance. To me it seems that as long as Trump meets certain political expectations, then conservative Anabaptists and evangelical Christians will remain silent or accommodate his abusive personal behavior. This confuses me and it's one reason its hard to keep politics out of discussions regarding Trump. To me it seems that the grace extended Trump is also political.

It is now considered political for conservative Anabaptists NOT to call for the repentance of a president. Fascinating!

A call for repentance of a president on my part would include a call to turn away from politics altogether and a call to join those who have entered into the Kingdom of Jesus through the narrow gate that leads to life. If that's what is meant by the above post, then I'm going to go on record here on MN and say that I am calling for the repentance of DJT. I'm doubtful though that this is the kind of "repentance" the above post alludes to.

[Wade]

It seems more and more I am realizing that while some of us are in the trenches ministering directly to the needs of people getting dirty and tired, we have so called fellow Christian's sitting somewhere comfortably attacking and hurling accusations at our backs because we aren't involved in programs or politics...
I'm seeing more and more why so many CA's don't have a lot of contact with other groups.

[temporal1]

Thank you, Gary, for this thread.
From Page 4: http://forum.mennonet.com/viewtopic.php ... 7&start=30
i’m glad Robert added a note about Sudsy’s request to stay on the OP topic.

i was thinking of responding to Szdfan, on another point, possibly in “bunny trails,” but, am not feeling so well this morning, so, probably not up to thinking much. i’m reading.

[Bootstrap]

It seems more and more I am realizing that while some of us are in the trenches ministering directly to the needs of people getting dirty and tired, we have so called fellow Christian's sitting somewhere comfortably attacking and hurling accusations at our backs because we aren't involved in programs or politics...
I'm seeing more and more why so many CA's don't have a lot of contact with other groups.

Wade, you generally do not participate in political threads on either side. That kind of silence is not political at all.

I do think it might be helpful to avoid inventing stereotypes of people you disagree with. For some reason, a lot of people like to say that people they disagree with probably aren't doing as much as they are for Jesus. That may not be true. I suspect on any issue we discuss here, there are people on both sides who are in the trenches.

[Wade]

It seems more and more I am realizing that while some of us are in the trenches ministering directly to the needs of people getting dirty and tired, we have so called fellow Christian's sitting somewhere comfortably attacking and hurling accusations at our backs because we aren't involved in programs or politics...
I'm seeing more and more why so many CA's don't have a lot of contact with other groups.

Wade, you generally do not participate in political threads on either side. That kind of silence is not political at all.

I do think it might be helpful to avoid inventing stereotypes of people you disagree with. For some reason, a lot of people like to say that people they disagree with probably aren't doing as much as they are for Jesus. That may not be true. I suspect on any issue we discuss here, there are people on both sides who are in the trenches.

I don't need to invent when I share my experience.
I never said anyone was doing more than the other.
And I know there are a bunch of very liberal Protestants and Catholics in trenches at times - names come up when dealing with people in trenches that surprise me at times of what they are doing unnoticed or unannounced(some are doing way more than some CA's).
It's the hurling of accusations and attacks especially about not being involved in politics or programs or anti-racism things that is bothersome. All of those people in the trenches may not be active in how you may think we should against some major world problem but we may be silently working on ministering to the hearts of people on an individual level.

[temporal1]

It seems more and more I am realizing that while some of us are in the trenches ministering directly to the needs of people getting dirty and tired,
we have so called fellow Christian's sitting somewhere comfortably attacking and hurling accusations at our backs because we aren't involved in programs or politics...
I'm seeing more and more why so many CA's don't have a lot of contact with other groups.

This forum is a combination of those who embrace politics, accept and encourage gov involvement and funding in all aspects of life (they agree with) - with those who reject gov involvement,
even when funding is quite a temptation, when refusing gov means personal sacrifice,
and many in-between.

i have learned with interest about the second group on this forum. still learning.
Jesus never had need of a lot of words, no charts+graphs, His words being perfect for His Divine Purpose.

[Bootstrap]

I don't need to invent when I share my experience.
I never said anyone was doing more than the other.

OK, that's helpful. The fact that I see a lot of CAs in the trenches is one of the things that I find attractive about them.

It's the hurling of accusations and attacks especially about not being involved in politics or programs or anti-racism things that is bothersome. All of those people in the trenches may not be active in how you may think we should against some major world problem but we may be silently working on ministering to the hearts of people on an individual level.

Here's where I hit a disconnect.

I could be wrong, but I think that most of the controversial threads where I conflict with CAs involve times that they seem to be actively supporting political agendas that I think hurt some of the same people you and I are probably serving in the trenches. Or posting blatantly political right-wing messaging, then complaining if I pick it apart, saying that I am being political. These are not things that you do, Wade.

I don't think I have ever told people they should sign petitions or join rallies or vote or to encouraged people to vote for anyone in particular. I do vote, I haven't signed a petition or joined a rally or joined a party or given money to a politician or party for decades. I don't think I judge people for deciding to remain entirely apart from these things. I do tend to be very emphatic when people suggest, for instance, that the way children are being treated in detention centers right now is OK.

I do think that there are a lot of times that what we are discussing is mostly about the basic facts behind things politicians care about. And these facts are sometimes important if we want to understand what is going on with refugees, gay marriage, abortion, and other things that our Kingdom cares about too. Sometimes I do get the impression that some people get their basic facts from sources that are clearly aligned with political factions, and don't want to question those facts.

[Josh]

Sometimes I do get the impression that some people get their basic facts from sources that are clearly aligned with political factions, and don't want to question those facts.

I think part of Bootstrap's problem is that he sees basically everyone at doing this. I might be quoting something I read in Mother Jones magazine, but Boot will interpret me as repeating right-wing political talking points. It's then quite tempting to view him as doing the same thing from a left-wing perspective.

[Wade]

I don't need to invent when I share my experience.
I never said anyone was doing more than the other.

OK, that's helpful. The fact that I see a lot of CAs in the trenches is one of the things that I find attractive about them.

It's the hurling of accusations and attacks especially about not being involved in politics or programs or anti-racism things that is bothersome. All of those people in the trenches may not be active in how you may think we should against some major world problem but we may be silently working on ministering to the hearts of people on an individual level.

Here's where I hit a disconnect.

I could be wrong, but I think that most of the controversial threads where I conflict with CAs involve times that they seem to be actively supporting political agendas that I think hurt some of the same people you and I are probably serving in the trenches. Or posting blatantly political right-wing messaging, then complaining if I pick it apart, saying that I am being political. These are not things that you do, Wade.

I don't think I have ever told people they should sign petitions or join rallies or vote or to encouraged people to vote for anyone in particular. I do vote, I haven't signed a petition or joined a rally or joined a party or given money to a politician or party for decades. I don't think I judge people for deciding to remain entirely apart from these things. I do tend to be very emphatic when people suggest, for instance, that the way children are being treated in detention centers right now is OK.

I do think that there are a lot of times that what we are discussing is mostly about the basic facts behind things politicians care about. And these facts are sometimes important if we want to understand what is going on with refugees, gay marriage, abortion, and other things that our Kingdom cares about too. Sometimes I do get the impression that some people get their basic facts from sources that are clearly aligned with political factions, and don't want to question those facts.

I do agree that we have CA's involved in politics that is inappropriate - and I don't mean anyone in particular when I say that.
The kingdom of God comes without observation... It is within. See Luke 17.
So with that scripture I think the change needs to happen at the heart and not at the political level.
So your focus on politics while calling yourself a Kingdom Christian is about as confusing to me as CA's involved in politics.
Your free to that however.

[GaryK]

I'm wanting to know how it is that conservative Anabaptists extending grace to the president by remaining silent and not calling for his repentance is political.