Christians should not be involved in politics.

It is my understanding and belief according to the Bible and the teachings of Jesus that we, as Christians, should not be involved in politics (this includes military service). I see the message from Christ to be completely clear and direct. Any involvement in politics is simply unscriptural and against the teachings of Christ. What does the Bible say? *all verses used are NIV renditions*Jesus at one point directly avoids taking a political position in John 6:15, which reads: "Jesus, knowing that they intended to come and make him king by force, withdrew again to a mountain by himself." Besides this, Jesus made it clear to his disciples that they are no part of this world and therefore should not be involved in political issues. Consider this idea in light of these verses: John 17:14: "I have given them your word and the world has hated them, for they are not of the world any more than I am of the world."John 17:16: "They are not of the world, even as I am not of it."John 18:36: "Jesus said, 'My kingdom is not of this world. If it were, my servants would fight to prevent my arrest by the Jewish leaders. But now my kingdom is from another place.'"Mark 12:13-17: "Later they sent some of the Pharisees and Herodians to Jesus to catch him in his words. They came to him and said, 'Teacher, we know that you are a man of integrity. You aren't swayed by others, because you pay no attention to who they are; but you teach the way of God in accordance with the truth. Is it right to pay the imperial tax to Caesar or not? Should we pay or shouldn't we?'But Jesus knew their hypocrisy. 'Why are you trying to trap me?' he asked. 'Bring me a denarius and let me look at it.' They brought the coin, and he asked them, 'Whose image is this? And whose inscription?''Caesar's,' they replied.Then Jesus said to them, 'Give back to Caesar what is Caesar's and to God what is God's.'And they were amazed at him."As Christians, we are to be loyal to God's Kingdom, which Jesus says in Matthew 24:14:"And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come."Since we are representatives of God's Kingdom, we should remain neutral on all political issues and affairs. Consider 2 Corinthians 5:20:"We are therefore Christ's ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ"s behalf: Be reconciled to God."Or even Ephesians 6:20:"for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may declare it fearlessly, as I should."If we as Christians remain neutral in politics, we can truly break down barriers and teach the gospels to people of all nations as Jesus wanted us to do. Does this make us anarchist who should resist government? Not at all. Consider these verses:Romans 13:1: "Let everyone be subject to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God."1 Timothy 2:1-2: "First of all, then, I urge that entreaties and prayers, petitions and thanksgivings, be made on behalf of all men, for kings and all who are in authority, so that we may lead a tranquil and quiet life in all godliness and dignity"What have scholars said?*sources provided next to excerpt*"Early Christianity was little understood and was regarded with little favor by those who ruled the pagan world. Christians refused to share certain duties of Roman citizens. They would not hold political office." (On the Road to Civilization, A World History by Heckel and Sigman, p.237,238)"Zealous Christians did not serve in the armed forces or accept political offices." (World History, the Story of Man's Achievements by Habberton, Roth and Spears, p.117) "While among Romans it was considered the highest honor to possess the privileges of Roman citizenship, the Christians announced that they were citizens of heaven. They shrank from public office and military service." (The Great Events by Famous Historians by Rossiter Johnson, Vol. III, p.246) "The Christians were strangers and pilgrims in the world around them; their citizenship was in heaven; the kingdom to which they looked was not of this world. The consequent want [lack] of interest in public affairs came thus from the outset to be a noticeable feature in Christianity." (Christianity and the Roman Government by E.G. Hardy, Principal of Jesus College, Oxford, p.39) "The Christians refused to show their loyalty by burning incense to the emperor. Being men of peace, they would not serve in the Roman armies." (From The March of Civilization, Ancient and Medieval World by Jesse E. Wrench, Professor of History, University of Missouri, p.205) "They preferred the Kingdom of God to any kingdom that they might serve on earth. The early Christians were ready to die for their faith. Since they believed in peace they would not serve in Rome"s imperial armies." (From From the Old World to the New by E.A. Golligan, Associate Superintendent of Schools, City of New York, and Maxwell F. Littwin, Principal of New York City Public Schools, pp. 88,89)What have pro-political Christians said? *source provided next to excerpt*Concerning the then future possibility of a war with Iraq:"Even though an attack seems inevitable, we Catholics should do whatever we can to prevent what may become an utterly senseless slaughter of innocent lives. 'We should raise a mighty league of Catholic conscientious objectors.' This slogan was used by Dorothy Day and others involved in the Association of Catholic Conscientious Objectors, an organization that supported Catholics who refused to be drafted into the military during World War II for reasons of conscience. As one might expect, their number was not legion: 135 in all.""...the church has come to endorse conscientious objection because it stands against sin and evil. To a large degree this new development in the church's theology of peace is rooted in the hard lessons the church learned as it examined the behavior of Catholics under the Nazi regime. It was not, to say the least, exemplary. Bishops wrote pastoral letters declaring their devotion to the Fatherland and Fuhrer, priests preached homilies calling upon their flocks to do their duty for the nation, and Catholic men, with very few exceptions, went off to fight while their families generally fully supported what was obviously an unjust war. And yet Catholics flew carpet bombing missions over Germany and Japan in World War II, carried out destructive operations in Vietnam, contributed to the most intensive air attack ever in Iraq, and currently sit in nuclear missile silos ready to turn the launch key on command. I find it troubling that conscientious objection to war is not so much as a passing concern to most Catholics.""The problem, I believe, is that when it comes to war, too many Catholics pledge their allegiance to their country, right or wrong. They are obedient to the nation before all else: before natural law, before divine law, before the words and example of Jesus Christ, before conscience. The problem is, in a word, idolatry. The nation-state has taken the place of God. ""From the very beginning of the church, the apostolic teaching reminded Christians of their duty to obey legitimately constituted public authorities (Rom. 13:7; 1 Pet. 2:13-14), but at the same time, it firmly warned that "we must obey God rather than men" (Acts 5:29)." (Catholics should be more conscientious about objecting to war, U.S. Catholic, December, 2002, by cleric Michael J. Baxter, C.S.C., teaches theology at the University of Notre Dame, Indiana, serves as the national secretary for the Catholic Peace Fellowship)What can we conclude?I believe that in light of what Jesus taught fromt he Bible and what scholars have said about early (1st century) Christians ont he ropic, it becomes clear that politics and Christianity do not mix. Today and in recent years, Christians have been an active force in world politics. However, do not let this skew the original teachings of the Bible and Jesus, as well as the original interpretations of the 1st century Christians. I would also like to remind Con that rebuddals are to be held until Round 3.