Politics involves governance by, with and for people for the life and benefit of society and all life forms. Governance is a divine mandate, therefore, the Methodist Church in the Caribbean and the Americas [MCCA] believes, teaches, and strongly endorses the social and political responsibility of its members in the shaping of society.<\/p>\n
Several perspectives regarding political issues and political involvement exist within the Christian community. These range from: [a] those who take the perspective \u201cYou are the salt of the earth, \u2026 you are the light of the world,\u201d [Matthew 5:13\u201314] and become involved in the shaping of society; to [b] those who take the perspective, \u201cMy kingdom is not of this world\u201d [John 18:36] and therefore do not involve themselves in any political activities.<\/p>\n
The church is an integral part of society. Its mission must therefore relate and respond to people in the totality of their everyday lives [Matthew 25:31-46; Matthew 22:15-21; Luke 4:18-19].<\/p>\n
The MCCA holds that the biblical doctrines of Creation [Genesis 1:1-2:4a], Incarnation [John 1:1-14] and Redemption [Romans 8:18-25] teach that there is no part of society outside the sphere of God\u2019s love. All of God\u2019s creation is holy. No one is independent of or exempt from God\u2019s rule [Romans 13:1-7].<\/p>\n
The Biblical prophets exercised a socially engaged ministry in which they critiqued how social power was used and social goods were distributed [2 Samuel 12:1-15; Amos 8:4-7; Hosea 7:4-7].<\/p>\n
The Church accepts that it is the \u201cBody of Christ\u201d in society and exercises a ministry that is both pastoral and prophetic where acts of mercy and compassion [Matthew 22:37-40] and acts of righteousness and justice are joined [Micah 6:8; Amos 5:24];<\/p>\n
Our Christian faith calls us to the practice of social and political responsibility that seeks to bring about a social process whose goals are conscientization, redemption, emancipation, transformation and sanctification [Isaiah 35:8-10; Matthew 6:10; John 10:10].<\/p>\n
The MCCA holds that the Methodist church was raised up by God to spread Scriptural holiness and to reform the Nation therefore members of the MCCA are encouraged to:<\/p>\n
1. Participate wholeheartedly, joyfully and responsibly in the affairs of social and national governance with integrity.
\n2. Embrace the personal concerns of individuals together with concern for the common good which is in keeping with the commandment to love one\u2019s neighbour as oneself [Matthew 22:37-40; Galatians 6:2].
\n3. Affirm and uphold biblical justice.
\n4. Pray for those who offer for political office and who lead the affairs of the nation.<\/p>\n
Affirmed by the Faith and Order Commission
\nWednesday, November 04, 2015<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":0,"template":"","class_list":["post-916","statement","type-statement","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/demoshowcase.in\/churchen\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/statement\/916","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/demoshowcase.in\/churchen\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/statement"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/demoshowcase.in\/churchen\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/statement"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/demoshowcase.in\/churchen\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=916"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}