Politics, Malaysia & Politics, Malaysia & A New Kind of HumanityA New Kind of Humanity

Merdeka 2008

Revolution of HopeOct 11, 2008

Our ‘Politics’ Depend onWho We Are

And Who We Are Depends onWho We Worship

So Who is Our God?

We Worship Jesus Who…

• Humbled Himself taking on the form of a servant

• Died for the ‘worst of sinners’ whilst they were yet sinful/guilty

• Suffered and prayed for His enemies (and told us to do the same)

• Equated loving one’s enemies with godly perfection (Matt 5:40-ish)

We are called to reflect the glory of Christ and

‘show off’ His likeness

(all over the New Testament!)

Therefore…

We Are Called To…

1. Be a new kind of person i.e. a New Creation, authentic humanity in Christ’s likeness

2. Embody and replicate Calvary i.e. communicate unconditional love via our deeds and words especially to our enemies

3. Transform and redeem the world and its way of being through our radical love i.e. be the hands and feet of Jesus

“If I fight for justice, but have not love, I am (and gain) nothing”

(1 Cor 13:1-3 paraphrase)

What kind of politics does the Cross require of us?

A Politics of Peace-Making & Forgiveness

• Siamese twins!• Olive branches and gestures of friendship

would be common (e.g. Ahmad Ismail)• We reject all violent means to a solution

regardless of the ends aimed for• We reject anything which involves cursing /

blaming / judging our enemies as a *defining* characteristic (e.g. DAP, PKR, RPK, etc.)

• We focus on transforming people through our service, conversations and prayers

For every line/word/act of criticism, there must be 2-3 others of

compassion, relational thinking, peace-making solutions, etc.

A Politics of Patience & Kindness

• We recognize that building relationships with the enemy (whilst certainly unpopular and ‘un-realistic’) is an important part of the process

• We do not ‘demand’ anything!• What’s Covey’s 3rd Habit? What are the

‘Important But Not Urgent’ things to do?• We must be neither a community of

apathy nor accusation, but agape

We recognise that often our actions ‘seem like’ defeats or inaction…but

‘loving our enemy’ in fact mirrors the greatest victory of all

A Politics of God’s Kingdom• We must not ‘look like’ an Opposition Party – we

must ‘look like’ Jesus!• We may vote for and (and even endorse) a

specific partisan individual/policy/plan (e.g. 9/16) but we always hesitate in labeling it ‘Christian’

• We recognize the kingdom of God’s independence (and often contradiction) of kingdom-of-the-world projects i.e. “when we take up the Sword, we put down the Cross” (Boyd)

• We live as ‘salt of the earth’ and ‘light of the world’ with or without politics and right government

• Destroy / Condemn our enemies

• Demand justice• Fight politicians and

parties via threats, outrage, exposés, murmurs, mockery, etc.

• “Looks for” opportunities to reaffirm corruption / incompetence of the ‘other’ party

• Continually seeks polarisation – ‘us’ vs. ‘them’ thinking

• Love our enemies and pray/care for them

• ‘Demand’ from the Christian community forgiveness and kindness towards the unjust

• Fight evil via prayer, acts of love and self-vulnerability for all, especially the enemy

• “Looks for” opportunities to dialogue, work together, praise, etc.

• Works regardless of the political system/process

• Sees ‘beyond’ the partisan battle-lines

Breaking it down…

• Voting is optional, loving/serving is not• We support Christians in politics the same way

we support Christians in sports, environmentalism, business, i.e. we pray for and serve each other without equating the party and its aims with God’s kingdom

• We treat every political problem/oppression as occasions to communicate Calvary love (as we would any other kind of personal or social setback)