And each time before pressing \u201cpublish\u201d I ask myself, \u201cDo you really want to do this? Don\u2019t you remember last time?\u201d But I do it anyway. (Which reminds me to make an extra appointment with my\u00a0therapist.)<\/p>\n Without fail, nothing, and I mean nothing, comes close to the animosity, ill will, and flat out meanness\u00a0generated by\u00a0political disagreement\u2014including\u00a0from evangelicals. And if my sample size means anything, I would say\u00a0especially<\/em> from evangelicals.<\/p>\n Not evolution, not inerrancy of the Bible, not\u00a0even the Trinity, divinity of Christ, resurrection, or atonement.\u00a0But politics.<\/p>\n You\u2019d think the world was about to end, Jesus was coming back, and his first act of judging the living\u00a0and the dead was about\u00a0our views on the flat tax and global warming.<\/p>\n Just over 3 years ago, before the 2012 election, I blogged on this phenomenon of evangelicals\u00a0losing it every time a presidential election\u00a0is near, and so\u2014with fear and trembling\u2014I thought I\u2019d post it again (slightly modified).<\/p>\n I could have changed the names or the issues, but no need. The cast of characters is different but not much else.<\/p>\n ********<\/p>\n I.am.saying.<\/p>\n and\u00a0what<\/p>\n I.am.not.saying.<\/p>\n This is not a cynical, \u201cI\u2019m above it all,\u201d anti-political rant.<\/p>\n I am not saying\u00a0all\u00a0candidates are the same.<\/p>\n I am not telling anyone\u00a0not to vote.<\/p>\n I am not suggesting we\u00a0stop arguing about politics and coming to strong convictions. Have at it.<\/p>\n I am<\/em> saying that getting\u00a0so worked up about politics\u00a0that you become really angry and spiteful, or you actually \u201cfear<\/em>\u00a0for our country,\u201d or are thinking of moving to Greenland or cryogenically freezing yourself if \u201cthat guy\u201d gets elected, you may need to step back and think about what\u2019s happening inside of you.<\/p>\n We all\u00a0can and should be\u00a0genuinely\u00a0concerned about health care, our economy, terrorism, gender equality, and many, many other issues.<\/p>\n But, listen for the rhetoric in others and in ourselves.<\/p>\n If you fear for your\u00a0way of life<\/em>, that if the wrong person gets elected\u00a0all is lost<\/em>\u00a0and you simply All\u00a0political\u00a0regimes have a utopian agenda. Communist, socialist, fascist, monarchic, and yes, even our democratic system.<\/p>\n All of them.<\/p>\n They all<\/em> make promises to be the ones who will deliver the goods. They all<\/em> promise that, without them, you are lost. They all claim to have \u201carrived,\u201d to represent the culmination of the human drama, to be the true light, a city on a hill, that which brings you and all humanity true peace and security. Many even claim in some sense to rule by divine right.<\/p>\n That is what \u201ceschatology\u201d\u00a0means\u2014<\/strong>not an\u00a0\u201cend of the world\u201d cataclysm as in some video game apocalyptic scenario.<\/p>\n Eschatology means: \u201cRest and be still. Things are now as they should be\u2014or they soon will be. Now, truly and finally, you have reason to hope. Trust in us. Fear not.\u201d<\/p>\n Eschatology means believing to be\u00a0in that place where the\u00a0human drama has come\u00a0to its fullest expression.<\/p>\n They all say that, in one way or another.<\/p>\n When we fear, or rage, or are depressed about politics, it means we have invested something of our deep selves into an \u201ceschatology\u201d\u2014into a promise that \u201call will be well, provided you come with us.\u201d<\/p>\n And it\u00a0accepts no rivals.<\/p>\n Christians should not adopt the rival eschatology that this or any political system or politician is of such fundamental importance that the thought of an election turning sour or the wrong laws being passed mean that all hope is lost.<\/p>\n There is a huge difference between saying, \u201cThat person would make a horrible president for the following reasons,\u201d and \u201cIf he\/she is elected, I just don\u2019t know what I will do, where I will go\u2014how we can carry on.\u201d<\/p>\n![\"images\"](\"https:\/\/peteenns.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/images.jpeg\")
<\/a>I blog, with great fear and trembling, on politics every so often, a couple of\u00a0times year maybe, when it intersects\u00a0with matters of the Bible\u00a0or Christian faith that I feel strongly about.<\/p>\n<\/a>Before we get going here, let\u2019s be clear on what<\/p>\n<\/a>\u00a0don\u2019t have any hope<\/em>\u00a0for your future or the future of your children\u2014if that is your rhetoric, you have accepted what we like to call in the theological industry a\u00a0\u201crival eschatology.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/a>Christians can\u2019t go there, because\u00a0Christianity\u00a0is an eschatology. <\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n