God is Not a Republican
Intersection of Faith And Politics – Part 1
This post begins my new series, Intersection of Faith and Politics. I drafted parts of it months ago but hesitated to publish because I am deeply opposed to mixing faith and politics. Still, I now feel compelled to share it. This will be a 4-5 part series. Please subscribe on Substack or follow me on Facebook so you don’t miss any part of it.
It is estimated that, among U.S. clergy, Republicans or conservatives outnumber Democrats or progressives by a ratio of 2:1, and that the ratio is even higher among churchgoers, likewise favoring Republicans or conservatives.
For non-U.S. residents who may be unfamiliar, the Republican Party is one half of the United States’ essentially two-party political system, the other being the Democratic Party. Republicans are generally associated with conservative views and traditional values, while Democrats are broadly considered liberal and supportive of so-called progressive values.
Disclaimer:
Let me say at this point that I identify as neither Democrat nor Republican; I vote independent. I do not intend to promote any party, but simply to share how I believe Christian believers should approach politics.
About God and Politics
As a people, we tend to think of God in human terms—often in binary ones. We take sides in conflicts or causes and want to know whose side God is on. In doing so, we fail to grasp that God is transcendent and that His ways are beyond our comprehension. As He says in Isaiah:
“For as the heavens are higher than the earth,
So are My ways higher than your ways,
And My thoughts than your thoughts.”
— Isaiah 55:9
God does not take sides in our conflicts, and He made this unmistakably clear in a dramatic encounter Joshua experienced. As Joshua approached Jericho—the Israelites’ first conquest in the land of Canaan—he encountered a supernatural figure: a man armed and ready for battle. This figure was the pre-incarnate Christ. Naturally, Joshua asked:
“...Are You for us or for our adversaries?”
— Joshua 5:13
The answer was unexpected:
“…No, but as Commander of the army of the Lord I have now come.”
— Joshua 5:14
Even as the Commander of heaven’s armies, He was saying that He was neither for the Israelites nor for the Canaanites. He was not automatically on Israel’s side, as Joshua and the people assumed. Why? Because God does not take our sides; it is we who must take His.
This is a profound revelation. God does not align with any group or party, only with those who do His will. He underscored this truth immediately afterward when, in their next campaign against Ai, He allowed Israel to be defeated because of Achan’s sin—Joshua 7:4.
Republican Politics and Christian Values
Those who identify as Republicans and vote accordingly often have good reasons for doing so. Republican policies promote and support traditional, Bible-based values such as the institution of marriage.
Marriage is sacred because it was instituted by God and is the bedrock of the family. This institution is under attack because the devil knows it is foundational to society. As Jesus said:
“The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy.”
— John 10:10
The devil is the thief and the destroyer, and his aim is the destruction of human societies.
The growth of abortion clinics and the promotion of abortion remedies represent an attack on another sacred object: the sanctity of human life. Christians are right to oppose this. Support for pro-life causes is righteous and honorable. God told Jeremiah:
“Before I formed you in the womb I knew you;
Before you were born I sanctified you;
I ordained you a prophet to the nations.”
— Jeremiah 1:9
Notice that God says He knew Jeremiah before he was conceived and called him before he was born. Life does not begin at birth but at conception, and all human life must be protected.
The Challenge of War and Political Justification
Historically, support for America’s foreign military interventions has been bipartisan. Accordingly, Republican politics have also supported aggressive foreign wars. These wars are often justified in various ways—sometimes framed as humanitarian interventions, such as the Responsibility to Protect (R2P), and other times as efforts to spread democracy. But who says democratic governments are the only political systems that are good for humanity?
Before democracy, societies lived under other systems—monarchies, theocracies, and others—and many people flourished under them. Ancient Israel, for example, was ruled first by a theocracy during the time of the judges, and later by monarchs such as David, Solomon, and Josiah. Whether the people prospered depended less on the system itself and more on the character and quality of the rulers. What this shows is that it is often not the system that matters most, but the caliber of those who govern.
America’s moral justification for regime-change wars in the name of installing democratic governance collapses when one considers that many of its closest allies in the Middle East are monarchies, not democracies. This inconsistency reveals the danger of assuming that God is aligned with a political ideology rather than with justice and righteousness.
God’s Standard vs. Human Politics
When the aftermath of these military aggressions is examined—the loss of human life, the destruction of infrastructure, and the chaos left behind—it becomes unconscionable for any Christian to regard such actions as acceptable. It is contradictory to rightly oppose abortion while being indifferent to the destruction of human lives through unjust wars. God does not take sides in our political causes; He weighs actions by their fruits.
International law recognizes aggression as a crime, and God does as well. God warned the Israelites not to attack the Moabites, Ammonites, and Edomites in Deuteronomy 2:2–23; such an attack would have been an act of aggression. You may also recall God’s command that King Saul destroy the Amalekites in 1 Samuel 15:2–3—but do you know why? It is because the Amalekites had committed aggression against Israel in the wilderness, as recorded in Exodus 17:8–16. Even divine judgment was not arbitrary; it was rooted in justice.
One of the great sins for which God condemned ancient Babylon was its wanton destruction of nations. As Habakkuk wrote:
“...he is arrogant and never at rest.
Because he is as greedy as the grave
and like death is never satisfied,
he gathers to himself all the nations
and takes captive all the peoples.”
— Habakkuk 2:5
Because of Babylon’s insatiable drive to plunder nations and destroy human life, Habakkuk issued this warning:
“Because you have plundered many nations,
the peoples who are left will plunder you.
For you have shed human blood;
you have destroyed lands and cities
and everyone in them.”
— Habakkuk 2:8
This warning stands for all nations that engage in aggression—especially when it leads to the collapse of societies and the wholesale destruction of peoples. God opposes aggression wherever it is found.
A Word to Republican Supporters
If you are a Christian Republican and supports Republican politics, I am not judging you or questioning your choice—I simply hope this offers some perspective on what is truly at stake.
In my next entry, I will continue along this trajectory by explaining why God is also not a Democrat.