Catherine Guiles, a reporter for Medill Reports, spent part of the summer and fall traveling across the country to Christian college campuses to talk to students, professors and staff about issues of faith and politics. Her work, which was funded by a grant from the Lilly Foundation, included interviews with Goshen College students and faculty.   » Read more…

Today on the God’s Politics blog, an online project of Sojourners, Duane Shank posted an entry entitled, “What Would Yoder Do?”, about the famous Mennonite theologian and ethicist John Howard Yoder’s views on faith and politics.

Yoder, who died in 1997, graduated from Goshen College in 1947. He is best known for his book, “The Politics of Jesus.”

At my high school in rural Ohio I was part of a small group of students who were thought of as rebellious and unpatriotic, and given names like “hippy” and “tree-hugger.” I was a Democrat.   » Read more…

On the heels of the current election, another series of competitive encounters is getting under way: basketball. There are parallels.   » Read more…

On November 5, I hope to be remembering that I am (still) among God’s many adopted children on this earth, people with many different skin colors, countries of origins and deeply held beliefs. As a Christian, I believe I am here to be open to God transforming me more and more into the character of God’s son, Jesus Christ. This is what mattered to me yesterday, matters to me today and will matter to me tomorrow.   » Read more…

In The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Universe, there is a character who doesn’t know he is a descendant of Attila the Hun. He can’t figure out why herds of marauders in fuzzy hats occasionally charge through his consciousness. That is sort of how I feel when people start disagreeing about politics: they turn into ranting barbarians.   » Read more…

Here is a resource (PDF document) that Mennonite Church USA has distributed to congregations. It is a handout for distribution, put together by Rachel Nafziger Hartzler, Pastor of Pleasant Oaks Mennonite Church. It is based on this article, by Leo Hartshorn.

Presidential campaigns carry with them a collection of temptations for Christians (and non-believers) we seldom acknowledge. Both candidates and their running mates profess to be Christian, and yet who among them or their staff could claim to have never distorted their opponents record, never taken a quote out of context for political gain, never embellished their own record, never ducked an opportunity to speak prophetically about a sensitive issue, never taken money from a questionable source - and the list of pecadillos goes on and on and on.   » Read more…

In thinking about the post-election climate, I somehow gravitated to John D. Roth’s 2005 essay “Called to One Peace: Christian Faith and One Witness in a Divided Culture.” (Sorry John, but I read your piece after I had cast my ballot early . . . maybe the fact that I found your essay is evidence of God’s prevenient grace.)   » Read more…

When I was in the sixth grade, Dwight Eisenhower became president, defeating Estes Kefauver. After the election one of my friends said, “We all must be for Eisenhower now.” I have remembered his comment because of the wisdom he displayed. Regardless of whether we have a President McCain or President Obama, we must be for him. To be otherwise is to be obstructionist.   » Read more…

When I was in third grade, I remember having a conversation with my parents about land mines. An international treaty that aimed to stop the use of land mines had triggered our conversation, and then-President Bill Clinton, who was previously in favor of the treaty, was suddenly persuaded by the Pentagon to avoid the treaty. Confused about the details, I asked my parents for more information.   » Read more…

As the election nears, I find that I’ve become increasingly concerned with the focus on faith that has become quite evident. This is surprising to me, as I usually am fairly apathetic regarding most issues political and religious. However, this country’s intense focus on the religion, spirituality and faith of our candidates for and holders of political office is quite alarming.   » Read more…