Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Page 4 Page 5 Page 6 Page 7 Page 8 Page 9 Page 10 Page 11 Page 12 Page 13 Page 14 Page 15 Page 16 Page 17 Page 18 Page 19 Page 20 Page 21 Page 22 Page 23 Page 24 Page 25 Page 26 Page 27 Page 28 Page 29 Page 30 Page 31 Page 32 Page 33 Page 34 Page 35 Page 36 Page 37 Page 38 Page 39 Page 40 Page 41 Page 42 Page 43 Page 44 Page 45 Page 46 Page 47 Page 48 Page 49 Page 50 Page 51 Page 52 Page 53 Page 54 Page 55 Page 56 Page 57 Page 58 Page 59 Page 60 Page 61 Page 62 Page 63 Page 64 Page 65 Page 66 Page 67 Page 68 Page 69 Page 70 Page 71 Page 72 Page 73 Page 74 Page 75 Page 76 Page 77 Page 78 Page 79 Page 80 Page 81 Page 82 Page 83 Page 8434 Plough Quarterly • Autumn 2016 Ronald J. Sider is president emeritus of Evangelicals for Social Action and a professor of theology and public policy at Palmer Theological Seminary of Eastern University. W henever national elections roll around, many Christians ask how their faith should shape their politics. This year’s US presidential election campaign has lent a charge of urgency to this perennial question. What’s important for Christians to remember when they go to the polling booth – if they go at all? The first thing to remember is that politics is secondary. For Christians, what’s far more important is to simply be the church – to live out day by day what it means to be a faithful disciple of Jesus. The example of the Christian church of the first three centuries demonstrates how powerful and effective the church’s mere existence can be, as we will see below. All the same, it does not follow that Christians should withdraw from political engagement. This temptation can be powerful, especially this year, as we see how exceedingly nasty, vicious, dishonest, and depressing politics can become. As a result, many good Christians conclude that we should just turn our backs on the whole messy business. That, I believe, is a mistake for two reasons: one practical, one theological. In practical terms, history teaches that political decisions can have a huge impact for good or bad on the lives of billions. Think of Womb to Tomb Imagining a Completely Pro-Life Politics R O N A L D J . S I D E R Brendan Hoffman/Getty Images