Chapter II: Political Relations

1. A pastor should always himself exercise the elective franchise and should encourage Christians to do so; in no other way can we have a Christian government. On this continent the great experiment is in progress of a government strictly by the people, and in the absence of religion and virtue it must prove a failure. Christian men should not neglect their duties as citizens; it imperils the life of the nation and the welfare of the Christian cause. The pulpit, therefore, should press on the church the duty of seeking the elevation of good men to official station. 2. As a pastor the minister is bound to refuse all party obligations and all partisan use of pastoral influence; for he is pastor of the whole church, chosen and supported without reference to political distinctions among the members. But as an individual he is entitled to his political preferences and his just political influence; with this the church has no right to interfere. At the same time, it is wise for the pastor to avoid excited political discussions, especially in public places, and quietly to exercise his political rights and perform the duties of a citizen. 3. When public questions have a strictly moral side, I think the pulpit should not be silent, but should seek, as on moral questions in general, to give direction to public sentiment in favor of honesty, truth, and virtue. Occasional sermons, therefore, presenting the obligations of citizens and applying the moral teachings of Christianity to questions on which Christian citizens are called to act, are the duty of the pastor; but the time and manner and spirit of such sermons require the exercise of the most careful judgment.