Pastors, heed this lesson!

The first church I was ever a member of (and where I became a Christian some 22 years ago) endorsed political candidates. In my naiveté  I accepted the practice as perfectly reasonable. It isn't, and with just an ounce of study, a dash of maturity, and a quick examination of some ominous church history I saw the perils of this precursor to the unbiblical ideas of dominionism and theonomy.

Today we have a dual lesson as to the practical risks:

Kayla Moore posts support from 50 pastors; 2 ask for their names to be removed

Kayla Moore, wife of Alabama Senate candidate Roy Moore, shared a letter on Facebook over the weekend indicating support from more than 50 Alabama pastors. Not all the pastors said they gave permission for their name to be be used on what appears to be a recycled letter from before the GOP primary, however.

If a pastor is going to endorse a candidate publically (and he shouldn't) the worst kind of candidate to endorse is one who is garrulously trumpeting his faithful Christianity (as Moore did) as a campaign plank. Christians are not encouraged but nor are they prohibited to become, as the great confessions say, a "civil magistrate." If they chose to do so they should not put their Christianity in the closet (on the contrary as that would be deceitful). However they should not run a campaign that is based on "vote for me, because I'm a Christian."

It's just a disaster waiting to happen.