In recent years, the intersection of religion and politics has become increasingly fraught, particularly within evangelical Christianity. What was once a message of love and redemption has transformed into a tool for wielding power and control as some evangelical leaders and groups have aligned themselves closely with political movements and agendas, often at the expense of the gospel’s true message. This troubling trend has not gone unnoticed, with voices both within and outside the church calling attention to the distortion of the gospel message.

Tim Alberta, a prominent voice in American political journalism, highlights this in this week’s episode of the Good Faith podcast, urging Christians to stay focused on the core tenets of their faith amidst the turbulent waters of political culture. At the heart of his message is a plea to reclaim the essence of Christianity from those who have used it to advance agendas that seem far removed from the teachings of Jesus Christ. This episode is part two of a talk given at a convention of the Council of Christian Colleges and Universities, and explores how both older and younger generations can work together to bridge what feels like a growing gap between American politics and missional evangelism.

The gospel of Jesus Christ is a message of hope and reconciliation — as Alberta points out, Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount was political, and yet transcended partisan politics and cultural divides. When the cross is wielded as a weapon of control rather than a symbol of love, it betrays the very essence of Christianity. Tim Alberta’s call to refocus on the gospel serves as a timely reminder for all Christians to reclaim and embody the radical love that lies at the heart of our faith. By doing so, believers can contribute to healing and renewal within the church and society at large, reflecting the transformative power of Christ’s message in a world desperately in need of grace.

This excerpt has been edited for length and clarity.

Curtis Chang: The things that are actually happening in our schools, in our neighborhoods, local crime, local culture, relationships between ethnic groups in your own city – those are political issues. That’s what politics is. Politics is the polis. The life of the community, right? And we’ve so made it about national partisan identities and national elections. We’ve lost the essence and heart of politics, which is how do we live together as local communities?

Tim Alberta: I have described politics being to the Christian oftentimes, like Las Vegas is to the suburban dad. Which is to say that it is a self-contained escape where the rules of their everyday life do not apply. So the way that you would treat your neighbor, the way that you would treat your coworker,  the way that you treat your spouse in your everyday life, and your own sort of personal ethics around alcohol, around sexual sin, all of those things, right? Well, what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas, right? It’s this escape. And politics has become that escape for far too many Christians.

Why do we create this permission structure to say that in politics, we can talk in ways, behave in ways that would never transfer over to any other area of our life? We adopt this zero sum, ends-justify-the-means mentality in politics, that we don’t adopt anywhere else. And so when I’m talking with young people in particular, what I always try to emphasize is that what happens in politics does not stay in politics. That everybody can see you.