I have never understood the stance of some conservative-thinking Christians on government, particularly in the US, where a caring government that undertakes its responsibilities to act fairly for all its citizens, its taxpayers, to protect them from the interests of big corporations and banks, is seen as interfering, controlling, dictating or nannying. If they are elected by us, from our own citizens, for our own governance, and that by democratic consent, what is wrong with regulating for the balance of power to be spread more evenly for the hard-working 99.9% of us who are NOT super-rich? The sort of government advocated by the tea-party in the US and the Thatcherite No Turning Back group here in the UK, is one that deregulates to the point that nobody has any real recourse to government protection at all, and the most powerful individuals and companies wipe the floor with us.

And we will work harder and harder, for less and less pay, and more and more misery. Socialism isn’t ALL evil, you know, despite what millionaire preachers might tell you. And capitalism? Well, is it not ‘the love of money’? See 1Tim.6:10 if this is not familiar to you.

Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world. (James 1:27)

If we allow ourselves to lose sight of how this is the only true religion we should adhere to i.e. that we simply should care and provide for the weak and defenseless, surely then we ARE becoming corrupted and ‘polluted by the world’ – I don’t believe the two sentences separated by ‘and’ are really semantically distinct; they form the same statement.

Grace be with you.