The Christian party

With the day of decision looming on Thursday and no great clarity as to the final outcome, there is perhaps greater interest in this election than there has been since 1997. Whatever your views of the different parties (and indeed the whole process), it's certainly refreshing to have a 3-horse race, with the media for once being forced to take seriously the Liberal Democrats.

It probably says something about our culture that the turning point for Nick Clegg came not with the publication of the party manifesto but on the back of strong performances in the TV debates. Has style trumped substance? Perhaps so, in our celebrity-obsessed culture.

But the emergence of Nick Clegg also reflects the increasing similarity between the parties. I'm sure those who are more politically astute would still detect very significant differences between them but it does seem as if there has been a growing centralisation in politics. And if the parties seem to be saying very similar things, then issues of style and character become much more significant. The debate seems to be focused on whether we need something new/fresh/energetic, or an expereinced safe pair of hands to guide us through stormy waters.

Alongside the big three, we have a number of smaller parties which tend to focus on particular issues or concerns - including The Christian Party, fielding candidates in 71 constituencies throughout the UK (including Bath). The party was founded in 2004 and states as its purpose 'proclaiming the lordship of Christ'.

This raises a number of questions, one of which is this: should we (as Christians) instinctively get behind something which carries the label 'Christian'? To some extent the answer is obviously 'no' - at the very least we would want to find out whether the organisation or project was in fact 'Christian'. But that raises a further question, because the word 'Christian' means 'follower of Jesus' ('little Christ') - so what does it mean for an organisation or political party to follow Jesus? It must mean more than simply having an orthodox evangelical statement of faith.

It must surely mean 'being Jesus', reflecting his values and priorities, seeing people as Jesus sees them, addressing the issues he addressed. And when we think of it in this way, it's possible to see that all the mainstream parties reflect this to some degree or another.

Politics has been described as 'the art of the possible'. In casting our vote, it seems to me that we should be supporting the individual and/or party we believe to be most capable of providing leadership to our nation which is in line with Jesus and his vision of the kingdom of God. Whether or not they bear the label 'Christian'.