It is good if governments are inspired by a range of Christian values e.g. generosity, social justice, fighting poverty, caring for the vulnerable, environmentalism, and respect for faith, life, marriage, and family. However, too close or direct a connection between Christianity and politics can lead to very unhelpful distortions.

NZCN is politically non-aligned, not least because values that are consistent with Christian faith can be found across the political spectrum, and there are committed Christian believers in a number of political parties. We acknowledge the work of all MPs, and pray for them. We know they all face relentless pressures from many directions.

We congratulate Christopher Luxon, as he takes on the very challenging role of leading the Opposition. It has been disturbing to observe media obsessing over the fact that Luxon is a Christian, as if being a Christian has now become something obnoxious and dangerous. Some interviewers interrogated Luxon about his views on abortion, as if it were now completely unacceptable for anyone to question the ethics of killing the unborn. Some others wrote speculative and deeply uninformed articles about what sinister and extreme things it might mean for someone to be “evangelical”. Was all this a display of secular intolerance?

Author: Dr Stuart Lange

Dr Stuart Lange is the National Director of the NZCN and is a Senior Research Fellow at Laidlaw College, where he was formerly Vice Principal. Stuart wrote and presented the historical DVD documentary Te Rongopai: 200 years of the Gospel in New Zealand, 1814-2014.