From a Facebook friend:

“We don’t need more Christian politicians, but we need more Christian politicians.

I am disappointed that, when Christians get into politics, there is little evidence of a Christian agenda in terms of doing justice and loving covenant faithfulness. I am sure that this is what leads people to believe that Christian politicians cynically use their church involvement in order to capture the Christian vote and the vote of those sympathetic to religion.

My sympathies are generally towards the left of the political spectrum, as I believe that God is nurturing and accepting rather than punitive. That doesn’t mean that I don’t occasionally (I think it was around 1996)

agree with the Coalition’s policies, and I have more than once remarked to the Trotskyites that, as a pastor, I fully agree with some comment in one of their newssheets. But I think I have to retain the freedom to critique all parties and their representatives.

We should never assume that having Christians in politics will necessarily lead to better decisions; and many who promote the idea that Christian politicians are a good thing really mean that they expect Christians to conform to certain political agendas, which is a debasement of the Christian message. We must never be conformed to this world!

I think that where (right-wing National) Barnaby Joyce gets his support is that people see him as a man of conscience, even when he has a ratbag opinion. If more Christians were like that, then they would make a difference.

On the other hand, when (right-wing Festival of Light) Fred Nile goes off on a tangent, he is not viewed as a man of conscience in the same way, but as a dogmatist. Perhaps it is the unpredictability of Joyce as opposed to the predictability of Nile which makes the difference.”