Christians need to stop believing these 'myths' about getting involved in politics, faith leader says
Dr. Jeff Myers of Summit Ministries releases video series debunking common 'myths' Christians believe about politics
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}A Christian ministry is encouraging people of faith to not stand on the "sidelines" when it comes to participating in politics and the upcoming election.
"Christians in general are hesitant to get involved in the political process, mainly because they believe myths about Christianity and its involvement in a nation, or they're actively being persuaded by people to not be involved at the present time because the process is unkind and rife with corruption," Dr. Jeff Myers told Fox News Digital.
Myers is president of Colorado-based Summit Ministries, a Christian organization that has, since 1962, trained and equipped the next generation's leaders with a "Biblical worldview, so they know how to stand for truth and fight against evil and injustice and bring flourishing and blessing to the world," he explained.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The faith organization has just put out a new video series debunking misconceptions believers have about getting involved in politics. Myers shared with Fox News Digital these four common "myths" and why Christians shouldn't believe them.
Dr. Jeff Myers debunked four "myths" that Christians believe about getting involved in politics. (istock)
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1. God doesn't care about politics
"God's glory covers all of the earth. God cares about everything," Myers said. "And specifically he cares about people. He cares about his image bearers. So to say that God doesn't care about our political process is to misunderstand what God does in the world."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}2. It's not my problem
"The second myth that a lot of people believe is, 'it's not my problem; so let the people in Washington, D.C. bicker all they want. That doesn't have anything to do with me,'" Myers said.
"But the reality is we live in a Constitutional Republic. And as Abraham Lincoln said, we have the government of the people, by the people and for the people. So it is our problem."
Some Christians stay away from politics because it is so divisive, Myers said. (ISTOCK)
"It is something we have to be engaged with. First of all, by voting, although I think voting is just the starting gun of the race, it's not the race itself. And second of all, by recognizing that the citizens in the kingdom of God will always be the best citizens in the kingdom of man, because they recognize that human beings are not God, and so they can hold human beings accountable when they do wrong," he continued.
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3. Choosing between the lesser of two evils, is evil itself
"I try to show people it's not about choosing the lesser of two evils. It's about lessening evil," Myers said.
"So I don't have to make a decision that, well, both candidates are advocating things that I don't prefer. So I guess I just have to hold my nose and vote for one of them. That's not true."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}A smartphone screen shows the live broadcast of the debate between Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Trump in Beijing. (VCG/VCG via Getty Images)
"We can figure out which candidate is most likely to lessen evil when it comes to diminishing life, when it comes to diminishing liberty, when it comes to diminishing the value of property. We're not seeking a perfect world. We're not utopians. But we are trying to figure out how to lessen evil so that people can be more free," he continued.
4. Politics doesn't matter to what is really important
"I do think politics is downstream from the worldviews that we hold to be true. But it's actually an institution that traditionally Christianity has taught is ordained by God," Myers said.
He argued that the government must co-exist with the family and the church and not overstep its boundaries, but should support the family and the church's roles in society.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"The role of government needs to be well-defined so that it doesn't overrun its sovereign boundaries and that it actually can support the family in its economic and educational pursuits and can support the church, [or] at least recognize the church's validity as the conscience of society," he said.
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A voter fills out a mail-in ballot at the Board of Elections office in the Allegheny County Office Building on Nov. 3, 2022, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Jeff Swensen/Getty Images)
Myers says that they also put out the series because they discovered around half of the students they worked with this past summer were first-time voters who were "confused" about how to vote in the upcoming election.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"They want to make the right decision, but they're discouraged about the prospects of America's success in the future. And they wanted guidance," he said.
According to research organization CIRCLE, 41 million "Zoomers" (or members of Gen Z) will be eligible to vote in this year's race, meaning eight million will have "aged into the electorate" by the time Trump and Harris go head-to-head this November.
Fox News' Yael Halon contributed to this report.