A comment on this post the other day made the following claim about poverty:

I know that in most cases, it is a mind change that is needed and that is where Jesus would focus…not on the government.

This question of changing minds versus involving the government got me to thinking - what criteria can Christians use to determine whether or not the government should act on issues important to our faith?

Jesus was concerned with religious authorities rather than worldly powers. He doesn't really address our relationship with government other than to say we should pay taxes. The Old Testament descriptions of a kingship established directly by God or Paul's writings on submitting to authority under the Roman Empire represent very different models than our modern democracy in which citizens have the right to and the expectation of influencing their elected government.

Yet most Christians I've encountered - heck, most Americans in general (besides libertarians) - don't have a specific philosophy to guide how they approach the role of government. Most people seem to fall in line with the stances of the political parties they support, which follow seemingly arbitrary guidelines of when government regulation is necessary and when it infringes on freedom. Is there a better way? When it comes to the issues we're passionate about - abortion, poverty, the environment, gay marriage, economics, the death penalty, human rights, etc. - how can the Bible and/or Christian tradition inform not just the positions we take on these concerns but also the way we approach the role of the government in addressing these issues?