Twitter and Trump: Why Christians in Politics want to end 'hyperbole and caricature' in debate

Twitter and Trump: Two aspects of modern politics that have fuelled toxicity and embittered debate.

But a new initiative has been launched to overcome the so-called Trump-effect that has emerged in political engagement. The cross-party group Christians in Politics have launched a "disagree with tea" video in an attempt to overcome the "hyperbole and caricature" that surround politics.

Gareth Wallace, from the Conservative Christian Fellowship, speaks with his counterparts in the Labour and Liberal Democrat parties for the Christians in Politics video.Christians in Politics

The video features Andy Flannagan, director of Christians on the Left, Gareth Wallace, executive director of the Conservative Christian Fellowship and Sarah Dickson, director of the Liberal Democrat Christian Forum.

"We are team players in our own individual tribes," Wallace says in the video. "But as Christians we owe our primary allegiance to a higher King."

Flannagan says: "For us it has to be Kingdom before tribe every time, but that is not always easy to work out."

Asked what that means in practice, Flannagan told Christian Today it was about avoiding a knee-jerk tribal reaction to any situation and instead responding after reflection and prayer.

"We need better tone in our political discourse but better tone only comes from better relationships," he said.

"When you put relationships with political enemies first, you will continue to disagree but better language and better discourse will follow. What happens is a sharpening of each other's opinions in a better way."

The video is part of a wider effort from Christians in Politics to encourage "disagreeing well". Flannagan said good disagreement was something Christians could offer as an alternative to "the punch and judy we see at things like Prime Minister's Questions".

The attempt to get Christians involved in politics is supported by the Archbishop of Canterbury. In a foreward to a book by Flannagan encouraging Christians to "show up", Justin Welby said: "Politics would be extremely dull if we all agreed on everything. There is joy in diversity, and we should not be afraid to disagree with one another, but in a way that models the reconciling love of Jesus.

"Good disagreement is a gift that the church can offer the world around it - and our political system could certainly do with a healthy does of it."

The video also encourages Christians to join a political party and engage in the debate.

"If we're not careful we can easily be lured into thinking any difference of opinion is a split or a rift," Dickson says in the video.

"We start to think acceptance and agreement are the same thing. It just takes reading one newspaper article and you can be forgiven for thinking any two people or two groups of people who disagree on an issue can't also accept anything.

"That is just not the case. We can disagree and extend the arms of embrace at the same time."

You can watch the full video below and for more information on the Christians in Politics page on the EU debate, click here.