(RNS) Here’s how Jesus dealt with health care: he provided it to anyone who asked. He dealt with immigrants by becoming one, and dealt with the powerful by taking the side of the weak.

Jesus combated entrenched privilege by forming radically inclusive circles of friends. And he answered fear by mounting a colt and riding bravely into Jerusalem, where he knew suffering and death awaited him.

What part of that lived-out gospel don’t we get?

In these convulsive modern times, we face questions that are inordinately complex and divisive. Reasonable people disagree fervently, as do people of faith. On the issues facing us, there is no single “patriotic” answer and no single “Christian” answer.

True patriotism preserves freedom of debate, the taking of votes, respect for fellow citizens, and the rule of law. The Christian approach is to sow seeds of hope and love, even when seeds of despair and hatred promise a more satisfying harvest.

Democracy requires that all who care to stand in the public square must be able to disagree without turning violent. We must also remember that our democracy is grounded in “liberty and justice for all,” not in getting our way.

Some will lose the votes that follow those debates. We are so evenly divided that the margin is likely to be close. That loss will set the stage for the next debate. That is how democracy works.

We must be firm, however, in resisting the cynical use of fear as a political weapon. When politicians distort reality, spread lies, and tap into visceral fears like racial hatred to win votes, the entire nation loses.

For it won’t stop there. Once unleashed, fear becomes the driver in all debates, and a people motivated by fear will turn against their best interests and become easy prey for demagogues promising simple solutions and easy scapegoats in exchange for repression.

In my opinion, the most significant outcome of the yearlong health care fight isn’t the legislation itself. It is the cynical unleashing of fear and appeals to our lowest natures.

We can now expect another year of fearmongering on health care; the stoking of dread in dealing with a mushrooming population of elderly; demands to stop immigration and to erect protectionist barriers against China. To judge by racist epithets shouted against black congressmen, we can expect a tragic souring of race relations and scapegoating of the poor and vulnerable.

A frightened people are a malleable people. Demagogues thrive, while common sense and normal debate are vanquished.

Those who made fear their weapon, as opposed to healthy democratic debate grounded in facts and opinions, should be ashamed of themselves. Instead, they are probably sharpening their knives.

This is the time for Christians to join hands. We, too, are divided on issues like health care reform, immigration, globalization and terrorism. But at the end of the day, the gospel isn’t about our winning or losing the next vote in Congress. It is about Jesus riding bravely into Jerusalem and living out the commandment he gave his followers: “Do not be afraid.”

If we care about this tormented nation and its entire citizenry, we must stand against fear and the cynical stirring of dread as a political weapon. We must spread the word that courage, not fear, is God’s way.

(Tom Ehrich is a writer, church consultant and Episcopal priest based in New York. He is the author of “Just Wondering, Jesus,” and the founder of the Church Wellness Project, http://www.churchwellness.com. His Web site is http://www.morningwalkmedia.com.)