You could not write a script like this. Amid a pandemic of epic proportions, we have complete gridlock in Washington and one of the most heated political elections in American history. The situation intensified with the death of Ruth Bader Ginsberg and the confirmation battle over her successor just weeks before the election.
The political pressure is so intense, and the gridlock so constant, because we believe the stakes are too high. Political compromise is not an option; it is winning at all costs. As a nation, we believe that what happens politically is the only way to achieve our desired ends, whether on the right or the left. Amid all this political chaos, is there a place for a Christian voice? How should Christians think and act? Is there a “Christian” view of politics that can help us, and maybe also help our culture? Yes! Christians have a very hopeful and effective response to this gridlock and chaos. After all, the Bible is a political book, and Christianity is political.
THE BIBLE IS A POLITICAL BOOK
You heard me right: the Bible is a political book, and Christianity is political. But when I use the term political, I am not talking about the Republican or Democratic parties, and I am not even talking about conservative or liberal policies. The term “political” simply means how society is ordered and governed and how resources are distributed. Unfortunately, Christians and non-Christians have become accustomed to thinking that Christianity or any religion has no place in the public square, that spirituality is a private matter, politics a public matter, and the two should never meet. But that thinking is contrary to what we see throughout Scripture. Spirituality (properly understood) is very concerned about political matters, about how society is ordered and governed, and how resources are distributed. As Martin Luther King, Jr. said, “A religion that professes a concern for the souls of men and is not equally concerned about the slums that damn them, the economic conditions that strangle them, and the social conditions that cripple them, is a spiritually moribund religion.”[1]
In the same way, good politics should be spiritual. If politics is not based on underlying human values and spirituality, then we get exactly what we have today: power-grabbing, deadlock, identity politics, and chaos. Unless politics is spiritual, it “loses its moral structure and purpose and turns into an affair of group interest and personal ambition. Government comes to the aid only of the well organized and influential….Political action thus comes to be carried out for the sake of pleasure, power and privilege.”[2] The values underlying American politics, such as human dignity, equality, liberty, and responsibility, came from Christian roots. As these Christian roots become more tenuous, the support for the values of human dignity, equality, freedom and responsibility also become tenuous. Western society is living on the “fumes” of Christian values without adopting or accepting the underlying basis for those values–the unconditional love of God–and the resulting chaos we see today is a foreshadowing of darker days to come. That is why now, more than ever, Christians need to adopt a Christian view of politics and be the salt and light in a decaying world.
What does that mean to adopt a “Christian view of politics”? How should a Christian view politics, and what should shape a Christian’s engagement in political matters? Can Christians be Democrats? Can Christians be Republicans? Can Christians provide anything to the public debate that can help break the deadlock and promote good government? The answer to these questions is “Yes!” but it is a qualified yes. Three concepts should guide a Christian’s view of politics:
THE EXALTED INDIVIDUAL
Western politics is founded on the idea that each individual has dignity and worth. As the Declaration of Independence declares, “All men [people] are created equal.” Political philosopher Glenn Tinder calls this the idea of the “exalted individual,” and he asserts, “It is hardly too much to say that the idea of the exalted individual is the spiritual center of Western politics.”[3] This idea of the exalted individual grows directly from the Christian concept of God’s unconditional love for every single human. If God exalts each individual in such manner, then governments must “treat individuals with care,” they should be given equal rights, they should be cared for and considered.[4] Thus, on any issue, Christians must ask: how are human beings, made in the image of God, affected by this policy? Are the humans in this situation being treated with dignity and worth simply because they are humans, created in God’s image? But there is also another concept we have to keep in mind when considering politics, and that is what Glenn Tinder calls the “fallen individual.”
THE FALLEN INDIVIDUAL
Humans are a paradox: we can be both good (and sometimes very good) and bad (and sometimes very bad). And there is plenty of evidence that we are flawed. However, we tend to think it is other people who are wrong, not “us.” We humans usually have a higher view of ourselves than we ought. Thus, we think the way to change society is for the “right” people to be in power (i.e., us) to put in place the “right” programs, and to do that, we must vilify those we consider the “bad people” who are also vying for power. The Christian concept of the fallen individual honestly acknowledges that none of us has all the answers. Christians reject the naive notion that government can solve all the world’s problems or that my party has all the answers. Instead, a perspective for Christians to adopt is what Tinder calls the “Prophetic Stance.”
THE “PROPHETIC STANCE”
The Prophetic Stance fuses (i) the concept that every human has dignity and worth bestowed by God with (ii) the fact that every human has a pride and selfishness problem. The Prophetic Stance is not apolitical, but it is hesitant and critical when it comes to politics. We should be engaged in politics because political action can affect humans, either for good or for bad, and we should emulate the love of God in our care for humans. But we need to be critical about the motives and means of any political party. As Tinder says, our obligation to God requires us to take a political stance that is ambiguous and unique in the world: we should be “humane and engaged, but also hesitant and critical. Christianity implies skepticism concerning political ideals and plans.” In other words, for Christians to be completely wedded to any political party or any political ideology is idolatry. The Prophetic Stance means that if we are Christians, we think and act Christianly first, and then as a Democrat, Republican, or Independent. Our commitments to any political party should be “critical and qualified.” We should not be afraid to criticize the agendas of any political party, testing them against the truth and unconditional love of God for all humans.
CHRISTIANS ARE ALWAYS HOPEFUL
The Prophetic Stance is hopeful for the future despite humanity’s problems because it leaves room for God in history. One of the problems with politics is that too much trust is given to political action as if programs and politics can change humans and fix everything. As James Davison Hunter points out, “Politics is just one way to engage the world and, arguably, not the highest, best, most effective, nor most humane way to do so. This doesn’t mean that Christians shouldn’t ‘vote their values’ or be active in political affairs. It is essential, however, to demythologize politics, to see politics for what it is and what it can and cannot do and not place on it unrealistic expectations.”[5] Christians know that the transformation of society begins with the transformation of individuals through the unconditional love of God. And so as Christians, we are not panicked if our party should lose an election. As Christians, we should be careful not to outsize the importance of who is in office, as if “THIS ELECTION IS THE MOST IMPORTANT THING IN THE WORLD!”[6] To take that attitude communicates to the world that Christians “really are just a branch of this or that party. It says that God is not so big, after all. That is why we have to scream.”[7] But Christians don’t scream; we are gentle. Screaming comes from fear. We can be calm because God is in control, and he is Lord. As the apostle Peter said, “Do not fear what they fear; do not be frightened. But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give the reason for the hope that you have, but do this with gentleness and respect” (1 Peter 3:14-15).
Christians are hopeful. We can leave room for God’s judgments in history. The judgments of God in history assure us that the love of God is the foundation of the universe, and we can bet our lives on God’s love. The most important things we can do politically are: be open to God and seek to be passionately involved in what he is doing in history; and remember that he has promised to act primarily through his church, those whom he is transforming and working through to transform humanity.
So Christians should be humane and engaged, but critical and hesitant about any political party or social or global agenda. We understand that the hope of this world is in defending the dignity of every human being. Still, we also realize that every human (including ourselves) has a pride and selfishness problem and so political action won’t fix everything. But we don’t despair, we leave room for God, and we leave room (as God does) for humans to change by His grace. That is our “Prophetic Stance.” In the next post, we will talk about some practical things Christians can do politically.
For an in-depth exploration of these topics, take a look at my book, The Judge and the Left-Footed Leaders: Judges and Ruth for a Post-Modern World, available on Amazon.
[1] Martin Luther King, Jr., Strength to Love, (Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1963), 149.
[2] Glenn Tinder, The Political Meaning of Christianity (Baton Rouge, La.: Louisiana State University Press, 1989), 199.
[3] Ibid, 33.
[4] Ibid.
[5] James Davison Hunter, To Change the World: The Irony, Tragedy, & Possibility of Christianity in the Late Modern World (New York: Oxford University Press, 2010),186.
[6] See Jonathan Leeman, How the Nations Rage: Rethinking Faith and Politics in a Divided Age (Nashville, TN.: Nelson Books, 2018), 164.
[7] Ibid. See also J. Paul Nyquist, Is Justice Possible: The Elusive Pursuit of What is Right (Chicago: Moody, 2017).