This is the second of a three-part blog addressing the question of how Christians should respond to a very secularized culture that, in places, is hostile to Christianity.
One response is what has come to be known as “Christian nationalism,” and the first blog offered a critique of that viewpoint. This second blog will contrast the views of two authors who have suggested that our current time in the United States is reminiscent of the rise of Adolf Hitler and Nazi Germany in the 1930s. Both authors also suggest we look at the response during those times of a young German pastor, Dietrich Bonhoeffer. Bonhoeffer is an excellent role model for Christians today; please get and read (or re-read if it has been a while) his book The Cost of Discipleship.[1] Although these two authors start with Bonhoeffer, they differ in how they think Christians should respond in these times, and this blog will review their different approaches.
Letter to the American Church
The first is Eric Metaxas’ recent book, Letter to the American Church. I have read and greatly benefited from other books by Metaxas, but this one should be read cautiously and critically. Metaxas begins his book by rightly affirming that Christians cannot retreat from public and political discourse and action. I wholeheartedly agree that Christians need to be involved publicly and politically.[2] The question is not should Christians be concerned about and involved politically; the question is how we should be involved politically. My concern is that Metaxas seems to justify un-Christian behavior in the name of obtaining political power “for the larger good” (p. 120). In so doing, he distorts Bonhoeffer’s involvement in the assassination of Adolf Hitler and uses this non-equivalent distortion to endorse an “ends justifies the means” approach to politics in the United States today.
Steve Bateman has written an excellent critical review of Letter to the American Church.[3] Bateman points out that Metaxas’ encouragement to use certain means to achieve political power are contrary to our calling as Christians. For example, Metaxas says we shouldn’t be worried about telling a lie for a “larger good” (p. 120) or voting for someone “whom others may criticize for being guilty of this or that” (p. 121). Metaxas also says “The Scriptures talk about ‘being at peace with all men’ and about ‘becoming all things to all people’ so that Christ can be known. But at what point do our efforts in this direction begin to backfire?” (p. 90). That statement didn’t sit well with me—that the Word of God and the ways of Jesus can’t be trusted and so we have to do things the way the world does? No–we don’t have to sacrifice integrity, honesty, disciplined speech, and love when we are involved in political discourse, and we should hold accountable political candidates who do.
Metaxas also seems to suggest that Bonhoeffer’s involvement in the plot to kill Hitler is an example for Christians to emulate in using violence if necessary (p. 109ff). While Bonhoeffer concluded that violence was necessary to end the murderous Nazi regime as a last resort in the middle of genocide and as Germany plunged the world into a world war, we are at the present a far cry from that in the United States. Violence cannot be a default action of Christians. As Jesus said, “All who live by the sword will die by the sword” (Matt. 26:52). Christians are called to be peacemakers and ambassadors of reconciliation. As Bateman points out, Metaxas’ words are “reckless and dangerous in our polarized cultural moment.”
Metaxas also doesn’t recognize nuances about political issues and that well-meaning Christians might not always agree with his particular approach (such as how churches dealt with Covid or how to address racial issues). I got the feeling that if I didn’t agree with him on exactly how to approach a political topic, then I was somehow less of a Christian. He sets forth the premise that Christians should not put their heads in the sand but should be involved in cultural and political matters—a premise Christians should agree with. But then he attempts to tie this noble premise to his certain brand of politics by equating those who disagree with his particular approach to politics, or his chosen candidates, to the German pastors in the 1930s who were complicit by their silence. As Bateman comments: “If, as a matter of conscience, pastors choose doctrinal integrity over political solidarity? Well, you know, Hitler. If pastors don’t publicly endorse candidates on the right? Well, Hitler. If pastors acknowledge nuance in political arguments? Hitler. This kind of lazy thinking and careless accusation (which may typify some conservative talk-show hosts) falls far short of the biblical standard for godly speech.”
Metaxas equates the dangerous German nationalism in the 1930s with leftist propaganda today. But Christians should be cautious about being exploited from either the left or the right. What Bonhoeffer and the Christian church in Germany were actually facing in the 1930s was a political strongman who was exploiting the church and Christianity for nationalistic purposes.
Another concern I had was his pitting political involvement against evangelism, which he explores in his chapter titled “The Idol of Evangelism” (I cringed when I read that). Bateman writes, “Metaxas is concerned Christians are using evangelism as an excuse to avoid politics. I’m concerned Christians are using politics as an excuse to avoid evangelism. If many of today’s evangelicals were as passionate about telling people about Jesus as they were about telling people how to vote, we might see a genuine culture-transforming revival.”
I agree with Metaxas’ basic premise that Christians cannot retreat from the public sphere. What I fear is that Metaxas is encouraging us to think that politics is the primary method of Christians to affect culture, and that the church is justified in using the same methods of the world, including belittling speech, lying, and violence. One of Metaxas’ heroes was Charles Colson, the former Nixon administration counsel who became a Christian and founded Prison Fellowship. Colson did have a lot to say about Christian involvement in political matters, but not in the manner Metaxas thinks. Bateman includes an excellent quote from Colson, which we would be wise to heed:
If we have learned anything in recent decades, it is that we should not roll out heavy-handed political movements that recklessly toss around God-and-country cliches and scare off our secular neighbors. Our goal is not to grab power and impose our views. Instead, we should act through principled persuasion and responsible participation.
I think it would also be wise to listen to Bonhoeffer about some of these same issues. The following are some quotes from Bonhoeffer regarding how we, as Christians, should respond to our culture:
Our adversaries seek to root out the Christian church and the Christian faith because they cannot live side by side with us, because they see in every word we utter and every deed we do…a condemnation of their own words and deeds. [But] we do not reciprocate their hatred and their contention, although they would like it better if we did and so sink to their own level. And how is the battle to be fought? What makes Christians different from other [people] is the “peculiar,” the “extraordinary.” What is the precise nature of this [peculiar]? It is the life described in the beatitudes…the way of self-renunciation, of utter love, of absolute purity, truthfulness and meekness. It is unreserved love for our enemies, for the unloving and unloved, love for our religious, political, and personal adversaries. In every case it is the love which was fulfilled in the cross of Christ.[4]
Beautiful Resistance: The Joy of Conviction in a Culture of Compromise
The second book also uses Bonhoeffer’s Germany as a launching pad, but it takes things in a completely different, Christ-centered direction, and I highly recommend it. The book is Beautiful Resistance: The Joy of Conviction in a Culture of Compromise, written by Manhattan pastor Jon Tyson. Tyson cites the pressure of nationalism the German church was under and the temptation to compromise the ways and methods of Jesus. The nationalism that Bonhoeffer faced was calling for a “kingdom of hardness and cruelty.” Bonhoeffer knew that Christians must propose a “superior discipline” if the Nazis were to be defeated: “You have to be stronger than these tormentors that you find everywhere today.”[5] But the “superior discipline” Bonhoeffer was calling for was Christian discipleship, of submitting to Jesus and the “Jesus way” of living in our world. It is being strengthened by the living Christ and empowered by the Spirit of the Living God, not by the fighting and hateful spirit of this age. This superior discipline does not use the weapons of this world, but the weapons of righteousness: purity, understanding, patience, kindness, sincere love, and truthful speech (see 2 Cor. 6:6-10; 2 Cor. 10:4-5). What does this Christian discipline look like now? Tyson recommends 8 disciplines, and here are three of those he mentions:
Hospitality Must Resist Fear. Nationalistic politicians use fear to attain political power. And they mostly try to make us fearful of other people who are not like us. In that manner, they fail to approach humanity and especially immigrants from a Biblical point of view. As Tyson writes, “My deep concern is that our current political and social debates—not only about immigration but also about much else—are happening among Christians without a biblical understanding of these areas. As a result, the voice of Jesus is being drowned out by the cacophony of fear.”[6] This is not the way of Jesus. As New Testament scholar Joshua Jipp writes, “The entire ministry of Jesus is appropriately capture in the phrase ‘divine hospitality to the stranger and sinner.’”[7]
Honor Must Resist Contempt. Sadly, our culture is now marked by contempt, and both the political left and the right are guilty of it. Tyson says the solution, and the Jesus way, is to show honor to all. “Honor is the culture of heaven. If we’re going to show the world a better way and help ease the widespread contempt of our day, we’ll have to be the leaders in showing people respect.”[8]
Love Must Resist Hate. Jesus said that the mark of a Christian is love, and it is the love of God that is the power God uses to change people and this world (the cross is the power and the wisdom of God—1 Cor. 1:18ff). As Christians, we must be on the offensive against hate because hate is all around us. As Tyson notes, “Hate is being cultivated one social media post at a time.”[9] But Christians are part of a counterculture; we are to “love our enemies, pray for them, and do good to them” (Matt. 6:45).
We live in a world that is very much like the culture of the first few centuries of Christianity, a pagan world that was hostile to Christian beliefs. Tyson’s book reminds us that so much of what we need to know and do was already written for us right there in the New Testament—the words of Jesus and the apostles. Can I remind you of some of these, which are as relevant for our times as they were in the first century:
“Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity. Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone.” (Col. 4:5, 6)
“Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us…For it is God’s will that by doing good you should silence the ignorant talk of foolish men….In your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect, keeping a clear conscience so that those who speak maliciously against your good behavior in Christ may be ashamed of their slander.” (1 Peter 2:12, 15; 3:15,16)
[1] Other Bonhoeffer writings worth reading are Life Together and Meditations on the Cross.
[2] I mentioned these thoughtful books in my last blog, but they are worth reading: Jonathan Leeman, Political Church: The Local Assembly as Embassy of Christ’s Rule (Downers Grove, Il: InterVarsity Press, 2016) and How the Nations Rage: Rethinking Faith and Politics in a Divided Age (Nashville, Tn: Nelson Books, 2018); Glenn Tinder, The Political Meaning of Christianity (Baton Rouge, La: Louisiana State University Press, 1989); Patrick Miller and Keith Simon, Truth over Tribe: Pledging Allegiance to the Lamb, not the Donkey or the Elephant (Colorado Springs, Colo: David C. Cook, 2022); see also Jonathan Leeman and Andy Naselli, How Can I Love Church Members with Different Politics? (Wheaton, Ill: Crossway Books, 2020).
[3] Steve Bateman, “Preach the Word and Don’t Get Played,” Gospel Coalition, https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/profile/steve-bateman/.
[4] Dietrich Bonhoeffer, The Cost of Discipleship (New York: Macmillan, 1949), 168-170.
[5] Charles Marsh, Strange Glory: A Life of Dietrich Bonhoeffer (New York: Vantage Books, 2014), 256-57.
[6] Jon Tyson, Beautiful Resistance: The Joy of Conviction in a Culture of Compromise (Colorado Springs, Colo: Multnomah Press, 2020), 83.
[7] Joshua Jipp, Saved by Faith and Hospitality (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 2017), 22.
[8] Tyson, 97.
[9] Tyson, 116.