This is a question that should be in the forefront of every Christian mind in America right now. With the upcoming elections in the next year, we need to carefully consider how we are going to use our vote and who we're going to let influence us in this decision. I'll give you a hint: if you hear it from a pulpit, then you need to do two things: first, reject whatever advice is being given and second, never return to that church again. The pastor has proven his inability to teach, let alone understand scripture.
So how do I feel? You guessed it, I believe theology (and the Church for that matter) has no place in forming public policy, especially within the political realm. Please allow me to explain myself...
First, the Kingdom of God and the Kingdom of The World are two distinctly different kingdoms. One is based on a model of a servant-leader, or a “Power Under” (that is, they get their “power” by coming under people and lifting them up through servanthood, love, etc). The other kingdom is exactly the opposite, it is a “Power Over” model. Whether that person in power is elected, self-declared, or born into their role, they still rule in a position of having power over the people. No government could succeed in a “Power Under” model, they would simply get destroyed. Because of this, the two kingdoms are like oil and water: they don’t mix, and no matter how hard we try, they never will.
Second, People (ie, Christians) are delusional enough to seem to think that this nation was once a “Christian Nation”. I hate to break it to you, it has never been one, and it will never be one. (The notion is as silly as saying there are such things as Christian Bicycles.) If you are of that train of thought, I would be interested to know when it was that you think this was a Christian Nation, and that we need to bring it back to that state? Was it before or after we shipped millions of Africans over here to be our slaves? Was it before or after we founded our country on the belief that slaves weren’t 100% human? 
Was it before or after we came into this country and raped and slaughtered the native people who lived here before us? Everyone seems to point to some “fact” that our country was founded as a Christian nation, but I see it distinctively different. I see it as a nation that was founded on religious freedom (which, by definition would mean not limiting things to Christianity). They were fleeing religious persecution, and pursuing religious freedom, but they made it a very clear point in the foundation of this nation to keep Church and State separate. How can we call this a “Christian Nation” when our founding fathers clearly wanted the opposite?
Third, just because a law that we have (as Americans) might align itself with similar laws found in the Bible (ie - murder, stealing, etc) doesn’t make it a “Christian” law. There are laws that can be broken without sinning. And there are sins that are not illegal. Follow? For example, no one doubts that someone breaking the laws of segregation set up by the Jim Crow Laws would be considered a sin? No, its an admirable statement of affirming someone’s worth to do so and that is what the Kingdom of God is all about. But was it illegal? Of course. Or how about Christianity? We are lucky enough to have the freedom to worship God, but what about countries who do not have this freedom? What about where it is expressly stated that it is illegal to worship God and to be a Christian? W
hat do you say to those who break that law every day and risk their life to worship the One True God? Are they sinning? On the flip side, the Bible talks about sins such as gluttony, greed and lust which we as Americans struggle with on a consistent basis. Just because there are no laws set up against these, does that mean they are still sins? Of course it does. There are many sins listed in the Bible that we are not trying to turn into laws. And as if I wasn’t off on a tangent already, here’s another one. Why do we feel the need to impress The Bible on those who don’t believe in it? If I were in a restaurant enjoying a glass of wine with my meal and a Muslim approached me and asked me, “Don’t you know the Koran clearly states it is illegal to drink wine?” do you know what my response would be? Interesting thought, but the Koran is not my authority. Similarly, the Bible is not the authority of the nonbelievers. Why do we impose our laws on those around us? Note how Paul preached differently to the Jews than he did the Gentiles. When he preached to the Jews, he quoted the Old Testament - The Law. Why? Because they were under the authority of it… as Jews, it was written for them. But when he preached to the Gentiles, he never quoted the Old Testament. Why? Because it wasn’t their authority. It wasn’t their law. Notice how when Paul preached in Athens in Acts 17. Here you have a heathen society that worships many different gods, to which they have idols to all of them. He didn’t come to them and quote the Jewish Law and rub their noses in their “sin” of idolatry. No, instead he used their “sin” as an “in” to preach the Good News. (”Hey, I noticed your idol to the Unknown God over there… do you want to know who He is? Let me tell you about Him…)
Okay, I’ve got way more I could say but I just realized the mini-novel I’ve written here, so let me wrap it up with this: Theology and The Church have no place in politics. Jesus was not political, and neither should we be. His ministry operated outside the confines of public policy and political law, and so should ours. The moment we need to fall back on trying to pass laws is the moment we have shown our weakness and henceforth forfeited our efforts. I will dare to say this: You can pass all the “Christian Laws” you want, but they will not create a single Christian. And in the wake of such a crusade, what will the collateral damage be? We must weigh the cost…
3 comments:
So this blog is actually part of another forum that I have been writing in, and I just received this response,
"I am a little confused by your comments. Wouldn’t it have been better if public policy had actually been informed by Christian theology when the U. S. was founded and there had been no discrimination or slavery? Just because bad theology played a role doesn’t meant good theology shouldn’t have played a role, does it?
"Perhaps the answer is better theology so we can be citizens more informed by the mind of God in Christ.
"I know that most churches steer away from public discussions of politics but it seems to me that until these issues are discussed and suggestions made as to how a particular political decision could be viewed by good theology we are all just wandering around trying to figure everything out it by ourselves or relying on some vague idea of what a Christian response should be to a political question.
"Just because mistakes have been made in the past doesn’t mean that we shouldn’t try to do better, does it?
And here is my reply...
To me the bottom line is this: the Church has no place in the political arena. Theology is not the answer, so simply adding more of it will not help at all. No matter how “good” or informed it may be.
Who we are and how we, as followers of Christ are to live is beautifully and perfectly outlined in the person of Christ. What better example to follow than Jesus himself? The argument can be made that there was never a more politically “charged” time in history than that which Jesus was born into. The pharisees and sadducees tried to lure Him into political conversations and debates, but he never took the bait.
If Jesus Christ himself never rallied or picketed or encouraged his followers to flood their senators and congressmen with phone calls and emails while preaching out from the pulpit against the evils of some sin and offering the only solution of dealing with it by making it illegal, then where to we get off thinking we can? If we are supposed to follow Christ’s lead, and he never lead us down this path, then what makes us think its okay for us?
The great thing is that we live in a country that asks our opinion: so give it freely. Vote your heart, your conscience and your morals. They ask, so let them hear what you think. I am not saying we shouldn’t allow our theology to form our opinions, but where we go from there is a fine line.
But, we must weigh the cost of how we vote and what the outcome will be. What is the potential fallout or collateral damage? If we band together as the church, how will we be seen? Will we be seen as loving or will we be seen as judgmental? If we carry the banner of Christ, will it be held high for people to admire, or will it be dragged through mud and disgraced by our good intentions?
Why is the church so narrow minded that we see laws as being the only solution to sin? For example, I propose that we abandon our fight against gay rights and abortion. Yes, I said it and I’ll say it again: We need to stop our fight against giving homosexual couples the same rights as heterosexual ones and overturning Roe V Wade. These two issues are what is making the church look like a ship of fools. Now our intentions are good, I have no doubt of that. However, they have caused so much damage that I would say the fallout is borderline irreparable.
Let me clarify something: I am pro-life. All lives, all the time. Not just the unborn, but the born. The young and the old, the guilty and the innocent. Those in their mansions and those on death row. Those in America and those in Iraq. I think abortion is just as atrocious as the holocaust. But why must we pour so much time and energy into simply making it illegal? Are we so delusional to think that this will actually put an end to them?
The reality is this: we live in a fallen world that has been living that reality to the truest extent ever since the beginning of time (or shortly thereafter). Unfortunately the killing of children can be traced back to Biblical times when they were sacrificed on altars and burned alive to heathen gods.
Do you know what would have happened if we had walked into their ceremony with the stone tablets of the ten commandments and pointed out that we aren’t supposed to kill one another? They would have chucked those tablets into the fire and we would have followed immediately after. Why? Because that is not their authority. They don’t care about our laws and they certainly are not going to abide by them.
What we, as the Church, must do is abandon this train of thought that the law is our only option. We must start making some reform where we are offering alternatives to every woman with an unplanned pregnancy. We need to increase our efforts so that the option of an abortion will pale in comparison to the other options that we have made available.
The same goes with the fight against gay marriage and giving homosexuals the same rights as heterosexuals. Again, I believe that homosexuality is a sin. But so is gluttony. Perhaps next time Northshore has a potluck dinner or a fundraiser where a meal is involved, I’ll show up with my signs and start picketing outside the church. I’d look pretty ridiculous, wouldn’t I?
The reason is this: we are not the moral police. This is not our job. It never has been and it never will be… if you don’t believe me, check out the Bible. There is no mention anywhere telling us to judge, shame or condemn our neighbors… in fact, I think you’ll find it says just the opposite. Besides, if we want to really protect the sanctity of marriage, don’t you think we should start within the Church? Last I heard, the divorce rate inside the church was higher than the rate outside. Seems like we’ve got a classic case of pointing out the splinter in someone else’s eye while we’ve got a redwood cedar sticking out of our own.
Because of our taking a public stand against abortion and gay rights, we have failed miserably at demonstrating the love of Christ. I am afraid to know how many people have turned a deaf ear to Jesus based on the example we have shown as what it means to be His followers.
Unfortunately the damage has been done, but we can stop the bleeding. We can abandon this frivolous and doomed campaign of spreading judgment, shame and hatred and adopt a new one. One of love, acceptance and grace. One showing who Jesus REALLY is and what it REALLY looks like to follow Him. But here’s the catch: it can only be done outside of the political arena. Jesus himself showed us how. Are we going to trust his lead?
"Myth of a Christian Nation" by Dr. Greg Boyd should have been quoted here. I attend his church on occasion and that book changed my Christian/Political verbage. :) Great Dialog here. You two would be invited to any of my theological bonfires with a high quality distilate and a Cuban.
Yeah, even though I didn't use any direct quotes from Boyd, he was a direct influence in a lot of the thoughts here. I attended Woodland Hills for about 7 years when I lived in St. Paul... right during the time of his Cross and Sword series that cost him about 25% of the congregation. It was an incredible time, and really opened my eyes to the reality of what's really going on.
Post a Comment