The Bind: On Being a Christian in a Politically Charged World

Inspired to think by Billy's Meme question # 10, I wanted to write today about the bind I always feel that I am in being a Christian in a representative democracy with the political right to say whatever I please. How this bears upon others is not for me to say. For those not bound by Christian teaching, I quote the Apostle Paul who said, "For what have I to do with judging outsiders." By outsiders he simply means those who are not professing Christians.

This is the dilemma: I live in a secular country which allows me many freedoms, including the freedom to speak in ways that I should not. This country allows me, and my religion I believe requires me (as an extension of the command to love my neighbor), to be engaged, to care, and to thus participate in the political process at some level. The voices of the weak and helpless crying out for justive demand it if nothing else does.

And there is no engagement in our process without critique, debate, and hearty discussion.

But such hearty participation does not allow me as a Christian to cast of my Lord's requirements of me.

Jesus and the Apostles said much that impacts my attitude and my speech as I engage in the political process. Jesus said to "render unto Caesar that which is Caesar's."

The Apostle Paul said, "Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice" as well as "Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God."

The Apostle Peter said, "Be subject for the Lord's sake to every human institution, whether it be to the emperor as supreme, or to governors as sent by him to punish those who do evil and to praise those who do good. For this is the will of God, that by doing good you should put to silence the ignorance of foolish people. Live as people who are free, not using your freedom as a cover-up for evil, but living as servants of God. Honor everyone. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the emperor."

I doubt any of our Presidents are worse characters than the Roman emporers, and they, as well as their office, requires the honor of the Christian.

And again, Paul says, "Remind them to be submissive to rulers and authorities, to be obedient, to be ready for every good work, to speak evil of no one, to avoid quarreling, to be gentle, and to show perfect courtesy toward all people."

Add to that the general admonition from the Torah regarding protecting the reputation of my neighbor in my speech, and I consider myself bound to speak a certain way and not another about and to others.

This can be very frustrating because I graduated from life with a Ph. D. in Slice and Dice (with snideness and sarcasm thrown in if at all possible). I have done more than my fair share of rabble rousing, shouting down elected officials, and the like, to last me a life time.

So, how to engage in the process, even critically if I must, without resorting to disrespecting those in office and those in authority over me?

Should I call the Central Office of GSC "The Gestapo."? Probably not. Should I call Bush a fool or Clinton a joke? For me, no, I should not.

But I cannot lay my head in the sand. Love of neighbor in a free country like ours demands that I participate in the process which so impacts my neighbor's well being. Not to do that, or to be silent, is to be responsible for the outcome which may harm my neighbor.

But the man or woman in office, even if I disagree with him or her, is both my neighbor and a human being made in the image of God. As James says, regarding the use of the tongue, "with it we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse people who are made in the likeness of God."

I do not believe that that admonition stops where the political process begins. So, how do I offer critique of one person's views while honoring that person's person? I must do that. Anything less is, for me, disobedience to my Lord and Master.

It takes much self control. There is within me such scorn and sarcasm and ridicule ready to leak out. O Lord, change me! But I also have a brain, and I have a voice, and I must use both for the good of my neighbor and to the glory of God.

But I must do so honorably. I should not call people names; I should not be condescending or snide; I should not write whole groups of people off with a critical wave of the tongue.

There are so few examples to follow. Around here I look to Joe Guarino as the best example of how I want to speak. In recent history I may look to Martin Luther King Jr. Despite his personal issues, I admire greatly his manner of political engagement. He fought the fight, peacefully, and inspiringly, and without personal vilification of his opponents, generally.

So, to be passionate, to be good, to fight injustice without committing injustice, to argue an issue without denigrating those who hold the opposite view on the issue, well, sometimes it just seems more than this bag of flesh and bones, with so much that is not yet as it should be, is capable of. But I must try.

So, you're all free to hold me accountable to my own stated values.

And by the way, I know that Jesus called Herod a fox, and I know that the prophets could be pretty hard on the Kings and people of Israel, but I am neither Jesus, nor Amos, nor Jeremiah. If I must speak words that have to do with "covenant breaking" it is an "in house" thing. America is not in covenant with the God of Israel.

And by the way (II), each person entering into political discourse brings or drags values with him or her. They may get these values from his or her religion, parents, or from aliens as far as I know. But everyone has them, and everyone, to some degree or another, seeks to impose them on others. Ultimately for all human beings the fight for justice is a fight that is undergirded by certain beliefs or values about those for whom justice is needed or required. The fact that this is so with me, a Christian citizen, does not make me a theocrat, any more than it makes a non Christian a theocrat. Yes, there are some people (I wanted to say "kooks" - see how hard it is to be good) out there representing a variety of viewpoints who would hold all of us hostage to their value system. As for me, I am glad I live in a secular nation where I am protected from such, whether Christian, Jew, Muslim, atheist, or whatever.