Ed Cone yesterday referred to an article by Steven Thomma on "the waning power of Christian conservatives." This follows much ballyhoo from different quarters about John McCain's comments about having a Christian verses a Muslim as president.
I wanted to express a few thoughts as a theologically conservative Christian and as a Christian pastor. I do not claim to be an expert on these matters, but here are a few thoughts.
I have never been comfortable with the idea (and reality) of evangelical Christians as a "voting block." Why?
First, there is no clear biblical direction as to what a government or government policy could or should look like, and to pretend that there is is just silly. For example, there is no inherent reason why biblical Christians should want a government of size "A" and opposed to size "B." The Bible does not direct us as to the relative power of the federal government as opposed to the states. It does not tell us at what level we should be taxed, just that we are to render unto Caesar what is Caesar's. Thus, there is no reason evangelicals could not hold varying and diverse views on these matters. I'm tired of self appointed evangelical gurus telling me how to think and vote.
Second, the evangelical political gurus have cherry picked what issues I as a Christian should care about. I do care about abortion and gay marriage, but I also care about the environment and how we help the poor and needy amongst us. I don't like how theologically conservative Christian citizens have let the evangelical radio and TV gurus tell us what issues should concern us as. Who elected them?
Third, I think that the over-focus on these things has been a perversion of the mission of Christianity, and of the church. There is a saying, often used to disparage Christians, that goes something like "he is so heavenly minded he is of no earthly good." Well, I have never met that guy. The Christians I know who are the most earthly good are in fact the most heavenly minded.
Christianity is inherently an eschatological religion. It looks down the long (or short) corridors of history to come, and it sees the return of Jesus, the resurrection, judgment, and the New Heaven and New Earth. It looks behind the veil of the present and sees Jesus enthroned at God's right hand, and as "Lord." In the one sense, it lives and breathes on the hope of what is to come. In theother, it sees past the fading and transient issues and geopolitical realities to a greater and more abiding reality. The Christian whose hope is a living hope is free to give of himself or herself in radical way because the really big issues of life have been settled, and he can let go of pride and greed and self interest in order to love and serve others. The Christian who sees beyond the transient shadows of the moment is more able to "set his mind on Jesus" and thus become more like Him. This ultimately is more transformative of present life than anything else.
The fact is, as much as we may love our country, it is just one of the nations of the earth that come and that go. Christians have a longer and deeper perspective - or should.
The Christian Coalition has also steered Christians and churches away from their primary mission, which is that of making disciples, of growing in personal and community holiness, of loving our neighbor, and in seeing the gospel of Christ go to the four corners of the world. The "voting block" thing perverts the purpose of Christians and of the Church. No, I am not saying that caring for our communities and the issues we face together with our neighbors is unimportant. Christians are also citizens and they should care - and they have a right to care. I am saying that doing that as a "voting block" is not the best way to so care.
Fourth, over-identification of the evangelicals with any political party or theory has eviscerated the Church's prophetic and moral voice. It has rendered the evangelical Church incapable of speaking with power to the injustice, the greed, the immorality, the corruption, the idolatry that underlies much of the right and left. Although I am very glad for any progress for example that can be made through laws and court decisions regarding the rights of the unborn, I also realize that nothing will work to lessen abortion as much as a conviction that it is just wrong. As much as I wish local councils and assemblies would step back and not let the greedy "add house to house," and thus either disenfranchise the poor or destroy the beauty of God's world, ultimately it will be inner moral conviction that persuades and changes decision making more than anything. In gaining the power of being a political voting block Christians have given over their moral voice.
Fifth, in adopting a certain vision of the United States as some sort of inherently Christian nation, either in its founding or in its Constitution, the evangelical voting block machine has lost its rational and historical credibility. Yes, it may be the case that the Constitution was meant to give us freedom of religion and not freedom from religion, yet, the historical revisionism of the Christian right has come to match that of the left in sheer lunacy and idiocy.
I am a Christian. That is more important to me than being an American, then being (more or less) a political conservative, than being a southerner, than being any other thing. But I am also a citizen of the United States of America, and a resident of Greensboro, state of North Carolina. As such I have as much right and responsibility to speak to issues, to care about how structures and policies impact me and my family and my neighbor, AND to vote, as does anyone else. I will do that to the best of my ability, even as I seek to love my neighbor in even more important ways personally and face to face. I don't need James Dobson or James Kennedy or Pat Robertson to tell me how to do that.
So as far as the Evangelical voting block thing goes, all I can say is...
Na na na na, na na na na, hey hey-ey, goodbye.
Joel
Tuesday, October 02, 2007
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5 comments:
"I am a Christian. That is more important to me than being an American,"
You know what they say to (and about) non-Christians who say that about their own religions?
No, Sue, I don't know what "they" say. I would hope that a Jew would consider being a Jew (religiously I mean) more important than being an American, a Frenchman, or whatever. I would hope that a Hindu would say being a Hindu was more important to him than being Indian, or Bangladeshi, or American, and I'd hope that a Muslim would say that it is more important to him to be Muslim than to be American, Indonesian, Saudi, etc. Historically both Jews and Christians have been persecuted (in part - among other reasons) because they looked to an authority greater than the Caesar of the day, whether that Caesar was Roman, Soviet, or Maoist, in the case of Jews some version of "Christian" European. If by being Muslim a radical Muslim means that installing an Islamic state would be of utmost importance, I would understand that, and fight it tooth and nail, if that is what you're alluding to.
Great post Joel - very well said. There are far too many people out there (of all political and religious persuasions) who have sub-contracted their thinking out to others. We'd all be better off if more people felt the way you do.
Joe, no disrespect intended. It's just when Jews talk about being Jewish as important, they're usually accused of 'dual citizenship' or lack of 'patriotism' to the US (meaning: Israel is more important).
It's one of those things, those quiet things, used to question a group's patriotism when that group isn't American Christians.
And no, I don't think YOU are someone who thinks that way. I was clumsily pointing out a fact that affects others.
Sue,
I was being grumpy in the first sentence of my reply, a little snappy. It's a fault of mine. I didn't sense any disrespect from you and the way I wrote was not called for. I went on to try to make a point that was maybe overkill and obvious. I am sorry about what you described, and there are and have been double standards on this matter. You'd think enough Jewish blood had been spilled in defense of our country and to help liberate other countries over the years to shut that stuff up. If it is possible at all to take out the more religious aspect (and so removing from the picture for a moment biblical prophecies and how they impact Jewish or Christian views of modern Israel), I would imagine, though I have nothing in my personal life experience to compare it, that if I were an American and Jewish I would have concern about the fate of the land that holds such a large number of the people I am ethnically and culturally and historically connected to. I think that would be, I don't know, normal. I want to compare it to being a Montagnard American or something, but even as I try for an analogy the incredibly long historic time frame, not to mention the unique history, makes such comparisons lame. I would like to understand what you're talking about better, maybe some day, when we have the time.
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