There are Christians on both sides of the political
spectrum who are actively engaged in the political process. On the modern liberal and progressive side,
many espouse political activity as the
means to enact “social justice” in our society. (1)
“John Dewey, the most thoughtful of the
Progressives, wrote that freedom is not "something that individuals have
as a ready-made possession. It is
"something to be achieved." In this view, freedom is not a gift of
God or nature. It is a product of human making, a gift of the state.” … "The
state has the responsibility for creating institutions under which individuals
can effectively realize the potentialities that are theirs." (2) (3) On
the conservative side, the means to a just society and economic well being is
through exercising the liberties guaranteed in the U.S. Constitution and in
free market capitalism. “Free-market capitalism is not perfect. But
it remains the single most efficient and powerful system for creating wealth,
reducing poverty and developing less wasteful ways of organizing output and
consuming resources.” (4) . Both of these views
have profound ideas about man and his relationship to the state. What both views have is common is: a) a
reliance on the how man is governed to enhance economic well being and liberty
and b) active participation by each of us in bringing about a more just and
equal society—though the definitions of these two terms might be different.
I submit the siren allure of
political activity to further the state of man has inherent dangers for the
Christian participant. It is not that
participation in the political process is to be denied or discouraged. It is not a belief that any participation
in civil government is wrong. Some
Christians believe with David Libscomb “that government is not a force for
good: It is a force for bad, and Christians should attempt to persuade people
to follow the laws of God rather than using force. He argued that Christians
should not participate in politics, should not vote, and should not fight in
wars.” (5) (6) . I am not of that persuasion. On the contrary, I am a member of a
political party, of political action groups, have served as a delegate to our
convention at the state level, and attend various political activities. So what then is the problem? The problems are threefold: 1) Confusing the
state and its functions with the mission of the church 2) Confusing participation in political
activism with personal Christian responsibilities and 3) Letting the allure of
political activism become your personal idol.
The United States had as its
founding principles the Declaration statement that we are “endowed by God with
life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.”
In addition, the Founders consistently stated its implementation in our
Constitution was only suitable for a moral and religious people. Along with the philosophy of the Enlightenment,
these foundations are paramount for those of the conservative persuasion in
particular. It is a small step to
believe that the United States is the
favored Christian nation and in some sense is like the nation of Israel,--
God’s light to the world. In short, it
is a small step to confuse the mission of the church as the mission of the
state. But, the United States is not
the church. Our true citizenship is in
the Kingdom. This confusion can easily
lead one to believe the actions you might take as a citizen activist serves the
responsibility you have as a servant of Christ.
In fact, the allure can be so great you pursue and give your entire
allegiance to the state not to the Kingdom.
It is true that God favored
Israel when it kept its covenant and punished it as well as other nations when
they became evil. But he also blessed
nations when they acknowledge Him as Lord.
Jeremiah 12:14–17 (NIV)
14 This is what the Lord
says: “As for all my wicked neighbors who seize the inheritance I gave my
people Israel, I will uproot them from their lands and I will uproot the people
of Judah from among them. 15 But after I uproot them, I will
again have compassion and will bring each of them back to their own inheritance
and their own country. 16 And if they learn well the ways of my
people and swear by my name, saying, ‘As surely as the Lord lives’—even as they once taught my people to swear by
Baal—then they will be established among my people. 17 But if
any nation does not listen, I will completely uproot and destroy it,” declares
the Lord.
There is no reason not to
believe that nations are indeed blessed by God when they acknowledge him as
Lord. And, from Revelation 6 we know that
God punishes nations for the evil that transpires. As in the Old Testament he punishes those who
are evil so that they may repent.
Revelation clearly depicts a difference between those who “dwell on the
earth” and those who are sealed with God’s name (Rev. 6;10). In other words it is the difference between
those whose citizenship is in heaven and those whose allegiance and citizenship
is on the earth. In the words of John
Mark Hicks in his comments on Revelation: “They
are part of the socio-political, anti-Christian powers (cf. Revelation 6:10;
11:10). They look to the powers rather than to one who sits on the
throne in heaven for their guidance and life. This is the essence of
idolatry.” (7)
But in no sense is being a citizen of a
state the same as being a citizen of heaven.
Neither should one confuse “the church” with “the state”. This confusion is not a problem for
progressives who insist that all aspects of religion should be banished from
the public square. Christian
progressives, however, have a different but similar attraction to the
state. In the progressive case
transformation of society through the state is a prime objective. The state is to provide salvation of man from
injustice and should bring about equality and economic justice. But, it is not the mission of the church to
transform the forms of government. If it
was, Paul would not have sent the slave Philemon back to his master. This is a telling case in that slavery is the
epitome of injustice to Americans. But,
progressives “look to the powers” of the state for resolution rather than “the
one who sits on heaven”. In fact for
them the purpose of the state is to “create individuals”. (3) . Our danger as Christians is we too would look
to the state for individual transformation and put all of their energies into
this effort... As John Mark Hicks stated
this is the essence of idolatry.
Conservatives believe that all human
beings are by their nature “free” with society being a voluntary association of
individuals. They create a social
compact and laws for the common good.
It is the duty of the state to protect individuals so that they can “be
all they can be” or in the words of the Declaration be protected in their
“pursuit of happiness.” The particular political form of society that our
Constitution has enshrined is a republic that divides powers in order to ensure
the protection of individuals. The
economic structure has also been named “democratic capitalism” –for it is far
from a complete “free market” system where anything goes. (8) . One of the most cogent interpreters of our
system has stated our democracy has three principles for success (9) :
1) Democracy defines the political part
2) Capitalism defines the
economic part
3) The Moral Culture that defines the virtues that must be
present
The
voluntary association of individuals means not only individuals themselves but
the free components of a civil society including families, churches, clubs,
political groups, social groups, etc. A
free polity must first, as individuals, govern themselves. “A corrupt, lazy,
dishonest, and decadent society cannot preserve human liberty. “
With moral
underpinnings required for our system to work, it is very easy to confuse our
mission as Christians with our obligations as citizens. We can rationalize our actions in pursuit of
furthering the moral underpinnings of our political system with our personal
obligations as citizens to our fellowman.
After all, we all have limited time.
As a citizen of heaven we have the
obligation to use our God given gifts for “works of service” to our fellowman—Christian
and non-Christian. The depiction of the
judgment in Matt 25 clearly indicates our obligation to the poor and the
outcasts of society. It is quite easy for progressives to be seduced into
believing their personal Christian duty for service is achieved through their
political activism for social justice through the state. For conservatives, the thought would be “we
pay taxes for that.” After all, the
state takes my hard earned money for these social programs to provide for the
poor and disadvantaged.
Since our political system requires a
moral and religious underpinning we are thus easily lead to believe that
our mission as Christians is to transform that system. That is not our mission
as Christians. Likewise, since the
“state” has taken over many Christian obligations for society at large (taking
care of the poor, etc) it is easy to say this satisfies my individual
responsibility. Can you picture standing
before Christ at judgment and in your defense saying “I gave him a cup of water
through my taxes to the state?” Can a
progressive who believes transformation is accomplished through the state
defend this before Christ by saying “ I
transformed lives through my actions for the state?”
When then, does the allure of political
activism become an idol? It becomes an
idol when you place your allegiance to transformation of lives in the actions
of the state. It becomes an idol when you transfer your obligation as a
Christian for service to other individuals to service to and allegiance to the
state. The siren call of political activism is a alluring seductress.
Bibliography
1. About the Center for American Progress. Center
for American Progress. [Online] [Cited: Aug 13, 2013.]
http://www.americanprogress.org/.
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David. Civil Government: Its Origin, Mission, and Destiny, and the
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9. —. Democratic
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