The Christian and Politics

This blog is more or less my story of how I came to believe about what the New Testament says about modern politics.  Over the past 25+ years, I have been pouring over the Bible trying to understand what it says about politics.  But like everybody else, I have been affected by my present day surroundings.

THE 1950s

The 1950s was a decade of extreme Conservatism in the U.S. with Senator Joseph McCarthy leading the way. Liberals were hunted down and labeled "Communist" or "Communist sympathizers." Hollywood actors and directors were blacklisted and ten to twelve thousand people lost their jobs. The country was filled with the fear of communism and unquestioned loyalty to authority. Eventually McCarthy went too far in his witchhunts and the courts loosened up the anti-Communist laws.

THE 1960s

By the 1960s there was a change in the air. Liberals became more popular, African Americans rioted and protested against unfair treatment and unjust laws, and young people got tired of an anti-Communist war that was going nowhere except killing thousands of young Americans. Media exposed our own evils as pictures came back from Viet Nam showing that we were not the good guys after all. As a result a lot of young people lost their trust in the leadership of this country and began their own movements to rebel against the establishment.

At the same time as all of this, LSD entered the scene, and marijuana and other drugs became popular among the youth of America. Young people began building their own culture around drugs, music, fashion, and anti-authority.

My teen age years were spent during the 60s, rebelling against authority, including parents, government or church. In my world there was a huge seperation between teens and most of those who were over 30. The values that I held dear were love, sex, peace, drugs, and Rock and Roll.

THE 1970s - BORN AGAIN

In 1971 I became an Evangelical Born Again Christian. With my conversion, my fascination with the 60s lifestyle died. I followed the conservative Christian/Pentecostal values of the Deep South and quit Rock and Roll (for a few years), completely threw out the drugs, and renounced most of the values I picked up from the 60s.

Along with most Evangelicals, I liked and voted for Jimmy Carter who was a Democrat. But he was the last Democrat the Evangelicals supported in mass. Among other faux pas, Jimmy made the mistake of hiring a homosexual on his team, which upset many Evangelicals.

Other than voting for Carter, I had very little interest in politics during the 70s. I was much more interested in the Bible and spiritual matters (althought I did read some about how the political system works).  Even though I didn't know it at the time, Evangelical leaders were beginning to look to the political arena in order to help direct the country in ways that was considered moral and spiritual.

THE 1980s - THE RADICAL LEFT

In the late 70s, Anita Bryant began her crusade against homosexuality, and by the 80s the Evangelicals jumped on the pro-life band wagon with the help of Francis Schaeffer and C. Everett Koop (the Catholics had already been working hard to fight for the rights of the unborn for 5 years before the Evangelicals).

With Schaeffer's encouragement Jerry Falwell gathered together like minded Conservatives from different religious groups and formed the Moral Majority while Pat Robertson jumped into the political scene, making a good run for the Presidency after much wavering about what he called "backsliding into politics." 

While Evangelicals were turning more and more to Conservative politics in the States, I lived overseas in Europe and Africa, still ignorant of what was taking place among Evangelicals and Politics. I was huddled away in remote areas of Africa studying and teaching the Bible and Psychology, content with only a general books about how the political system works.

When I came back from Africa in 1987 I visited a Seminary friend Kevin (teaching at a college in Nashville) who saturated himself in politics and social studies. During our previous years together at school I always admired him for his intellect and ability to argue anybody under the rug; but unfortunately, by the time I visited him in Nashville, his political, social and economic views drove him away from his Christian rooting, because he felt that Christians weren't doing enough to change the injustices inherent within the world systems. During my short visit in Nashville, I decided to pour into the same books and authors that were so important to Kevin. I wanted to learn what he knew mainly for 2 reasons.
1. I wanted to find out why my friend had lost his faith.
2. I hated feeling at such a loss when I argued with Kevin. He knew so much about stuff I knew nothing about. I could argue with Kevin, but my arguments were always shallow compared to his.

So for the next 10 years I dove into new ideas; politically delving into Socialism, Marxism, Anarchy, Conservatism, Libertarianism, and socially digging into the influences of media, culture, Economics, and as much as I could find - in any direction - that would help me understand about people as individuals and as groups, governments and societies. 

During those years I was also trying to find which system of Government I believed was the best.  In other words, I wanted to know where I belonged.  Was I Anarchist? Marxist? Socialist? Libertarian, Conservative? Nothing seemed to fit. One day (literally one day) I thought I was Marxist (not Russian or Chinese style Marxism, but a purer form), then I leaned toward the Anarchist position. I seemed to like the Anarchist point of view the best, but saw that it too had feet of clay.

The more I read, the more I realized that every system had its problems. When it came right down to it, every system seemed to have great ideals, but when it came to real practice, every system had the same issue... and that was, people will corrupt every ideal. On paper a lot of political systems sound great, but when they are given their time, self interest and greed will seep into every attempt to establish a just government or economy.

So while the Marxist says that Marxism would work if it was ever really tried - the fact is, it can never really be tried without people destroying its ideals through self-interest, greed, lust for power, or whatever; and the same is true with pure Capitalism. No system of government or economy will ever live up to its hopes or its promises, because people within each system will corrupt the purity of the system.

The 1990s - THE PRINCIPALITIES AND THE POWERS

During the 90s I realized that the more I understood about what was going wrong with the nation, the more I fell into despair, fear, and anger. I saw the Evangelical Right become the most powerful voting block, capitalizing on hate, fear and anger. By then I was on the polar opposite side of their agenda and their political aspirations, but I saw that my fear, anger and hatred was the same as their's.  In a way, I was just like them. I thought about how aggressive and naive they were, and they thought the same about the what they called the Left, the Democrats (who are not even as Left as I had become - in fact, to me, the Democrats were just another side of the supporters of an unjust economic system that takes from the workers and the poor - Republicans and Democrats were just two sides of the same coin).

At the same time I was facing these issues, and at the same time I began realizing that in many ways (emotionally and idealisticly) I was no different than the Christian Right that was on the opposite side of the political spectrum; I came across Hendrik Berkhoff's, "Christ and the Powers," which claimed that the world was controlled / watched over by spiritual principalities and powers (he was tryin to understand what the Bible was saying about the Hitler era he was living through).  These principalities and powers are not demons, Satan or good angels as we tend to view the spiritual world, but rather, they are fallen powers that point us, not to Christ, but to themselves.

With Berkhoff's prodding I saw the Bible come alive with the principalities and powers that are at work within our nations, our governmental and state parties, our way of life, and much more. I discovered that these powers were the unseen movers of societies and governments. I could see that they pointed to themselves and brought dedication to themselves as their ultimate goal.

Still digesting Berkhoff, I was also realizing that the books I was reading rarely offered solid solutions for the problems of our political systems. In fact, they seemed to be much better at pointing out what was wrong with a societies than building working models of just and good societies that could withstand the test of time.

So, in the 1990s I began to let go my identity and belief in politics, and turned more to Jesus... and Jesus alone.

2000s - JESUS ONLY

And when you look up to the sky and see the sun, the moon and the stars—all the heavenly array—do not be enticed into bowing down to them and worshiping things the LORD your God has apportioned to all the nations under heaven. But as for you, the LORD took you and brought you out of the iron-smelting furnace, out of Egypt, to be the people of his inheritance, as you now are (Dueteronomy 4:19-20).

Most of us in the 21st Century would be surprised about what this little known passage is saying. God appointed certain powers over the nations, which Israel turned to in worship. Most Christians today believe that those powers were non existent or demonic, but Deuteronomy is saying that God appointed these powers and that they are real. The Bible is also saying that although He appointed these powers over the nations, His people did not have any of these powers over them, because they belonged only to God.  Finally, this passage warned His people to stay away from serving these powers, as they lured His people toward temselves.

During the late 90s I learned that I did not belong to any political party or the powers of this age, but I belonged to God. That doesn't mean that I can't join a party or become politically active; it simply means that I represent, first and foremost, Jesus Christ and His kingdom. I am His ambassador, and as such can minister in any (or most) party or economic system as His representative.

When Paul the Apostle wrote to his Philippian church about his ministry, he said that he had sacrificed every part of his identity in order to belong only to Christ (Philippians 3:1-11). Because Paul had sacrificed his entire identity as a Jew, and as a Pharisee, he was able to minister to Gentiles as a Gentile, and he was able to minister to the Jews as a Jew.

To the Jews I became like a Jew, to win the Jews. To those under the law I became like one under the law (though I myself am not under the law), so as to win those under the law. To those not having the law I became like one not having the law (though I am not free from God’s law but am under Christ’s law), so as to win those not having the law. To the weak I became weak, to win the weak. I have become all things to all men so that by all possible means I might save some (1 Corinthians 9:20-22).

Had Paul held diligently to his political and religious parties, he would not have been able to accomplish half of what he did.

CONCLUSIONS

I believe that our world is under the spiritual powers of this age, and there are many. Whether they are individual identities as much of Intertestamental literature claims, I don't know. But I believe these powers serve their own interests and not Christ's.

I believe these powers deceive their followers into believing that they and they are the best possibility for true freedom (2 Peter 2:19).

I believe that the cross of Jesus exposed these powers for what they were - against God and for themselves. And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross (Colossians 2:15).  When Jesus (a righteous man, the Son of God) was put to a cruel and humiliating death by their own rulers and those of Rome, it exposed them for what they were.  People could see national and political self-interest would send a good man to a nasty death.  The kings of the earth take their stand and the rulers gather together against the Lord and against his Anointed One (Acts 4:26).

However, the powers of this world were only temporarily exposed as history moved away from Jesus' generation. Now every generation can say, "that was then." And using that cloak, each new power can once again claim to be God's side...the side of truth.  As each generation moves on to the next, we can now distance ourselves from the past and be critical of the past powers while supporting the present.  Jesus caught on to this and told the religious leaders of his day:
“Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You build tombs for the prophets and decorate the graves of the righteous. And you say, ‘If we had lived in the days of our forefathers, we would not have taken part with them in shedding the blood of the prophets.’ So you testify against yourselves that you are the descendants of those who murdered the prophets. Fill up, then, the measure of the sin of your forefathers (Matthew 23:29-32)!

As the religious leaders of Jesus' day distanted themselves from the sins of past genations, we have done the same, believing ourselves to be on the side of Jesus and the prophets, while bowing down to the powers of this age.  So, today while we focus on our personal sins and issues, the cross has lost some of its power - the power to expose the principalities and the powers of this present age.

I believe that Christians need to renounce their identities in this temporary world as Paul renounced his in Phillipians 3. Renouncing his identities did not mean that Paul stopped loving his people or valuing his religious training. It meant that Paul no longer accepted his national, political and religious identities to define who he was. His new identity was completely wrapped up in Jesus Christ and in the cross and resurrection of Jesus. As such, he was able to minister to different groups that were opposed to each other in this world.  Paul was not an ambassador of the Pharisees, or of the Republicans; he was an ambassador for Christ, and Christ alone.

HOW SHOULD WE DEAL WITH THE POWERS OF THIS AGE

Jude and 2 Peter 2 were First Century letters written in hot political times.  These books provide us with solid direction in dealing with the powers of this age.

Stay Away from Trash Talk

Peter and Jude spoke about the spiritual/political powers and warned the Christians to stay away from those who spoke evil of the powers, and who spoke evil of the rulers on earth that were aligned with the powers.  It is embarrassing how much the Christian community can fall into this.  When the Apostle Paul stood before the Sanhedrin (the High Court of Israel), the High Priest ordered him to be slapped.  Paul answered back with a harsh threat, "Then Paul said to him, "God will strike you, you whitewashed wall! You sit there to judge me according to the law, yet you yourself violate the law by commanding that I be struck (Matthew 23:3)!"   When Paul was told that he spoke that way to the High Priest, he apologized,  "Brothers, I did not realize that he was the high priest; for it is written: 'Do not speak evil about the ruler of your people (Matthew 23:5).'"

The political pundits on the radio that trash our leaders are not speaking from God! 


Don't Get Misled by Political Promises, Instead Follow Godliness

Peter and Jude told their readers to stay away from those who promised freedom while trapping them in their own political turmoil. Jude told his readers to follow faith, hope and love instead (Jude 1:20-21). 
 
Peter, in 2 Peter 3, told his readers to be patient, not to be led astray, to hope for the return of Christ, and to keep holy (that is, seperated for God).

FINAL COMMENTS

- As much as I think the New Testament discouraged following after the powers of this world, I don't think it forbade involvement in politics.

- I question how much the Evangelical Right in America has worshipped at the altar of a world power. No doubt, many of its people have, and still bow down to a worldly power, convinced it is one and the same as God's only choice; but I also believe that good Christians can be in most political parties of any nation. Like individuals, there is both good and bad in any system. Old Testament prophets came from all different economic and political backgrounds, so I expect that God would place good Christians in different parties in today's world as well.

- Christians need to separate themselves from their own leanings, surrender to Christ and come back in representing Him first and foremost.

- Christians need to open their eyes to the falicies within their own political parties.

- Christians need to repent from demonizing other parties - it is one of the surest signs that they have bowed down to the powers of this world.

- Christians outside of the United States can easily see the falicies of the U.S. system, but bow down no less to their own systems. They can get every bit as defensive of and supportive of theirs while trashing the U.S. This world's powers are not just among the most powerful.

- Jude and 2 Peter were written during and about rising rebellions (filled with promise) in their own times.

- We do not bow down to the powers of this world.

- We do not allow ourselves to be carried away by their promises.

- The New Testament is very clear about this, we do not fall into talking trash about our leaders and the powers of this world. For better or for worse, the Bible says they are established by God (Romans 13:1). When Paul stated this about Roman authority, he was telling his people to subject themselves to the very person who would later have Paul killed for his faith. Jude and 2 Peter also warn against speaking evil of these powers.

QUESTIONS I HAVE

Q: What was the proper response to Hitler?
A: This Century has seen a few rulers who can be best described as evil. Hitler stands out above the rest. They present to us a huge problem, in that, according to the Bible, rulers are appointed by God for the purpose of justice and well being of humanity, and therefore should have a measure of respect and obedience . I think Paul faced the issue similar to Hitler with Nero, when he wrote Romans 13.

In 1934 the Confessing Church in Germany put out a declaration seperating the Church and Christ from the State. The resulting document is called the Barmen Declaration. In it, the group rejects the State's intrusion into the Church and visa versa; but the Barmen Declaration doesn't give any calls to action, such as open rebellion or non-violent protest.

Q: When is it right to join resistant movements? After all, the resistant movement may be the next group in power that we should pay biblical respect to.
A: I don't know, but two factors help judge when it is right to resist the powers that surface in resistant movements, but these factors do not answer every question for any situation.  We need to ask ourselves about:
1. The Future's Judgment - Unfortuneately we will not know what historians will say until years after our present events. Billy Graham, who tore down racial barriers in his auditoriums, asked Martin Luther King to be more patient in the struggle for Civil Rights. But patience was not the answer, so history was on the side of Martin Luther King.

Although we cannot be sure what the future will say about the present, past history can help us make better decisions for present situations.

2. World Opinion - World opinion has helped bring down Apartheid in South Africa, but remains unheard in too many other cases.