I have been teaching writing and literature at Azusa Pacific University since 1998. Below are the links for the two classes I teach, and my blog.
Message for the week:
Church and State
It seems the Christian community, such as it is, has been galvanized by the re-election of George W. Bush. On NPR and CNN, Christians are said to be gaining political clout. Ken Hutchinson, head of that mega-church in Seattle, was just interviewed by Aaron Brown on CNN, giving a list of what he thinks Christians want in politics. “We would love to get prayer back in schools,” he said in conclusion. My students are feeling emboldened as they dare to imagine an American society dominated by a political machine that not only allows them their religious freedoms, but dominates the entire nation with fundamental, evangelical protestant values.
Here’s a thought: …
No, wait, here are a bunch of thoughts: Stop! Think! Pray! Read!
(and just in case you didn’t hear me before) Think!
If we take Paul to be the final example given to us by our modern version of the scriptures, we find some surprising elements. Paul was a proponent of being a good citizen. He gave us the famous “render to Caesar” line which has polarized the Christian world in the debate of the separation of church and state. He even mentions the evils of those in power. But, he never prays for a Christian Caesar. He never lobbies for Christian rituals in schools, government, or society. His is a faith that is underground, dangerous, and based on the power of prayer and community. Finish the following verse: “Count it all joy my brethren…”
By creating a Christian government, we trample the religious freedoms upon which this country was founded. Even worse, we create a society of complacency and comfort for the Christian right. Let’s keep going. We create a regime which puts Christ and his followers up for incredible scrutiny as it creates for its followers privilege and power. We make ourselves Caesar.
Let me explain what I mean by scrutiny. No government is beyond corruption, problems, and the obviously impossible job of pleasing all of its citizens. If the presidency, Congress, and local politics are largely Christian, we put Christ in a no-win situation, and we make him the bad guy to all who believe in other faiths or no faith at all. He becomes persecutor.
The Kingdom does not need a Christian government to grow and complete its mission. If anything, we could use a big evil regime to unite us in prayer and community. Our faith was never intended to be one which dominates the popular culture. Jesus was born of humble beginnings and died the death of a horrible criminal. Our overall triumph comes when he returns to bring about whatever you believe to be end times. Until then, we are supposed to take persecution (the answer to the above fill in) and discrimination, and we are to trust in God, not our government. Prayer has been misused. Paul prayed for strength to face his adversities. He did not pray for them to go away, and he certainly did not pray for his favorite Christian Roman to become the next Caesar.
In truth, it always seemed to me that attacks from either the evil one or from society means we are doing something right. Trials and tribulation are indicators that our hearts and minds are close to God’s. Ask the believers in Korea, China, or the Middle East. Now, we seek political power and social domination. How can this be supported by biblical study? My bible talks of grace, turning the other cheek, helping the helpless, giving up our comforts and even ourselves to get Jesus’ quiet, painfully simple message across to a deaf, unsympathetic, and tragically disdainful world. An impossible mission to be sure, but one which forces us to our knees to pray, love each other, and seek God’s guidance and strength, instead of running to our Congressman or President.
If we look at history, we see the only times the Church has had political power have been the darkest times. Crusades, corruption, triangle trades, cathedrals, inquisitions, wars, etc. The Carter administration? Yikes.
But, please understand that I think Christians can belong in politics. I’m certain God calls us to all areas of society, and certainly if someone is called to public service, that person should do his or her best to find that crucial balance between the needs of the people and the values he or she carries through relationship with Christ. And certainly we should always fight for social and economic justice. If not for true followers of Christ, where would the Civil Rights Movement have been?
But, please stop seeking political domination. Please turn to the person next to you and pray for him. Feed her. Share our faith which finds its strength not in Congressional debate, rolling tanks, nor legislative mandates, but in the quiet gathering of two or more in His name.
Ken Hutchinson recalled the fire of his fight for civil rights and compared the “discrimination” against Christians to the discrimination against African-Americans. False analogies aside, he said he wasn’t going to just sit and take it. It was time to fight back, he declared.
If we wage a worldly war against worldly elements, we will not win, and we will lose sight of our job here on earth. Sure Jesus kicked some serious ass when he cleared the temple, but remember what he was doing. He was fixing corruption within a place that was sacred. If we bring politics into our churches, especially in our capitalist country, we, ourselves, bring money-changers into the temple. The government is about business and economics. These are not kingdom values, and we do not want them in our churches. So, you want something to fight? Want to kick some money-changer ass? Turn the tables over and get the politicians out of your faiths and your churches.
George Bush, generally seen as an Evangelical Christian is suddenly the leader of what is seen as the Christian community. Yet, he professed on Good Morning America that he believes that all people go to heaven, but that they just take different routes to get there. Muslim, Christian, whatever the faith. And he expressed his belief that he prays to the same god that Muslims pray to, which is arguable, but not something to simplify in such general terms. In truth, he really couldn’t give a true Christian answer, whether he believed it or not. Can you imagine the headlines the next day? “President Condemns Muslims to Hell!” He would destroy all possible relationship with the Middle East and all other non-Christian nations.
And this is the problem. Bush may be a godly man and devout follower of Christ, but he will never be able to speak biblical truth because he needs to lead a secular nation in a secular world. His faith might get votes from 51% of Americans, but it’s influence and value have to end there. That’s kind of how our nation was established. Most of the founding fathers were Deists, and even some of the professed Christians were of the Jeffersonian belief that Jesus was a great teacher, but not a savior, nor a doer of anything supernatural.
Even with all of this in mind, I return to the fact that Christ’s legacy and God’s kingdom can flourish in a secular setting, and that our faith and our empowerment will ultimately prove victorious, regardless of who is in the White House. OK. I need a drink now. Peace.
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Featured Songs
We read and listened to three songs from Visiting Violette. You can and should visit the Visiting Violette web site to get better perspective on the band and Lee's songwriting.
Listen to the Visiting Violette songs here
michelle[bloom]
Visit Michelle Bloom's website for lyrics and other great info. You can even buy her CD from the link on the home page.