Our Conflicting Allegiances: Christian Faithfulness in American Politics
C. Wes Daniels at Gathering in Light has posted some great thoughts on Christian political engagement in the seemingly dire political milieu in which we find ourselves. Christians, he says, often divide along party lines but to be a Christian is to distinct from any of the two "reigning" parties. We are - by our baptism, confession and our lives - members of the Kingdom of God and it is to this party that we owe all our allegiance. Here's what Wes has to say: "I gladly do not identify with either the left or right because for me to be a Christian is to pledge allegiance to only one political party, Christ’s kingdom."
Christians who identify with what Wes and others are saying are bound to find themselves out of step with the dominant political "discourse" (if we can really call it such). I, like Wes, often find it hard to hope that our political climate in American can ever become anything other than the power-grubbing circus that it has become. I'm reminded here of what Rod Dreher wrote in his article Zombie Conservatism:
A leading Republican congressman recently chirped that things are looking up for the GOP because of people's fear. Another Republican lawmaker indicated distaste for school-speech demagogy but explained that one must understand that Washington is in the middle of a nasty health care fight.
Which means what, exactly? That winning is the only thing, and to hell with the good of the country, civil society and the possibility of intelligent debate about serious matters? Watching the school-speech insanity blow up on the right, a friend who has been deeply involved for decades at the top of Republican politics, e-mailed to say that she was done. The conservative movement is hurtling off a cliff – and she was bailing out.
Despite what Sam Tanenhaus says, conservatism is not dead. Rather, it's undead. The conservative movement is herking and jerking like a zombie, dedicated to little more than frenetic gestures execrating Obama, and to regaining power. To what end? Given that they're birthing a conservative party whose instincts are dictated by loudmouths, reactionaries and crackpots, and overseen by cynics, it's dispiriting to contemplate.
Of course this is not just a problem that conservatives are having. Democrats, too, are all too eager to give up their scruples, moral bearing and integrity to win power and influence people to support their narrow political agenda. Anyone who's been around for any time at all shouldn't be surprised that politicians are going to lie, cheat and constantly fail to live up to the lofty promises they make when trying to win elections.
What concerns me the most about our current political morass is the way in which Christians on "both sides" of the aisle and evangelicals in particular still have not learned that Christianity does not equal allegiance to one of the two party options our political system offers. Christianity is, itself, a politic and we are called to submit to Christ and to a cruciform way of life. Christianity does involve a particular allegiance but Christian leaders are often so thoroughly beholden to dominant political ideologies that they forget the world-transforming, counter-cultural mission of Jesus.
The church is itself a politic that answers to God, to Jesus’ ethics, rather than the king’s. We are to embody love of enemy, we are to do good to those who abuse us, we are to welcome the “alien” among us, and we are to give daily bread to those praying for it. Therefore, whether or not we live in a country that votes, has soldiers “protecting those freedoms!” or has leaders who believe the proper religious dogmas (often at the expense of actually living those dogmas) is all beside the point. Yes, I (typically) vote and help where I can within the established political system. I live in a country that (still) allows for disagreement and participation (though those on the fringes of the Right seem to favor less difference of opinion, maybe even difference of conviction, with growing fervor even in a free country such as ours), and the outcomes are still (for the most part) not predetermined. But I am not required to do this as a Christian, it is not our duty to transform the world by the means of the world. My duty is to love without measure and pray with my life that God’s will be done on earth as it is in heaven, even if (or when) it costs me everything. As Christians, or people seeking to practice daily the Sermon on the Mount, I cannot see how this would ever be done with violence, lies, greed, exploitation and other under-the-table charades.
If Christianity has such a character as Wes has offered (and I believe strongly that it does), what does it mean for Christians to practice politics with integrity? What is involved in faithful (and public) witness if we are to be people who are clear and honest about our true allegiance to the Kingdom? Paraphrasing the words of Isaiah, what does it mean for Christians to seek the peace and prosperity of the city - to participate in the political world in which we live - while still being obedient to the reign of God? Certainly, as Wes has pointed out, it will involve a commitment to nonviolence, to truth-telling, to generosity and to overwhelming love.
But a nagging question remains: Given the shear loudness and incivility of these conflicting ideologies how can faithful Christians speak through the cacophony of competing allegiances to recover our true allegiance to the cruciform life of God's Kingdom?
September 18, 2009 8:59 AM
Amen!
I gave up my party affiliation nearly 15 years ago, when I realized that my party gave lip service to what I wanted.
The Religious Right and Religious Left should have more in common with each other than they do the Secular Right or Secular Left ... but don't.
Politically, I'm pleased now to be free of the burden of a political party and trying to focus on God -- not civics.
September 19, 2009 8:59 PM
Andrew - Thanks for this thoughtful addition to my own reflections. And I appreciate your query:
"Given the shear loudness and incivility of these conflicting ideologies how can faithful Christians speak through the cacophony of competing allegiances to recover our true allegiance to the cruciform life of God's Kingdom?"
This is something worth asking ourselves over and over again, in every context, every community, and every political milieu we may find ourselves in.