There's a hot new couple here
in DC. Word has it they have been seen
cavorting everywhere, from the halls of Congress to K Street boardrooms and
even (gasp!) in church. No, I am not
talking about a new sex scandal. The
couple I am talking about has had an on again, off again relationship for the
past, oh, thousand years or so. Yes,
religion and politics have had their ups and downs together. But they are back together again, and this
time they are stepping out during the presidential primary season. Things seem to be going well in their
relationship this time around. There
have been several "ethics" forums or "faith" discussions in which the
candidates on both sides have put out their faith-based bonifides for
examination and approval by the electorate.
But will it last? What is to
become of this odd couple?
The politicization of
religion reaches all the way back as long as there have been communities of
humans with a common ethos. For this
reflection, I will concentrate on the relationship between Christianity and
politics. That way I only have to start
with the birth of Christ, a much easier task.
Depending on your point of view and how you interpret scripture, the
very life of Christ can be seen as having profound political implications. So much so that he was put to death because
he was viewed as a threat to the established religious/political order. And yet Christ was not a politician in the
sense that we think. Christ merely (and
profoundly!) was living out what God had sent him to earth to do, to minister
to the poor and speak truth so that others may learn and come to know God. But his simple life, because it was so
different and ran counter to society, was seen as a political threat.
So Christianity's first
encounter with political authority didn't turn out very good. But eventually, Christianity became the
official religion of the whole (Roman) world.
Surely this was a great thing.
Except that soon after the Roman Empire fell. After that, Christianity was stuck on a roller coaster ride with
politics. Just as it seemed that
Christianity had reached the height of its power, it came crashing back down in
spectacular fashion. Witness the
Crusades, which saw some victories for Christians on the battlefield, but at
the cost of their souls. Even during
the Reformation, Christians were killing other Christians because they refused
to obey the state that had ordained a particular church.
So given this checkered past,
what does the present hold for Christendom.
In the current Presidential primary, we have seen many examples of
Christian faith being both used and abused.
The numerous "faith forums" have given it a place in the political
debate. But this has resulted in the
cheapening of faith. Candidates try to
outdo one another with their stories of working with churches or growing up
reading the Bible. These venues have
become opportunities to pander to so called "values voters" on both the left
and the right. Some within Anabaptism
recoiled in disgust after witnessing a candidates' forum in April at Messiah
College. Some complained that Messiah
was being used as platform political ambition.
Others welcomed the values based discussion and were happy that it was
held at a Brethren college. Prior to
the April event, a forum was held in Washington sponsored by Sojourners, one of
the leading organizations that has attempted to combine faith and politics in
addressing peace and justice issues like poverty alleviation and the war in
Iraq. At both of these forums, the
candidate's dominated, flouting their faith based credentials and jumping at
any opportunity to criticize the other and score political points. These were more opportunities for
campaigning than forums for serious discussion about possible solutions.
Despite the grandstanding,
these forums did inject a rare sense of relevancy into a campaign that, like
others, has often spun off in ridiculous and pointless directions. To say that somehow we are closer to
alleviating poverty or ending war because of these events is definitely an
overstatement. No new ground was
broken, no new plans of action or newfound political will to make tough
decisions. Perhaps the best that can be
said is that this was an experiment, from which lessons can be learned that
will make the work of organizations like Messiah and Sojourners more effective
in the future.
Another example of politics
and religion engaging in this primary season is a recent interview conducted by
CNN at Goshen College. Seven students
responded to questions primarily focused on foreign policy issues. What flowed from the responses was an
eloquent statement of who Anabaptists are, and who we ought to be. Each of the students spoke with conviction
about the need to engage the world and be more global in our outlook. They spoke of patriotism not in terms of God
and country but rather allegiances that we have with neighbors next door,
people from other countries, and our ultimate allegiance to God's kingdom. They spoke of engaging "rogue states" as if
it was a given, a no-brainer first step in resolving conflicts that have only
been a display of saber rattling to this point. They even helped dispel myths by recounting their positive
experiences overseas visiting some of these same countries that are supposedly
our enemies. In this instance, rather
then being defined by the candidates, Goshen as an institution and the students
in particular were able to offer an honest and authentic witness to what they
believed and how that affected their view of the world.
In these three examples, we
see different ways of engaging the political order. None of them provide the perfect example or the only way that
Anabaptists should or will be involved with politics. While the forums were merely political campaign events, the
interviews at Goshen didn't engage the candidates directly or force them to
answer the hard questions. But they are
all an indication that the church and the world are becoming more
intertwined. In this there is both
opportunity and risk. The Church has
often been accused of being irrelevant in daily life. Efforts to engage and interpret the world through the lens of faith
are a step in the right direction. But
we also run the risk of becoming defined by that world. While gaining new insights does help develop
and deepen faith, it also becomes tempting to abandon belief and faith for what
is expedient and adopt the worldview that is missing the faith lens.
Our challenge is to find the
balance between engaging the powers and preserving our prophetic voices. We must be willing to engage in political
dialogue with others, be they our neighbors, those sitting next to us in the
pews on Sunday, or political candidates.
We must respond to the challenges to our beliefs that they may have, and
we must challenge them to reexamine their opinions as well. At the same time, we must remain true to who
we are and what we believe as Christians and as Anabaptists. We must engage in the same politics that
Jesus was engaged in, living out our faith as we move in the world. It is through this living faith that we can
have a lasting impact upon the world and make known Christ's message of peace
and justice for all.
