Biblical Christianity and Politics…
I love discussing/thinking through issues with non-Christians as well as Christians. There are those with whom I can dialogue constructively–and I make a sincere and sustained good-faith effort with everyone and anyone when the topic crops up. And then there’s most people. 
So, I thought, is there anything that I can do? I have spent years of my life dedicated to the study of these topics. Maybe I can help alleviate the condition which depresses me, instead of complaining about it. So, I am going to set about discussing what I call “Political Epistemology” and how it relates to Biblical Christianity.
Why do I say, “Biblical Christianity,” and not just “Christianity”? I say Biblical Christianity because I want to be clear that I am talking about real Christianity. There is no other kind of Christianity. There was Christianity before the New Testament was complete, but all of those writers of the New Testament believed the Old Testament and thought that they were continuing on in God’s work–God of the Old Testament. I would say that they really were carrying on God’s work. I say God of the Old Testament because I want to be clear that I am talking about the real God. There is no other God. Any God identical to the God of the Old Testament is the real God, or so it seems to me.
You and me are living 2,000 years later, and we are “Politically Imbedded.”
We can be disinterested, but much politics feeds off of the disinterest of people (it may or may not be in the service of good things).
At some point in your life you are going to be bothered by something and want to support or effect a solution to that problem. Politics is the study of the acquisition and distribution of power (for diverse purposes). “Political Epistemology”, as I call it, is the study of knowing which Political Principles and Actions/Inactions are Good, Beautiful, Just. The study of how to get True Beliefs (supported by adequate Evidence and understanding) in service of making positive change to fix problems in the world is “Political Epistemology,” as I’m using the term.
Each of us has some power already. We spend much of our lives trying to get more power, or trying to figure out how to best use the resources (power) that we already have. We are political creatures. We have power, we want power, we want to know how to use power. Prayer is a request for power or for wisdom to use power.
Now what does Biblical Christianity have to do with the Acquisition and Distribution of Power?
Maybe you have come to that point where something really bothers you and you want to make a solution (or be a part of making that solution, or you would like to see other people make that solution) to that problem. If you don’t see any problems in the world around you, you are either blind or evil, or both. I don’t think I should have to convince you that there are problems that need to be fixed, and that we have a responsibility to fix.
We want to fix problems. So far you and I and the Nazi’s and Soviets, anarchists, and liberals, “progressives,” conservatives, libertarians, are all on the same team. Really helpful, eh?
The question is for me (generally speaking) is : I see the problems. I am a Christian. I have this resource of faith in the real God. Now, what can I do? What should I do? I have the right to vote, to persuade. How should I do those things, and to what end? Should I just pray? Should I just try to enjoy life as much as possible? Should I join a political party? Should I not? How should I vote? What issues are the most important. Which should we focus on first?
I know what I want. But, what if that conflicts with what you want? How do I know what to do, how to be?
We all die. So, what’s the point of Politics?
I hate the labels. But, if you don’t care, you are probably “liberal/progressive.” You think property is less important than equality, and don’t mind a large bureaucracy to enforce it. That is the default position. “Progressives,” generally speaking still, usually don’t believe in Truth at all, which undermines any claim to “Progress.”
“Conservatives,” on the other hand, have a hard time clarifying what they are conserving, and why. “Libertarians” are healthy/wealthy, and don’t want their money/land taken to pay for someone’s cancer. They prefer property over equality, and are suspicious of bureaucracy.
How should we carry on God’s work today? Should we stay out of politics? If not, what, how, and why?
Where do you stand? What do you think?
I think Dale Fincher touched a little bit on this sort of question in the things he wrote in the Soulation library about the subject of tolerance called “How Do We Truthfully Tolerate?” Here is the link: http://www.soulation.org/sphider/search.php?query=tolerance&search=1 I really found it helpful to me, and maybe it can be to you as well.
Hi Mandy,
I would be interested in a summary, in your words, of what you took away from Dale’s essay you linked.
How, in your words, do you think that relates to the essential issue I’ve raised here?
Be specific–the more specific, the better. Thanks so much, can’t wait to hear what you have to say.
I think a lot of discussing any subject that can cause conflict and/or dissention involves using tolerance on both sides. Unfortunately as you have observed attention to this on both sides rarely happens, if at all. I was thinking that these discussions remain inevitable, because in order to be a force for good in the world believers as human beings alone, not to mention ambassadors for Yeshua/Jesus we would be in error to avoid these subjects as they are a natural part of life. I thought using the clear thinking Dale had in his posts on tolerance could help guide a believer towards maintaining objectivity even in his/her stance even while being able to have passion for their viewpoint. It would help towards preventing – at least from the believer – falling into that common confusion of objective versus subjective views. Being able to do this would help the believer to be more effective, because they would be able to try to identify and understand the other’s viewpoint, and in having more clarity be better able to perceive the frame and state of mind of the other person. This allows a believer to be a winning person in that although they might disagree with the other person, it is done with the energy but grace that may make the other person ask “What is it?” about the believer’s reason for this grace, ultimately accomplishing a much higher purpose – sewing a seed.
Dear Mandy,
Thank you for your thoughtful reply.
I agree, Prof Everett, on the difficulty to talk on such things in a reasonable way. I recently read that modern conservatives want to live so far in the past that they fail to take the historical foundation they claim to love and interact with modern culture. It’s so often about, “return to the Founding Fathers” which is impossible.
On the other hand the progressives or liberals (or whatever they want to be called) are often those who interact with modern culture but fail to take a deeper historical culture into account. It’s about the moment, not about a sustainable culture.
And it’s difficult to get to the deeper motivations in conversation, like when one says the “liberals are for the poor” as if the conservatives are not. Or that Captialism doesn’t work because of some abuse by a corporation.
We just don’t have a lot of clear-headed thinking going on for us to pause and consider how we can help one another on the deeper cultural level so that we can be more responsible citizens: have a goal bigger than just getting power in Washington.
I do think we should be involved in politics as citizens… after all, if we’ve been given the chance of self-government, why squander that into someone else’s hands? Are we more prone to accept dictators than personal responsibility?
Dear Dale,
I fully agree that we can’t go back in time. The Founding Fathers, if they founded anything, founded this thing that is cruising into the future.
I agree also that clear thinking and clear goals (beyond just getting more power) are primary culprits in our inability to effectively move forward while being faithful.
I’ve wondered–since Politics is what we are dealing with since Jesus did not come back right away–why did God want us to deal with it. What does he want us to learn?
I should clarify: I should have said: Lack of clear thinking and clear big goals are primary culprits…
L.,
I won’t say what Christians “ought” to be involved in vis a vis politics, but I think there are two important elements that must be considered.
As you stated above, we are politically “embedded”; we are, as Aristotle would say, “political creatures”. It would seem that anything that is called a community may presuppose a polity. We are part of the political machinery of this (or whatever) country. Being political, even in ordinary church affairs, is an ineluctable part of the human experience.
So the question is not whether we are involved in politics, because we are in the process of shaping power, often unintentionally, every day; rather, the question is, now that we are involved, what should we do about it?
Here, it is at the discretion of the individual or group one finds themselves in, what level of political threat they are facing, what injustice needs remedy, and what work they want to accomplish. Put another way, if we belong to a genuine, “Biblical Christianity”, then there will be times when the government will be hastening to end the Church’s freedom. At this level of threat, there is no reason for all Christians NOT to galvanize around this issue (the few who believe we are better off persecuted notwithstanding).
Then there are issues of Justice, such as abortion, where we are not looking out for the Church in a political sense, but more interested in an honoring of basic human rights. There are those who would oppose this injustice through political action, and those who would pray, while yet others would protest outside clinics. I won’t say which of these methods we should be involved in, because there is no reason that ALL could not be used. This is how the civil rights movement accomplished so much: working and resisting injustice at every level, top to bottom…
Ok, enough for now…
A.T.
Dear A.T.
Interesting reflections.
My politics matches my identity as a Christian first not as an American, liberal, conservative, etc.That being said, I decide whom I vote for, or my stands on political & other issues by Biblical Christianity (God’s Word). In other words my theology dtermines my politics,etc, no the other way around.
Dear Clifford:
I appreciate your priorities. These are really tough issues.