Dr. Ron Sumners
July 4, 2004
It’s an election year and the subject of religion and politics fills our public discourse. We have come a long way since 1976 when Jimmy Carter announced he was a “born again” Christian and the Washington press corps, along with the entire country responded with befuddled amusement. Most really didn’t know what he was talking about, and were stunned that he spoke so freely and publicly about his faith.
Today, God-talk saturates the candidates’ speeches and debates. Religion animates most of the derisive issues from same-sex marriage, to abortion, to faith-based initiatives, to the Ten Commandments, to the Pledge of Allegiance.
We have come a long way over the past 25 years as God-talk is now a mandatory part of our political rhetoric. Religious speech in public places by government leaders, the media, and private citizens abounds: bumper stickers, billboards, truck signs, John 3:16 end zone signs, post-game prayer huddles, cover stories on national news magazines, and religious programming on TV and radio and Mel Gibson’s powerful movie “The Passion of the Christ,” have taken this to a new level.
The risk today is not so much that the public square is naked of faith talk, but that it may be a tad over-dressed!
How do we honor our Baptist commitment to separation of church and state, while affirming the absolute relevance of religious ethics in politics? How do we have a political conversation about religion without dragging it through the mud of political campaigns? How do we give religion its due without promoting “civil religion” that morphs into idolatry of nationalism or that trivializes genuine faith?
We need to think clearly about our duties as Christian citizens and our responsibilities to the two kingdoms of which we are a part – the United States and the Kingdom of God. How we define and respond to those two allegiances is a difficult and often divisive question.
The scriptures give us some guidance, but no easy answers. Jesus told us to “render unto Caesar, the things that are Caesar’s and unto God the things that are God’s.” He affirmed the two kingdoms and our dual allegiance, but He didn’t tell us what belonged to whom, did He? He did not say how much tax we ought to pay to Caesar!
When we look at the writing of Paul in Romans 13, he speaks glowingly of the state. Paul affirms not only our allegiance to the state, but he plainly says that the authority of the state is divinely ordained. Civil government is good. God created it to keep order, and to provide for the general welfare. If Paul’s teachings applied to the heavy-handed Roman rule in the first century under Nero, how much more should they apply to us living in a constitutional democracy?
But then we turn to Acts 4 and see the encounter between Peter and John with the Sanhedrin. The Sanhedrin was a high court with civic and religious jurisdiction over the internal affairs of Palestine. The Sanhedrin was exercising the same kind of authority of which Paul spoke in Romans 13, but when they ordered Peter and John to stop preaching in Jesus’ name, they defied them. The disciples repudiated civil authority because it sought to interfere with their proclamation of the Gospel.
So, we have two perspectives in the Bible. The state is good, but not the ultimate good! That should not surprise us. The Bible is full of tensions and seeming paradoxes on a variety of scores. These two views of the state also pick up on the theme of “priest” versus “prophet” that we see through the scripture.
Sometimes Christian citizens are called to be priests to the government – like Elisha, cajoling, and comforting Naaman (2 Kings 5). Sometimes we provide a pastoral word to the government. Civil virtue grounded in religion is part of the glue that holds us together as a society. We should do no less than to pray for our leaders.
But Christian citizenship demands more. It also drives us to be prophets. Like Nathan calling upon David to repent from his sins, we sometimes must call our leaders into account for their behavior. Religion doesn’t exist just to prop up government, but to challenge government and call it to judgment.
So, how do we strike an appropriate balance? We can look to history for starters. The wise founders of our republic fashioned a constitution that outlaws any religious test for public office and protects the freedom of religion and conscience. Informed by centuries of religious persecution that always occurred when political power and religious zeal came together, the Founding fathers took the radical step of separating church and state – forbidding government from taking side in matters of religion.
As a preacher of the Gospel and a citizen of the United States, I know the separation of church and state is good – not bad – for religion; it is good for government too. When we separate the two, religion tends to flourish, and the state is freed from the daunting task of making decisions about religion – something that it is not very good at. But you don’t have to take my word for it.
James Madison, father of the Constitution, recognized its value when he reflected on the separation of church and state in the 1820’s, “The number, industry and morality of the priesthood, and the devotion of the people have been manifestly increased by the total separation of church and state.”
Having said this let me quickly add that the separation of church and state does not require a divorce of religion from politics, or God from government, or Christians from their duties of citizenship.
Religious people have as much right as anyone else to seek to express their convictions in the marketplace of ideas and to convert their religious ethics into public policy by preaching, teaching, voting, getting involved, and even running for office. Candidates for office need not shed their religious beliefs or keep silent about them. Not only is this not prevented, but for a Christian, I would say that it is required! This is what being the salt and light is all about.
A critic once took the late 19th century preacher Dwight Moody to task for his involvement in politics and social affairs. “Are you not a citizen of heaven?” the detractor said. “Yes, someday I shall be,” Moody responded, “but right now I’m registered to vote in Cook County Illinois.”
We need not limit our piety to the church house or to acts of private devotion, nor do we have to concede the public square to others. We must speak out, become involved, and transform our culture through the political process as well as the proclamation of the Gospel.
We have heard a lot about the Ten Commandments in the last year. We would be better off if we had spent the past year living them instead of debating them! I want to give five commandments for us to follow as we enter the realm of political involvement. These are my ideas. They are based, I believe on Biblical precepts, but they are not divine truth. Please take them as suggestions for Christian behavior in the political arena; whether religious or civil politics.
1. You shall acknowledge the limited scope of your perspective, exercising much humility.
Any foray into politics with focused religious motivation should be tempered with a good dose of humility and self-criticism. Pascal reminded us that, “men never do evil so completely and cheerfully as when they do it from religious conviction.” We need to understand that however sure we are of our position, the other person has something to say and may have something that we need to hear. Very often our opponent can tell us things that we need to hear, even if they do so for all the wrong reasons. A sign of maturity is to really listen to criticism, for some of it may be true! I have certainly found that to be true in my ministry.
That is the problem I have with the bombastic broadside I hear from both political parties and from the religious right and left. In our Southern Baptist Convention in the past two decades I have heard so many attacks on both sides that I am reminded of what one denominational worker said concerning the attacks of both sides against the other, “What they say is not totally false; it is falsely total!” It lacks a note of self-evaluation and humility that you need to bring to bear in the political arena.
I was not a great fan of Barbara Jordan, the Democratic Congresswoman from Texas, but I found a quote from her that I think has validity. She was asked how to appropriately present Christian values in government, and she replied, “You would do well to pursue your causes with vigor, while remembering that you are a servant of God, not a spokesperson for God, and remembering that God might well choose to bless an opposing point of view for reasons that have not yet been revealed to you.”
Remember that we “see through a darkened glass,” therefore we should exercise grace and humility.
2. You shall acknowledge that your brother and sister may disagree with you and yet deserve your respect.
Any attempt to elevate “my” view on an issue to the status of “the Christian” position, to the exclusion of others, should be held in check. Religious persons can (and usually do) disagree over how their religious convictions play out in the public arena. There is no direct line between the Bible and the ballot box.
My brother and dad are fine Christian men. My brother is very much involved in the political arena as the Director of Economic Development at Auburn University. His interpretations on the United States and Alabama Constitutions are well respected. His opinions are listened to by the highest officials in our state. He has been a catalyst for revitalization of the economic growth of the Black Belt Counties. I am very proud of him. He is a fine Christian man. My dad is one of the best men I have ever known. He has a caring, Christ-like spirit. They are both liberals. They both vote Democratic. I usually vote Republican. Would I be bold enough to say that their views are unchristian? No!
Through our history, Baptists have been to the left of the American establishment – and to the right. Jesse Jackson is a Baptist; so is Jesse Helms! Baptists defended slavery, and Baptists led the fight against it. Some Black Baptist churches are precincts for the Democratic Party, while in some White Baptist churches GOP stands for God’s Own People. Some Baptists read the Bible as if it were a AAA road map to Armageddon; others find it a spiritual code book to the mysteries and miracles of the kingdom.
Millions of Baptists see American culture as the enemy. Millions of others proclaim that we should adopt the culture as part of our appeal. On-lookers shake their heads at how people so diverse and contentious could be defined by a common name – Baptist!
We need to stop trying to convince each other we’ve got God in our hip pockets. God is not a Republican or Democrat, nor even an American for that matter. God’s precinct is the universe. Abraham Lincoln once said, concerning who God supported in the Civil War, “The question is not whether God is on our side, but whether we are on God’s side.” God is not aligned with any political party, but is able to work within and through all people, political movements and nations to accomplish His purposes.
3. You shall speak and act in a way that does not undercut your Christian witness, resisting the temptation to stereotype.
This means that we do not lie about our opponents, distort their positions, or resort to violence. It means that we speak truthfully, directly, and lovingly. Charles Colson has appealed to conservatives and liberals alike to “cool the incendiary rhetoric.” He says the so-called culture war will “never be won by waving placards in the faces of supposed enemies or whacking them with leather bound bibles.”
Bumper stickers, sound bites, and clever sloganeering do little to advance understanding. Generalizations and overstating fill our political rhetoric. We tend to demonize and vilify any position other than our own as unchristian. As the risk of angering some of you let me give some examples.
(1) Those that are pro-choice may not be “pro-abortion” they simply believe that a woman has the rights over her own body. Do I agree? No, I do not. Am I so bold as to say that those who are pro-choice are unchristian? I am in no position to judge that. Indeed, I know some people who hold that view who are fine, Christ-like, loving people.
(2) Those who oppose to placing the “Ten Commandments” in public places may not be “anti-Ten Commandments.” They simply understand it to be a violation of the separation of church and state.
(3) Those who oppose the policies of the Religious Right are not all “Christian bashers;” and those who oppose the liberal tendencies of church and culture are not all fanatic reactionaries. I know that to be true because I am one. But the outlandish diatribes against one another continue. We need to watch what we say and debate our differences responsibly. We must speak and act in a way that sheds light, not just heat, on the important issues of our day. Paul admonished us to “speak the truth in love.” That is a good word for us today.
4. You shall not fall into the civil religion trap.
Our debate should be civil, our religion shouldn’t be. What is civil religion? Robert Linder defines it as “that generalized form of national faith that mixes piety with patriotism and traditional religion with national life until it is impossible to distinguish between the two.” It is the merger of a fuzzy Judeo/Christian consensus with flag-waving Americanism. I am for both. I believe in traditional, conservative faith as the backbone of our culture. I am also proud to be an American. I do know, however, that the two are not synonymous.
Civil Religion results when we fail to properly distinguish between God and government. When we fail to keep a healthy distance from government, we can get captured by government and used for political purposes. Prayer in school, the Ten Commandments and many other religious issues have been captured and have become political issues. We are asking a civil government to make decisions about religious issues. That is a dangerous thing to do.
Civil Religion in its extreme form creates the Theocracy of the Taliban in Afghanistan or the Ayatollah Khomeini in Iran. We need to place our faith in the biblical God of justice and righteousness, not the puny deity of civil religion.
5. You shall not involve your church in electoral politics.
While our duties as Christian citizens require individuals to become involved, churches and religious organizations must be careful of their involvement. The tax code is clear that, while churches may take positions on public issues, they may not support or oppose candidates for public office. This includes outright endorsement, financial support, distribution of campaign literature, and joining political action committees.
Churches should encourage good citizenship, promote voter education, or hold public forums (as long as all candidates are invited). Ministers and other church leaders may become involved in politics as long as it is clear that they are doing so as individuals, not representing the church. I encourage you to become involved and campaign for qualified candidates. This is particularly true if the candidates are members of our church, but the church itself cannot endorse even one of our own.
So, the Christian American Citizen moves in both realms – the Kingdom of God and the kingdom of Caesar. And we must be both pastoral and prophetic as the situation dictates. We speak of peace and advance our causes with humility, not expecting that everyone will agree. We do not claim to know the mind of God or to be His exclusive spokesman. We behave responsibly and with integrity knowing that unworthy means are never justified by even the worthiest of results.
Maybe the Great Commandment should be our guide: Love the Lord you God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength – and love your neighbor as yourself . . . even if that neighbor disagrees with you!
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