A brief reflection today…
Reviewing some of my recent posts, a friend gave me some friendly criticism. He fears that I may be writing more about politics than theology. He encouraged me to “stick to theology please.” I replied that “sticking to theology” demands political reflection and commentary as well, especially today when so many politicians are pushing Christian nationalism but behaving in very non-Christian ways.
The word “politics” comes from the old Greek word politica. It concerns achieving and exercising governance over a human community like a city or a state. Politics, in the traditional humanitarian sense, strives to maintain the common good. In the American political tradition, of course, key political expressions of the U.S. common good are found in the 1776 Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution: all people are created equal and have inalienable rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. The 1787 U.S. Constitution stresses the importance of insuring justice, domestic tranquility, liberty, and the general welfare – for all.
“Theology” comes from two Greek words: theos and logos, meaning discourse about God. The traditional definition of theology is that it is “faith seeking understanding.” Theology probes and tries to understand and interpret the human experience of the Divine, whether called “Ground of Being;” “The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob;” “the Sacred;” “God;” or “Allah.”
In every generation, Christian theology strives to provide a believers’ narrative that makes sense of who we are today: that makes sense of the Good News of Christianity that God is love and we are not fated by our mistakes. Life is stronger than death. Care is stronger than hatred. We are all destined to be friends with one another and with God. Christian theology comes from a thoughtful conversation between the “I” who is a believer and the “we” who are believers. It is grounded in Christian tradition, the scriptures, and the experience of contemporary believers.
I am not a politician but a theologian. Living in Europe but still very much a citizen of the United States, I do have some concerns about contemporary U.S. politics and the current Washington administration. I think the upcoming mid-term elections will be tremendously important. Key issues are truth, honesty, human compassion, and respect for all people regardless of gender, race, and religion. The incumbent president has increased his wealth by at least $2.2 billion since returning to office. This is not just about politics. It raises humanitarian ethical and theological questions.
A religion is an institutionally organized and highly structured theology. It has institutional and cultic leaders, set symbols and rituals, an official creed or statement of belief, a code of morality, sacred scriptures, and sacred places like shrines, synagogues, mosques, and churches.
When religion and politics get twisted together, one can expect sparks, short circuits, and explosions. The genius of the American political philosophy and governmental structure has been a strict separation of church and state. Good political wisdom. Good religious wisdom. As an American I do not want a theocracy. I do not want any bishop or any evangelical reformer setting up rules of life for me and telling me what I can or cannot do as a citizen. Religious leaders can and should critique government policies; but they should not become political operators. And certainly not high-level functionaries of any political party. An established church or religion is the end of democracy and undermines the common good.
It is a dangerous situation when a religion becomes the political engine that runs a country. History teaches and current events show that highly politicized religion loses its proper religious identity. By becoming so intimately bound up in the political operations, it loses its ability to challenge the values of that society. It loses the always necessary prophetic and counter-cultural social critique function of a religion. Over time, it loses its ability to be of service to people. It loses its proper religious identity. Instead, it becomes an autocratic crowd-control mechanism. It ceases being the object of respect and admiration. It becomes cold, controlling, and demeaning.
I have no desire to get into party politics. As a strong believer in Christ and as an historical theologian, however, I will speak out about and challenge any politician, political policy, or political movement that denigrates or destroys another person because of that person’s gender, sexual orientation, race, religious identity, or nationality.
Being the Good Samaritan is not just pious platitude demanding polite lip service. It is the way of Christ. We all must be prophetic witnesses to the message and spirit of Christ in contemporary society.
- Jack
Dr. John A. Dick – Historical Theologian
Personal email: jadleuven@gmail.com
