Saturday, June 30, 2018

Who Are We? Musings on How Our Faith Shapes Our Politics and Who We Are

 By Rudy Barnes, Jr.

        President Trump’s political rally last week in Columbia said a lot about who we are.  He was thronged by crowds who cheered when he insulted those who criticized him and praised his own mean-spirited policies.  Sadly, The vast majority of white South Carolinians support Donald Trump and his Republican Party. I oppose them, but that doesn’t make me a Democrat.  I was once a Republican, but since 1986 I have been independent in my politics.

        Who are we?  In America’s democracy, our elected officials reflect who we are, for better or worse.  For those comfortable with a narcissist like Donald Trump and his Republican minions representing who they are, I can only offer my sympathy, and beg to differ.  Those like me who wish to project a more positive image of our nation, state and ourselves to others must elect representative who exemplify our altruistic values and virtues.       

Why do most white South Carolinians support the politics of Donald Trump?  It’s a matter of faith; their political values and moral standards of legitimacy are derived from their religion, and they claim to be Christians.  That’s ironic, since Trump’s moral standards are antithetical to those of Jesus. Trump’s Christian supporters either ignore the moral teachings of Jesus in their politics, or profess faith in distorted doctrines like those of the prosperity gospel.

The prosperity gospel is based on Old Testament beliefs that God rewards the faithful with health, wealth and prosperity.  It resembles the self-centered objectivist philosophy of Ayn Rand and is a good fit for America’s materialistic and hedonistic culture, but it contradicts the altruistic moral teachings of Jesus.  The prosperity gospel is not a form of Christianity, and those Christians who don’t apply the moral teachings of Jesus to their politics risk being hypocrites.

Donald Trump and his Republican Party are not anomalies; they are caricatures of
the corrupt American values now on display for the rest of the world to see.  It may give us some comfort to know that other democracies share similar radical-right values.  Around the world altruistic religious values have been challenged by radical right politics that pander to greed, nationalism and the nativist fear and hatred of immigrants.

If we acknowledge what we look like to others and don’t like what we see, there are things we can do about it.  The first step is to end the tribalism that has polarized our politics along racial and partisan lines. We must promote a politics of reconciliation  based on the altruistic values taught by Jesus summarized in the greatest commandment to love God and to love our neighbors--including our neighbors of other races and religions--as we love ourselves.

A politics of reconciliation requires balancing our individual rights and wants with providing for the common good.  In America, both parties have favored the special interests of their identity groups at the expense of the common good.  Education is an important public priority, but it’s not the solution to this fundamental problem of distorted values. It will take a moral reformation to balance selfish and immoral political values with altruistic values.                

A moral reformation should begin in the church since over 70% of Americans claim to be Christians.  Evangelical pastors who have promoted Trump’s mean-spirited radical-right politics under the guise of distorted family values must reverse course, and white pastors in mainstream denominations who have been silent on political issues must speak out and promote the moral stewardship of democracy.  Such a change in political values must begin in America’s pulpits.

There is a glimmer of hope for a moral reformation within the church.  In the wake of Trump’s “zero tolerance” policy that separated children from immigrant parents seeking political asylum, some pastors have ended their silence on politics in the pulpit and denounced Trump’s policy as immoral.  If more pastors follow their example and promote the moral stewardship of democracy, the church can shape a new and moral America that makes us proud of who we are.

 
Notes:

America the Beautiful has become America the Ugly.  In Trump’s America, tribalism reigns. See https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/plum-line/wp/2018/06/26/in-trumps-america-tribalism-reigns/?utm_term=.d6cf6eb66cff&wpisrc=nl_popns&wpmm=1.

Against a backdrop of increasing tribalism and partisan polarization a feud over civility in politics escalates amid Trump insults and presents a picture of discord and hate in America. See https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/feud-over-civility-in-politics-escalates-amid-trump-insults/2018/06/25/69a55856-7894-11e8-93cc-6d3beccdd7a3_story.html?utm_term=.667877398e11&wpisrc=nl_most&wpmm=1.
  
It should give Americans little comfort to know that Turkey, a key NATO ally, has given its Trump-like president Erdogan more power to undermine Turkey’s secular liberties.  See https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/worldviews/wp/2018/06/26/what-the-worlds-nationalists-can-learn-from-turkey-and-erdogan/?utm_term=.5c35d58b5421&wpisrc=nl_headlines&wpmm=1.

The family separation issue of Trump’s “zero tolerance” immigration policy has prompted pulpits that were once silent on religion and politics to promote the need for Christian morality in politics.  See https://www.thedailybeast.com/how-trump-could-make-church-cool-again-for-millennials?utm_source=Pew+Research+Center&utm_campaign=9a65ce4952-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2018_06_27_03_27&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_3e953b9b70-9a65ce4952-399971105.


Related commentary:

(1/11/15): The Greatest Commandment: A Common Word of Faith
(3/8/15): Wealth, Politics, Religion and Economic Justice
(4/12/15): Faith as a Source of Morality and Law: The Heart of Legitimacy
(8/30/15): What Is Truth?
(10/18/15): God, Money and Politics
(1/23/16): Who Is My Neighbor?
(1/30/16): The Politics of Loving Our Neighbors as Ourselves
(2/13/16): We Are Known by the Friends We Keep
(6/4/16): Christianity and Capitalism: Strange Bedfellows in Politics
(9/17/16): A Moral Revival to Restore Legitimacy to Our Politics
(11/26/16): Irreconcilable Differences and the Demise of Democracy
(12/3/16): Righteous Anger in Religion and Politics
(12/17/16): Discipleship in a Democracy: A Test of Faith, Legitimacy and Politics
(1/7/17): Religion and Reason as Sources of Political Legitimacy, and Why They Matter
(1/21/17): Religion and Reason Redux: Religion Is Ridiculous
(2/4/17): When Confrontation Trumps Reconciliation in Politics and Religion
(3/4/17): Ignorance and Reason in Religion and Politics
(4/22/17): The Relevance of Jesus and the Irrelevance of the Church in Today’s World
(7/15/17) Religion and Progressive Politics
(7/29/17): Speaking God’s Truth to Man’s Power
(8/12/17): The Universalist Teachings of Jesus as a Remedy for Religious Exclusivism  
(9/9/17): The Evolution of the American Civil Religion and Habits of the Heart http://www.religionlegitimacyandpolitics.com/2017/09/the-evolution-of-american-civil.html.
(9/16/17): The American Civil Religion and the Danger of Riches
(9/23/17): Tribalism and the American Civil Religion  
(10/7/17): A 21st Century Reformation to Restore Reason to American Civil Religion http://www.religionlegitimacyandpolitics.com/2017/10/a-21st-century-reformation-to-restore.html.
(10/21/17): The Symbiotic Relationship between Freedom and Religion
(11/18/17): Radical Religion and the Demise of Democracy
(12/2/17): How Religious Standards of Legitimacy Shape Politics, for Good or Bad
(12/16/17): Can Democracy Survive the Trump Era?
(12/23/17): If Democracy Survives the Trump Era, Can the Church Survive Democracy? http://www.religionlegitimacyandpolitics.com/2017/12/if-democracy-survives-trump-era-can.html.
(1/13/18): Nationalist Politics and Exclusivist Religion: Obstacles to Reconciliation and Peace
(1/20/18): Musings of a Maverick Methodist on Morality and Religion in Politics
(1/27/18): Musings on Conflicting Concepts of Christian Morality in Politics
(2/17/18): Musings of a Maverick on Money, Wall Street, Greed and Politics
(3/3/18): Musings of a Maverick Methodist on America’s Holy War
(3/24/18): Musings of a Maverick Methodist on Christian Morality as a Standard of Legitimacy http://www.religionlegitimacyandpolitics.com/2018/03/musings-of-maverick-methodist-on_24.html
(3/31/18): Altruism: The Missing Ingredient in American Christianity and Democracy
(4/7/18): Musings of a Maverick Methodist on the Need for a Moral Reformation
(4/28/18): Musings of a Maverick Methodist on the Virtues and Vices of Christian Morality
(5/5/18): Musings of a Maverick Methodist on Nostalgia as an Obstacle to Progress
(5/12/18): Musings of a Maverick Methodist on Christianity and Making America Great Again
(5/19/18): Musings on Morality and Law as Symbiotic but Conflicting Standards of Legitimacy
(6/2/18): Musings on Good Versus Evil and Apocalypse in Religion, Legitimacy and Politics
(6/15/18): The Prosperity Gospel: Where Culture Trumps Religion in Legitimacy and Politics
(6/23/18): Musings on the Separation of Church and State and Christian Morality in Politics



Saturday, June 23, 2018

Musings on the Separation of Church and State and Christian Morality in Politics

 By Rudy Barnes, Jr.

The separation of church and state mandated by the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution does not require the separation of religion and politics, it only prohibits government from establishing (or promoting) any religion.  On the other hand, Christian morality must be applied to our politics, or our faith is as dead as a body without the spirit. (see James 2:14-26).

Jesus never mentioned morality in politics since democracy was irrelevant to his time and place; but his moral teachings are relevant to the stewardship of democracy in our time and place, and his teachings are  summarized in the greatest commandment to love God and to love our neighbors--including our neighbors of other races and religions--as we love ourselves.

The greatest challenge for American democracy is balancing individual wants and rights with providing for the common good.  In America’s materialistic and hedonistic culture, we love what we want for ourselves and often ignore the needs of others. As as result, American Christianity emphasizes Jesus as our personal savior who provides us personal salvation, and our politics reflect our religious preferences for personal wants at the expense of the needs of others.      

The moral teachings of Jesus on self-denial and sacrificial love were never popular.  To make Christianity popular church leaders subordinated the moral teachings of Jesus to belief in exclusivist church doctrines and creeds.  The latter provided cheap grace and salvation without the cost of discipleship. In the fourth century Constantine initiated an unholy alliance between Christianity and worldly power when he made Christianity the religion of the Roman Empire.
           
In the Protestant Reformation of the sixteenth century Martin Luther emphasized grace and faith (sola fide) as essentials for salvation and denigrated Christian morality.  The religious wars that followed did not end until The Treaty of Westphalia in 1648.  Then the Enlightenment introduced democracy and the political sovereignty of man to replace the divine right to rule and political sovereignty of God.  But democracy did not bring Christian morality to politics.

Martin Luther’s concept of two kingdoms separated God’s kingdom from worldly kingdoms and Christian obligations from those of politics.  Robert Jeffress recently revived Luther’s two kingdom concept when he asserted that “individuals are called biblically to be kind and caring, but not governments.”  He absolved those white Christians who supported Donald Trump and his Republican minions from the need to apply Christian morality to their politics.

President Trump reversed his policy to separate children  from parents seeking political asylum by Executive Order after a firestorm of public criticism, which included some church officials, that the policy was immoral.  But in red states where the vast majority of white Christians support Trump and his Republican minions, the silence of church pulpits on this and other immoral policies of the Trump administration indicates a corruption of Christian morality.

Michael Gerson has chided pastors for ignoring their “moral duty to oppose the dehumanization of migrants” and suggested a sermon that acknowledges political differences, but emphasizes “a common belief with unavoidably public consequences: Christians are to love their neighbor, and everyone is their neighbor.”  John Pavlovitch has gone further and suggested that “if your church is silent [on moral issues] this week, you may want to leave it.”

The Lord’s Prayer begins with the petition that “Thy kingdom come and thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.”  It mandates that Christians bring God’s kingdom of light and love to worldly kingdoms beset by darkness and hate, and it requires the Christian stewardship of democracy to promote a politics of reconciliation based on the altruistic teachings of Jesus that are summarized in the greatest commandment to love God and neighbor.

American democracy is threatened by racial and partisan political polarization.  Over 70% of Americans consider themselves Christians, but most of them voted for Donald Trump, who is antithetical to Christian morality.  Those who ignore the teachings of Jesus in their politics are hypocrites. Unless and until the church makes Christian morality a priority in politics, the church will continue to decline and ultimately be relegated to the dustbin of history.  


Notes:

Paul Chaffee cited Robert Jeffress’ two kingdoms theology, and Jeffress’ assertion that “President Trump is not only on the right side of history; he is on the right side of God.”  See
Chafee also noted the tactics of right-wing Christian evangelicals who are promoting a form of American Christian nationalism that would “use the coercive powers of government to secure a privileged position in society for their version of Christianity.”  It is a form of “Christian” morality at odds with the teachings of Jesus and promoted as the free exercise of religion. See https://interfaith-observer.squarespace.com/journal-articles/2018/6/14/and-the-enemy-is-interfaith.  See also, https://www.nytimes.com/2018/05/26/opinion/project-blitz-christian-nationalists.html.

Attorney General Jeff Sessions cited Romans 13 to support the President Trump’s policy of separating children from parents seeking asylum as a law “ordained by God.”  It was taken out of context (see Romans 12 and Romans 13:9-10) and history has proven it to be wrong. It should be noted, however, that the law does not require such separation.  It is Trump administration policy and can be remedied by Executive Order without changing the law--as it was. See https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/acts-of-faith/wp/2018/06/14/jeff-sessions-points-to-the-bible-in-defense-of-separating-immigrant-families/?utm_term=.7142ffedfb46&wpisrc=nl_headlines&wpmm=1.  See also https://www.cbsnews.com/news/trump-executive-end-family-separation-at-border-immigration-today-2018-06-20.

Father James Martin has asserted that blindly following the law is not “biblical” and described the Trump policy to separate children from parents seeking asylum as unjust law: See  https://www.americamagazine.org/politics-society/2018/06/15/father-james-martin-blindly-following-law-not-biblical.  

The Rev. Dr. Susan Henry-Crowe of the United Methodist Church has denounced the Trump administration’s “zero tolerance policy” and the separation of children from parents seeking political asylum, and condemned Session’s use of Paul’s letter to the Romans to justify that immoral policy as a shocking violation of the spirit of the Gospel.  See            
https://www.umcjustice.org/news-and-stories/a-shocking-violation-of-the-spirit-of-the-gospel-697.  Unfortunately such pronouncements are rarely made in the pulpits of white UMC churches.   

The United Methodist News Service reported “More than 600 United Methodist clergy and laity say they are bringing church law charges against U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions, a fellow United Methodist, over a zero tolerance U.S. immigration policy — a policy that includes separating children from parents apprehended for crossing into the U.S. illegally.  ...Specifically, the group accuses him of ...separating young children from their parents and holding them in mass incarceration facilities; immorality; racial discrimination and ‘dissemination of doctrines contrary to the established standards of doctrines’ of The United Methodist Church.” See http://www.umc.org/news-and-media/church-charges-brought-against-sessions

After suggesting a sermon on the morality of immigration policies, Michael Gerson explained that “The proper role of Christians in politics is not to Christianize America; it is to demonstrate Christian values in the public realm. This was the spirit of the abolitionist movement, of the charitable and legal response to the human costs of the Industrial Revolution, and of the civil rights movement. This commitment does not lead toward a single party or ideology, but it does trace the outlines of an agenda: defending the rule of law, protecting minorities from discrimination and harm, fighting against trafficking and preventable suffering abroad, standing up for the rights of the disabled and vulnerable, shielding children from exploitation and abuse. ...If effective resistance happens at all, it will come from values-based, religiously motivated conservatives who can no longer stomach the moral putridity of Trumpism.” See   https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/a-case-study-in-the-proper-role-of-christians-in-politics/2018/06/21/39acd0bc-7578-11e8-b4b7-308400242c2e_story.html?utm_term=.16dc73b6b43b&wpisrc=nl_opinions&wpmm=1  

John Pavlovitz has gone further than Michael Gerson in criticising pastors and churches that are silent on matters of Christian morality in politics, especially on immigration.  He has written If your church is silent this week, you may want to leave it.  See https://johnpavlovitz.com/ (June 19, 2018)


Related Commentary:

(12/8/14): Religion and Reason
(1/11/15): The Greatest Commandment: A Common Word of Faith
(1/18/15): Love over Law: A Principle at the Heart of Legitimacy
(3/8/15): Wealth, Politics, Religion and Economic Justice
(4/12/15): Faith as a Source of Morality and Law: The Heart of Legitimacy
(8/30/15): What Is Truth?
(10/18/15): God, Money and Politics
(1/23/16): Who Is My Neighbor?
(1/30/16): The Politics of Loving Our Neighbors as Ourselves
(6/4/16): Christianity and Capitalism: Strange Bedfellows in Politics
(7/23/16): Reconciliation and Reality
(8/20/16): The Freedoms of Religion and Speech: Essentials of Liberty and Law
(9/10/16): Liberty in Law: A Matter of Man’s Law, not God’s Law
(9/17/16): A Moral Revival to Restore Legitimacy to Our Politics
(11/26/16): Irreconcilable Differences and the Demise of Democracy
(12/3/16): Righteous Anger in Religion and Politics
(12/17/16): Discipleship in a Democracy: A Test of Faith, Legitimacy and Politics
(1/7/17): Religion and Reason as Sources of Political Legitimacy, and Why They Matter
(1/21/17): Religion and Reason Redux: Religion Is Ridiculous
(1/28/17): Saving America from the Church
(2/4/17): When Confrontation Trumps Reconciliation in Politics and Religion
(3/4/17): Ignorance and Reason in Religion and Politics
(4/22/17): The Relevance of Jesus and the Irrelevance of the Church in Today’s World
(7/15/17) Religion and Progressive Politics
(7/29/17): Speaking God’s Truth to Man’s Power
(8/5/17): Does Religion Seek to Reconcile and Redeem or to Divide and Conquer?
(8/12/17): The Universalist Teachings of Jesus as a Remedy for Religious Exclusivism  
(9/9/17): The Evolution of the American Civil Religion and Habits of the Heart http://www.religionlegitimacyandpolitics.com/2017/09/the-evolution-of-american-civil.html.
(9/16/17): The American Civil Religion and the Danger of Riches
(9/23/17): Tribalism and the American Civil Religion  
(10/7/17): A 21st Century Reformation to Restore Reason to American Civil Religion http://www.religionlegitimacyandpolitics.com/2017/10/a-21st-century-reformation-to-restore.html.
(10/21/17): The Symbiotic Relationship between Freedom and Religion
(11/18/17): Radical Religion and the Demise of Democracy
(12/2/17): How Religious Standards of Legitimacy Shape Politics, for Good or Bad
(12/16/17): Can Democracy Survive the Trump Era?
(12/23/17): If Democracy Survives the Trump Era, Can the Church Survive Democracy? http://www.religionlegitimacyandpolitics.com/2017/12/if-democracy-survives-trump-era-can.html.
(1/13/18): Nationalist Politics and Exclusivist Religion: Obstacles to Reconciliation and Peace
(1/20/18): Musings of a Maverick Methodist on Morality and Religion in Politics
(1/27/18): Musings on Conflicting Concepts of Christian Morality in Politics
(2/17/18): Musings of a Maverick on Money, Wall Street, Greed and Politics
(3/3/18): Musings of a Maverick Methodist on America’s Holy War
(3/24/18): Musings of a Maverick Methodist on Christian Morality as a Standard of Legitimacy http://www.religionlegitimacyandpolitics.com/2018/03/musings-of-maverick-methodist-on_24.html
(3/31/18): Altruism: The Missing Ingredient in American Christianity and Democracy
(4/7/18): Musings of a Maverick Methodist on the Need for a Moral Reformation
(4/28/18): Musings of a Maverick Methodist on the Virtues and Vices of Christian Morality
(5/5/18): Musings of a Maverick Methodist on Nostalgia as an Obstacle to Progress
(5/12/18): Musings of a Maverick Methodist on Christianity and Making America Great Again
(5/19/18): Musings on Morality and Law as Symbiotic but Conflicting Standards of Legitimacy
(5/26/18): Musings of a Maverick Methodist on Mysticism and Morality in Religion and Politics
(6/2/18): Musings on Good Versus Evil and Apocalypse in Religion, Legitimacy and Politics
http://www.religionlegitimacyandpolitics.com/2018/06/musings-on-good-versus-evil-and.html.