By Rudy Barnes, Jr.
The
many variations of Christianity share one thing in common. It is discipleship,
and it requires following the teachings of Jesus as the word of God. Those teachings are summarized in the greatest commandment to love God and
our neighbors as we love ourselves. And
in a democracy, discipleship requires that we relate our love for others—all others—to our politics.
Most
Americans claim to be Christians, and they elected Donald Trump their President. In so doing they and their religion failed a
test of faith, legitimacy and politics.
Our faith is the primary source of our standards of legitimacy, and our moral
and legal standards of legitimacy shape our politics—for good or bad.
The
stewardship of democracy is a test of faith.
When Christians fail to relate the moral imperatives of their faith to
politics, they compromise their discipleship and the legitimacy of the church. Churches are complicit in this failure. They fail to emphasize the stewardship of
democracy as an act of discipleship, citing a wall of separation between the church
and state.
There
is no legal requirement to separate religion and politics. The First Amendment to the Constitution
prohibits government from establishing or promoting any religion, but it does
not prohibit religions from relating their faith to politics. In fact, any church that does not relate the
duties of discipleship to democracy is as dead as a body without the spirit.
(See James 1:26).
John
Wesley’s first priority for discipleship was to do no harm, then to do good. Dietrich Bonhoeffer gave meaning to The Cost
of Discipleship when he left the safety of a seminary in the U.S. to
confront Hitler, and made the ultimate sacrifice. Donald Trump may not be another Hitler, but all
indications are that his regime will threaten the legitimacy of our democracy.
It
won’t take long to determine whether Donald Trump will be the dangerous demagogue
that many expect him to be. If so, Christians
and church leaders will have failed their test of faith, legitimacy and
politics. To appeal that failing grade they
must justify their support of a man who represents the antithesis of Christian
morality. Perhaps the rest of us were
wrong.
There
is a remedial assignment for those who failed their test of faith. It is to read the four gospels—or even just
one of them. They are the only place to find
the teachings of Jesus on discipleship, and they should be read carefully,
critically and prayerfully. They don’t
address all modern political issues, but they provide the timeless altruistic principles
needed for that task.
A
study of the gospels and self-reflection should be accompanied by interfaith discussions
on how our faith shapes our standards of legitimacy and politics. Judaism, Christianity and Islam must all
promote a politics of reconciliation to preserve the fabric of democracy in our
increasingly pluralistic and polarized world.
Let’s
put our failures behind us and focus on following the moral teachings of Jesus
as the heart of legitimacy and the means to promote a politics of
reconciliation. Discipleship in our
democracy is not just for Christians, but for all those who wish to prevent the
fabric of our polarized democracy from unraveling—whatever their faith.
Notes:
On the ambiguous cause and effect
relationship between religion and politics, see http://religionnews.com/2016/12/07/its-time-we-think-of-politics-more-like-religion/.
In religious terms those
Christians who voted for Donald Trump must repent of that failure of
discipleship and make a commitment to follow the teachings of Jesus as the word
of God. See https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/right-turn/wp/2016/12/08/how-trumps-evangelical-supporters-can-atone/?wpisrc=nl_popns&wpmm=1.
On Trump’s coming war with Islam, see https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/global-opinions/trumps-coming-war-against-islam/2016/12/11/edf3241c-bd60-11e6-91ee-1adddfe36cbe_story.html?wpisrc=nl_opinions&wpmm=1.
For an interfaith study guide on The
Teachings of Jesus and Muhammad on Morality and Law: The Heart of Legitimacy,
see https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B3gvZV8mXUp-aTJubVlISnpQc1U/view. This is a Resource posted at http://www.jesusmeetsmuhammad.com/ and http://www.religionlegitimacyandpolitics.com/. The Introduction
explains its purpose, which is to compare the teachings of Jesus selected by
Thomas Jefferson as “the most sublime moral code ever designed by man” with the
teachings or revelations of Muhammad.
The first 18 topics are a summary of moral teachings of Jesus taken from
the Gospel of Mark. It should be noted
that while Jefferson admired Jesus, he was harshly critical of institutional
Christianity.
On church leaders who understand how
discipleship requires opposing unprincipled demagogues like Donald Trump, see http://www.religionlegitimacyandpolitics.com/2016/12/righteous-anger-in-religion-and-politics.html and Notes
cited.
On irreconcilable differences and the demise of democracy, see http://www.religionlegitimacyandpolitics.com/2016/11/irreconcilable-differences-and-demise.html.
On the need for a politics of reconciliation in a polarized democracy,
see http://www.religionlegitimacyandpolitics.com/2016/10/the-need-for-politics-of-reconciliation.html.
On religion and a politics of reconciliation based on shared values,
see http://www.religionlegitimacyandpolitics.com/2016/11/religion-and-politics-of-reconciliation.html.
On religion and reconciliation following an apocalyptic election, see http://www.religionlegitimacyandpolitics.com/2016/11/religion-and-reconciliation-after.html.
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