By Rudy Barnes, Jr.
Our politics are shaped by values and moral standards of legitimacy derived from religion that define what is right and wrong. Some Christians don’t seem to understand the relationship between religion, legitimacy and politics and say that they they don’t mix religion and politics. They are either deceiving themselves, or admitting that their faith has no standards of political legitimacy.
The interrelationship between religion, legitimacy and politics is clear, but there is dangerous diversity in the standards of political legitimacy among the many forms of Christianity. Church doctrines subordinate the universal moral standards taught by Jesus to exclusivist Christian beliefs, and the moral standards of Donald Trump contradict the moral teachings of Jesus.
The interrelationship between religion, legitimacy and politics is clear, but there is dangerous diversity in the standards of political legitimacy among the many forms of Christianity. Church doctrines subordinate the universal moral standards taught by Jesus to exclusivist Christian beliefs, and the moral standards of Donald Trump contradict the moral teachings of Jesus.
Jesus defined the evils that defile a person in Mark 7:20-23. With the possible exception of murder, those are the moral standards of Donald Trump--and the opposite of the altruistic moral imperatives of Christian love summarized in the greatest commandment to love God and our neighbors--including our neighbors of other races and religions--as we love ourselves.
Even so, most white Christians voted for Trump and continue to support him and his Republican minions. Most of those voters go to churches where pastors preach a gospel of the church that emphasizes exclusivist Christian beliefs and ignores the universal moral teachings of Jesus. And most white pastors avoid mixing religion and politics.
If Christianity is to survive its current identity crisis, it must mix religion and politics, relating the moral teachings of Jesus to the stewardship of democracy. Mystical beliefs will vary among Christians, but there should be a consensus on the moral imperatives of Christianity, even though there will be differences in how those moral imperatives are applied in politics.
In America, there is no justification to separate the moral standards of religion from politics. The First Amendment to the Constitution doesn’t require that religion be kept out of politics, only that government is kept out of religion. Any faith that does not apply its moral standards to democracy is useless. It’s as dead as a body without the spirit. (see James 2:26)
The health of any democracy depends upon balancing the wants and rights of individuals and identity groups with providing for the common good. All of the great prophets of Judaism (and that includes Jesus) and Muhammad, as the great prophet of Islam, emphasized providing for the common good, with an emphasis on caring for the poor and needy.
Jesus was the last in a long line of Jewish prophets and a radical rabbi who emphasized altruistic morality in the greatest commandment. He was a Jew who never promoted any religion, not even his own--much less an exclusivist Christian religion. Jesus was a prophet for all people, yet his teachings have been ignored or rejected by most white Christians in America.
There is great irony in the words of America the Beautiful. If God shed his grace on America and crowned its good with brotherhood, we have blown it. Most Americans who claim to be Christians brought shame to their faith when they elected Donald Trump as President. But God can mend our every flaw and confirm our soul in self control, and our liberty in law. For that to happen, America must be born again of the spirit and promote a politics of reconciliation.
Notes:
Jesus debunked Jewish dietary laws as standards of righteousness, teaching that evil comes from the heart, not from food that enters the stomach, and then listed evil thoughts that defile people.
"14 Again Jesus called the crowd to him and said, “Listen to me, everyone, and understand this.
15 Nothing outside a person can defile them by going into them. Rather, it is what comes out of a person that defiles them.”
17 After he had left the crowd and entered the house, his disciples asked him about this parable. 18 “Are you so dull?” he asked. “Don’t you see that nothing that enters a person from the outside can defile them?19 For it doesn’t go into their heart but into their stomach, and then out of the body.” (In saying this, Jesus declared all foods clean.) 20 He went on: “What comes out of a person is what defiles them.
21 For it is from within, out of a person’s heart, that evil thoughts come—sexual immorality, theft, murder, 22 adultery, greed, malice, deceit, lewdness, envy, slander, arrogance and folly. 23 All these evils come from inside and defile a person.” Mark 7:14-15, 17-23
America the Beautiful, by Katharine Lee Bates (1904):
O beautiful for spacious skies, for amber waves of grain,
For purple mountain majesties, above the fruited plain!
America, America!
God shed his grace on thee,
And crown thy good with brotherhood from sea to shining sea.
O beautiful for heroes proved in liberating strife,
Who more than self their country loved and mercy more than life!
America! America!
May God thy gold refine,
Till all success be nobleness, and every gain divine!
O beautiful for patriot dream that sees beyond the years
Thine alabaster cities gleam undimmed by human tears!
America! America!
God mend thine every flaw,
Confirm thy soul in self control, thy liberty in law.
The United Methodist Hymnal, p 696
Related commentary:
(1/11/15): The Greatest Commandment: A Common Word of Faith
(1/18/15): Love over Law: A Principle at the Heart of Legitimacy
(2/8/15): Promoting Religion Through Evangelism: Bringing Light or Darkness?
(3/8/15): Wealth, Politics, Religion and Economic Justice
(4/12/15): Faith as a Source of Morality and Law: The Heart of Legitimacy
(4/19/15): Jesus: A Prophet, God’s Only Son, or the Logos? http://www.religionlegitimacyandpolitics.com/2015/04/jesus-prophet-god-only-son-or-logos.html
(5/24/15): De Oppresso Liber: Where Religion and Politics Intersect
(6/28/15): Confronting the Evil Among Us
(8/9/15): Balancing Individual Rights with Collective Responsibilities
(8/30/15): What Is Truth?
(9/20/15): Politics and Religious Polarization
(11/22/15): Dualism: Satan’s Evil Versus God’s Goodness
(12/26/15): Resettling Refugees: Multiculturalism versus Assimilation
(1/23/16): Who Is My Neighbor?
(1/30/16): The Politics of Loving Our Neighbors as Ourselves
(2/7/16): Jesus Meets Muhammad on Issues of Religion and Politics
(2/27/16): Conflicting Concepts of Legitimacy in Faith, Freedom and Politics
(3/12/16): Religion, Race and the Deterioration of Democracy in America
(3/19/16): Religion, Democracy and Human Depravity
(3/26/16): Religion, Democracy, Diversity and Demagoguery
(5/14/16): The Arrogance of Power, Humility and a Politics of Reconciliation
(7/9/16): Back to the Future: Race, Religion, Rights and a Politics of Reconciliation
(8/5/16): How Religion Can Bridge Our Political and Cultural Divide http://www.religionlegitimacyandpolitics.com/2016/08/how-religion-can-bridge-our-political.html
(9/17/16): A Moral Revival to Restore Legitimacy to Our Politics
(9/24/16): The Evolution of Religion and Politics from Oppression to Freedom
(10/22/16): The Need for a Politics of Reconciliation in a Polarized Democracy
(11/26/16): Irreconcilable Differences and the Demise of Democracy
(12/31/16): E Pluribus Unum, Religion and a Politics of Reconciliation
(3/4/17): Ignorance and Reason in Religion and Politics
(3/11/17): Accountability and the Stewardship of Democracy
(3/18/17): Moral Ambiguity in Religion and Politics
(4/22/17): The Relevance of Jesus and the Irrelevance of the Church in Today’s World
(6/17/17): Religious Exclusivity: Does It Matter?
(7/1/17): Religion, Moral Authority and Conflicting Concepts of Legitimacy
(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
(8/19/17): Hate, History and the Need for a Politics of Reconciliation
(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.
(12/2/17): How Religious Standards of Legitimacy Shape Politics, for Good or Bad
(12/9/17): Religion, Race and Identity Politics
(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.
(1/6/18): Musings of a Maverick Methodist on Diversity in Democracy
(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
(2/24/18): Musings of a Maverick Methodist on Religion, Freedom and Legitimacy
(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
(5/12/18): Musings of a Maverick Methodist on Christianity and Making America Great Again
(6/15/18): The Prosperity Gospel: Where Culture Trumps Religion in Legitimacy and Politics
(7/7/18): Whose America Is This? Musings on Conflicting Standards of Legitimacy in Religion and Politics http://www.religionlegitimacyandpolitics.com/2018/07/whose-america-is-this-musings-on.html.
(7/14/18): Musings on Why Christians Should Put Moral Standards Over Mystical Beliefs
(7/21/18): Musings on America’s Moral and Political Mess and Who Should Clean It Up
(8/4/18): Musings of a Maverick Methodist on Religious Problems and Solutions in Politics
(8/11/18): Musings of a Maverick Methodist on Changing Morality in Religion and Politics
(8/25/18): Musings of a Maverick Methodist on Moral Priorities in Religion and Politics
(9/1/18): Musings on the American Civil Religion and Christianity at a Crossroads
(9/29/18): Musings of a Maverick Methodist on the Resurrection of Christian Universalism
(10/13/18): Musings on a Common Word of Faith and Politics for Christians and Muslims
(11/3/18): Musings of a Maverick Methodist: Has God Blessed Us or Damned Us?
(11/17/18): Christianity and Clashing Identities in Politics and Religion
(11/24/18): Musings of a Maverick Methodist on Christianity and the Legitimacy of Democracy http://www.religionlegitimacyandpolitics.com/2018/11/musings-of-maverick-methodist-on.html.
(12/1/18): Musings of a Maverick Methodist on the Mystical Logos
(12/8/18): Trump and the Apostles’ Creed: Is It a Prayer or a Profession of Faith?
(12/15/18): Musings on the Great Commission and Religious and Political Tribalism
(12/22/18): Musings on Faith and Works: The Unity of All Believers and The Last Judgment
http://www.religionlegitimacyandpolitics.com/2018/12/musings-on-faith-and-works-unity-of-all.html.
http://www.religionlegitimacyandpolitics.com/2018/12/musings-on-faith-and-works-unity-of-all.html.
(12/29/18): Musings of a Maverick Methodist on Justice in Religion and Politics
(1/5/19): Musings of a Maverick Methodist on Building Political Walls or Bridges
(1/12/19): Musings of a Maverick Methodist on Authenticity and Political Legitimacy
(1/19/19): Musings of a Maverick Methodist on the Discomfort of Discipleship
(1/26/19): Musings of a Maverick Methodist on the Evolution of the Gospel(s)
No comments:
Post a Comment