This is my political theology in a nutshell. In my estimation, one of the most pernicious and lamentable developments within Christian life has been our relationship with partisan politics. On both the left and the right, Christianity has become instrumentalized, a tool of political power, a means of winning elections. Christians no longer trust the Lord. We trust Washington, DC. Or, more precisely stated, we trust in having our people run Washington, DC.
To be sure, I've wrestled with our democratic responsibilities and common sense appeals that Christians should and must vote to improve our shared existence as citizens. But what I'm naming here is trust, about where we're putting our confidence. And I think it's reasonable to infer where our trust is located by noticing where most of our attention, emotions, and energy is being directed. As Jesus said, where your treasure is there will your heart be. And I think it's pretty obvious that most Christians have their treasure and hearts invested in politics.
What strikes me about the early Christians was their interest in evangelism. Their tool was persuasion. That, and the attractiveness of their shared life together. They lived within a wicked and tyrannical empire with a political equanimity that would flummox us today. They had their trust properly placed. Their treasure was in heaven, not in Rome. And they knew that their calling was to convert their neighbors rather than coerce them. They would change their world by calling people to God, not by controlling the government. Modern Christians, by contrast, have wholly given up on their evangelistic calling and have chosen, instead, to legislate their way to a better world. If you can't persuade them, force them. Don't evangelize, win elections.
Again, I'm not offering here a well-thought out political theology. That's a complex and snarly task. But what I do think any political theology has to reckon with is how twisted and malformed American Christianity has become. Our relationship to politics is sick and diseased. Our trust has become misplaced. We're idolators. And any vision of Christian political action that fails to account for this sickness is an adventure in missing the point. Our political action must begin and end in the heart. Before anything else the issue of trust has to be dealt with. As a Christian, you will not have a healthy relationship with politics if you are putting your trust in princes and Presidents.
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