A Political Agenda?
A couple of months ago I was accused on social media of being entangled in a political narrative. I was told I needed to sacrifice, “the obsession with [my] political narrative.” It’s not a new accusation, I’ve been accused of it many times and it’s false, or at least partially false.
To the degree that it is false, I have no political agenda tied to any political party, nation, or political/social/economic ideology. While my undergraduate work is in sociology and I still enjoy a sociological perspective on things I haven’t taken my reading and study much past that undergraduate level. My graduate work, masters and doctorate, are in the field of theology and it is in this realm that I move around with a degree of ease and it is within this discipline that my views on the world are formed.
So, as a pastor/theologian who believes the Christian faith has a lot to say about how Christians are supposed to live and act in the world there is some degree of truth to the accusation.
Indeed, my first sermon back in the 80s was on the kingdom of God. In that sermon I called the congregation to take Christ's teaching in the Sermon on the Mount and apply it to their lives. At that time I was also a member of Evangelical Christians for Racial Justice, pushing for racial equality in a deeply divided Great Britain. I was involved in peace and reconciliation work through both Corrymeela and Prison Fellowship. As the 80s became the 90s, became the 00s, the 10s and now the 20s I have continued to imperfectly pursue a life committed to the kingdom of God.
There is a narrative by which I seek to live my life and it has a number of components to it, everyone of which is theologically driven. My central focus has always been in honouring the image of God in all people and proclaiming the kingdom of God over everything else. Those two elements tend to cause conflict with the systems of this world. The life and teaching of Jesus has always been the driving factor.
I have tried to allow the biblical prophets to challenge me, putting myself not on their side, but rather recognizing that their accusations may well be speaking to weaknesses in my own desire to follow Christ in this world. If people want to misrepresent and mischaracterize my beliefs there’s nothing I can do about that. As Helder Camara said, “When I give food to the poor, they call me a saint. When I ask why the poor have no food, they call me a communist.”
I’ll stand alongside the people the fundamentalist side of the church seek to marginalise and demean. Even if I don’t wholly agree with or understand their position I will stand with them and seek to honour rather than diminish their humanity. This may have some brand me a liberal or socialist. That’s fine. Jesus wasn’t too popular when he ate with certain groups of people, or stood alongside a woman caught in adultery.
Most of the time when I am accused of having a political agenda it is because the lens the other person is looking through demands that type of interpretation. It says more about who they are and where they are coming from than it does about my own motivation.
Of course I recognize that I am a product of my culture and that this impacts the outworking of the narrative I live by. I am not neutral, none of us are or can be. I have worked hard over the years to minimise unhealthy cultural narratives that run contrary to conforming my life to the way of Christ. The influences that helped me arrive where I am today are many and varied. In my desire to be faithful to the kingdom of God I place primary emphasis on the Bible and careful exegesis of the text as I seek to bring it bear on every aspect of my life, yes I still have a way to go.
Most recently I’ve been heavily focused on the heresy of Christian Nationalism. This is nothing new to me. I’ve been challenging that idea since before I even knew the term. I compiled a list of ten books that have influenced my thoughts on this topic. Only two of which directly address the contemporary political situation.
The Cost of Discipleship - Dietrich Bonhoeffer
Dignity and Destiny - John Kilner
The Sermon on the Mount and Human Flourishing - Jonathan Pennington
Missional Church - Darrell Guder
Living as the People of God - Christopher Wright
Resident Aliens - Hauerwas and Willimon
The Myth of a Christian Nation - Greg Boyd
Captain America and the Crusade Against Evil - Jewett and Lawrence
American Blindspot - Gerardo Marti
Taking America Back for God - Whitehead and Perry
I considered adding Alister McGrath’s “Heresy: A History of Defending the Truth” to the list. It just missed the cut. McGrath is careful to explain that the intentions behind heresy are often honourable and apologetic in nature, but notes that “Heresy appears to be Christian, yet it is actually the enemy of faith that sows the seed of faith’s destruction.”
Do I have a political narrative? I suppose I do, but its source and motivation is theological.
Do I have a political agenda? Yes and no.
To the extent that God’s kingdom, “built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone.” Is political then my agenda is political. To the extent that God’s kingdom is global, I’m a globalist.
I suppose my political manifesto could be summed up in the words of 1 John 16-18
This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters. If anyone has material possessions and sees a brother or sister in need but has no pity on them, how can the love of God be in that person? Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth.
