Issues Facing Missions Today: 46. (Some) Values for American, Evangelical Voters
Dear
Evangelical Voters in Iowa:
You represent the rest of us Evangelicals in the
news these days as the American nation watches how you will vote in the upcoming party
elections for president of the United States.
We can appreciate your opposition to Democratic candidates, who advocate
killing the unborn and oppose Biblical marriage in the name of freedom. Yet support for one Republican candidate over
another is also a difficult challenge for any Evangelical. One leading candidate who claims to be a
Christian seems rather obviously to be doing so only to win votes. He certainly has little understanding of
Christian values, even arguing the other night on the O’Reilly Factor that
Christians teach ‘an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.’ Some other candidates are more closely
connected to the Church, and yet we should cringe when hearing some of their views. Christians are not a voting block to be wooed
and owned, but representatives of a different Kingdom altogether. Our citizenship is in heaven (Philippians 3.20). Stand firm in your witness.
Perhaps some helpful clarification about values
is given to us by Richard Bauckham’s recent book, The Bible in the Contemporary World: Hermeneutical Ventures.[1]
He examines two related sets of values
in chapters 4 and 5: those of globalization and Western understandings of the value
of freedom. These only cover some of the
issues, but they do engage key matters that arise in voting in a general
election in a country such as America.
Values of globalization and Western freedom stand over against Christian
values and yet, it seems, some of us Evangelicals are confused over what is
really cultural and what is really Biblical.
Biblical, Christian teaching on God’s reign conflicts radically with
understandings of global rule, and we should expect that elections regularly
bring out these differences for us—voting for Christians should be difficult—very difficult—as we are entering a different context
from that of the Church to cast that vote.
It is when there is no perceived conflict between Christian and cultural
values, whether liberal or conservative, that interpreters of the faith go
horribly astray.
While Bauckham does not enumerate the various
values as here, the following points do cover the discussion in Bauckham’s two
chapters.
The Values
of Globalization versus Biblical Values
Bauckham notes that we are living in a day of
globalization, but he explores what this entails not just in our day but also in
earlier centuries as well. One can
appreciate certain similarities between empires of the past—from Nebuchadnezzar
to the British Empire—and the various political and economic global powers in
the present. Whenever Americans vote,
they not only have their local and national issues before them, but also the
question of America’s global influence.
So, here are some ways to think Biblically about some of the values of globalization facing us today. Values of globalism
include the values of:
1.
A privileged
nation. If you find yourself
thinking that you are part of a privileged nation, chosen by God more than some
other nation, read: Genesis 1; Psalm 97.9; 47.8; 145.9; 96.13; and Psalm 98.4.
2.
A privileged
race. If you find yourself
preferring one race over another, read the Table of Nations in Genesis 10 and Paul's comment in Acts 17.26.
3.
A privileged
culture. If you find yourself
favouring one culture over another, read the diversity passages of Genesis
10.5, 20, 31-32; Daniel 7.13-14; and Revelation 5.9; 7.9; 10.11; 11.9; 13.7;
14.6; 17.15; and Acts 2.6. God doesn’t
favour one group over another. He
doesn’t want a homogenous humanity.
4.
The sanctity
of diversity. If you find yourself
imagining that diversity is a cardinal virtue, on the other hand, think
again. Every page of Scripture calls for
worship of the one, true God, and Christians understand that ‘No one has ever seen God. It is God the
only Son, who is close to the Father's heart, who has made him known’ (John
1.18). Bauckham notes that unity under
God is not a matter of doing away with diversity of peoples, but it is equally
not about equalizing all values and practices.
5.
Power and
domination. If you find yourself
wanting to vote for someone touting a message of American power and domination
on the world scene, read Daniel 4.
6.
Economic
dominance. If you find yourself
hoping for economic dominance, read Ezekiel 26-28 about Tyre’s and Revelation
17-18 about Rome’s economic dominance.
The love of money is the root of all evil (1 Tim. 6.10), I might add,
and Bauckham further notes that the unrestricted pursuit of wealth is a form of
idolatry: economic growth is not the supreme good and needs to be checked by other values--not least concern for the poor.
7.
Strong leadership. If you think the country needs a strong
leader after a shockingly weak leader, remember that Jesus contrasted the
world’s tyrants to Christian servants (Mark 10.42-44; Luke 22.25-26; Matthew
23.11) and that Jesus, the Messiah and Son of God, took the role of a servant
and washed his disciples’ feet (Jn. 13).
This is not to say that we need a weak leader for the country
either. It is to remind us that there is
only one Lord, Jesus Christ, and that all earthly leaders fail to one degree or
another. Don't put too much faith in any leader; rather, pray for your leaders that they might do good, not evil.
8.
Enforced
righteousness. This is a tough one—every
law should have a moral basis, otherwise it is not worth being law in the first
place (quite the opposite sentiment from those who have misguidedly suggested
that ‘You cannot legislate morality’!).
That’s my point. Bauckham, for
his part, reminds us that Christian’s do not ‘conquer’ but ‘witness.’ Reread the book of Revelation in this
light. Jesus, is the faithful and true
witness (3.14; 1.5). In another of his
books, Bauckham notes that Jesus conquers by a sword from his mouth—that is, by
his Word.[2] The military imagery in Revelation 19 is
standard apocalyptic fare, but the point of the chapter is that Jesus’ victory
is by the witness of his Word. His
followers overcome the ‘beast’ even in martyrdom, which is their own witness
(15.2)—note that the Greek word for ‘witness’ is martyrion. Christians are a
blessing to the world and bring the message of salvation to the world through a
mission of noncoercive witness. We don't 'carpet bomb' our enemies; we bear witness to Jesus Christ.
Western Understanding
of Freedom versus Christian Understanding
Americans breathe freedom like the air, as do other Western
nations. It is a cardinal virtue of the
West. It is also a Biblical virtue (although
it has been grossly misunderstood in Liberation Theology). When Americans vote, they consider matters to
do with freedom, and it is therefore critical to realize that our culture’s
understanding of freedom is quite different from a Biblical understanding of
freedom. In Chapter 5, ‘Freedom and
Belonging,’ Bauckham contrasts Western notions of freedom with Christian
values. The Enlightenment value of
freedom has come to understand freedom as:
1.
Freedom
from all limits: libertinism is increasingly appealing to people as freedom is understood as a freedom from all limits--why should anyone restrain 'my freedom' as long as I am not hurting anyone?
2.
Maximal
independence from others--and yet people continue to have deeply felt needs of
belonging—hence a culture that won’t marry but has couples living together,,
e.g.;
3.
Consumer
choice: not only material pursuits are undertaken without restraint but also,
shockingly, people increasingly pursue their own wanton choices in moral matters without restraint;
4.
Domination:
the way to be free is thought to require us to dominate others, lest we lose our freedom.
In all four of these views of freedom Scripture offers a
different perspective. Biblical freedom, argues Bauckham (without enumerating these points),
1.
Does not exclude communal obligations;
2.
Encourages dependence;
3.
Encourages faithfulness;
4.
Encourages commitment
to others;
5.
Meets the needs we have for belonging;
6.
Is a value, yes, but is only one among other values and is a value
that can only be understood within a larger
context of beliefs and values;
7.
Involves service
(Bauckham doesn’t use this word here, but he does speak of Christian freedom being
opposed to dominance);
8.
Enables others’ freedom;
9.
Is relational
in that it is a freedom for, not a freedom from.
Admittedly, all this needs to be spelled out further, and Bauckham does help us to begin such a conversation among ourselves. (And some of his other chapters in this book help us to discuss some other values as well.)
Conclusion
So, brothers and sisters in the faith, please represent us
well, not only on obvious matters about abortion and sexuality, but also about
global matters and concerns over freedom.
You have a great challenge to know how to vote for a particular person
in a country that is not Christian. But
don’t let uninformed reporters confuse our Christian values with those of the
culture—we have clear differences. As a
professor of mine used to say, ‘The first social task of the Church is to help
the world know that it is not the Church.’
Stand tall.
All the best.
[1]
Richard Bauckham’s recent book, The Bible
in the Contemporary World: Hermeneutical Ventures (Grand Rapids MI:
Eerdmans, 2015).
[2]
Richard Bauckham, The Climax of Prophecy:
Studies on the Book of Revelation (Edinburgh: T&T Clark, 1993).