The year was 1976. It was the year in which we celebrated the Bicentennial, Apple Computers was founded, the NBA and the ABA agreed on a merger (go Spurs!), Jimmy Carter defeated Gerald Ford for president and a little known Baptist pastor named Jerry Falwell began a series of "I Love America" rallies which would galvanize the religious right and change the political landscape of this nation for decades to come. The rise of the Religious Right coincided with the lingering social upheaval of Vietnam and the 1960s, growing drug abuse, the loss of jobs overseas, women's liberation and the increasing integration of the South. Conservative Christians gravitated toward the movement to not only make their views known but to possibly reverse many of the changes they disliked which had occurred in the previous decade (abortion rights, no organized prayer in schools among them).
What is fascinating to many about Falwell and the rise of the Religious Right is that it was a movement which was diametrically opposed to traditional Baptist teaching. Baptists had believed that the purpose of the church was to save souls. They were not to be involved in politics. While there were a few Northern Baptists such as Walter Rauschenbusch (whom I mentioned last week) that participated in the Social Gospel movement, most conservative churches followed the lead of preachers such as Dwight L. Moody who claimed that focusing on social issues was a dangerous and sinful endeavor. In end however the Religious Right decided that is was acceptable to be the conservative counter-point to the waning liberal Social Gospel movement; each of which believed that the church was supposed to use the power of politics to bring about their own image of the Kingdom of God.
This history raises a question for us: Ought the church to be involved in politics?
We Presbyterians have never been of one mind on this issue. At times we believed in active participation. During both the English Civil War and the American Revolution Presbyterians were actively advocating revolt from the pulpit and on the battlefield. At other times we believed in something that E.T. Thompson (a church historian) called the Strange Spirituality of the Church; in which the Presbyterian Church proclaimed the only thing it was to be about was saving souls, very much like traditional Baptist teaching. So which is it; involvement or not? If we cast a critical eye on both history and theology we discover that the answer to our question lies somewhere in-between the extremes.
First there is a danger in being too involved in politics. The danger here is that Jesus never advocated a particular political or economic system. When we pretend that there is only one "Christian" system, party or program we associate Jesus and the Church with transitory and flawed human constructs. In addition the lure of power is often so great that the church has often compromised some of its most basic beliefs in order to maintain control over society (note the Medieval Roman Church).
Second there is a danger in being too uninvolved in politics. The church has been given a prophetic role in society. We are to be the conscience of the community, constantly reminding people of the way of life to which Jesus has called us. We can witness what happens when the church abandons its prophetic voice in the decades of child labor and the abuse of Native Americans and people of color in this nation. It was only when the people of God reclaimed their appropriate role (and engaged in the political process) that change began to occur.
The church then is not to be afraid of the political realm, yet it must be realistic about it. If it engages in political action it must do so with great humility, admitting that no political platform or party can ever ultimately represent the Kingdom of God. In addition it must engage with great caution knowing that the temptation to power is great. In the end then there are no hard and fast rules about the church and politics…simply caution and challenge as we strive to be a Church faithful to God's calling in a real and hurting world.
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