I've been reading through Jim Wallis' new book, "God's Politics." While Wallis has some ideas about government that I'm not willing to endorse, he and his organization, Sojourners, are presenting much-needed ideas opposing the religious right establishment. He rightly states that two issues dominate the morality debate: homosexuality and abortion. If Christianity isn't just a religious power struggle, there's more to it than just those two issues.
There are two often used arguments Christian conservatives use in their favor; they are the following: The culture and government at the time of America's founding was superior, thus we must return to that time; and, the founding of America contained moral and biblical language, and since many of the founders were Christians, America is a Christian nation and we must live up to and preserve this heritage.
Among those espousing these arguments, you can find centered, well-balanced, biblical Christians, but you also find Christians who attempt in vain to balance pledging their allegiance to a flag and an other-worldly Kingdom. Alongside those, you also find politicians and talking heads who hope to legitimize their political power struggle by co-opting systematic Christian language.
As a result, we've come to a season in American society that is disconcerting in that evangelicalism is most closely identified with the Bush administration, Republican politics and moralism. I was in a Christian bookstore the other day, and I saw a magazine cover that had a discolored photo of Lindsay Lohan and a title that promised an expose on her "lusty" behavior. And that's what a lot of evangelical thinking has become – if you can live up to our moralistic standards, then you're OK and we won't launch a letter campaign against you.
At the center of the religious right, we see the overall goal of culture and government preservation. This really ticks people off who never pledged their lives to any moral standards, but a kinder and gentler culture is much more comfortable for the average evangelical. So, the FCC kicks Howard Stern off the air and Christians continue purifying society. Meanwhile, I've found myself wondering if the fundamentalist Christian way of responding to society is biblical.
In the beginning of mankind, God gives this amazing cultural command to us to multiply, fill the earth and subdue it. With the grace given to us from Christ, what's this look like? I think it means we should love God and love others, encouraging each other to do the same, and teaching our children this command. And I may be wrong, but I think that's what Jesus had in mind, that a family of God would emerge that isn't so much as characterized by moralism, but by a passion to love God and others, with joy and peace, boldly proclaiming the Gospel not only with their words, but with their lives.
I keep thinking about what Christ would do if he appeared in humanity today. I don't think he'd start a political action committee and try to take over the world, and I don't think he would start organizations critiquing everything that's wrong with society. My immediate reaction to this thought is, well, even if he wouldn't do it, someone has to. But I've begun to wonder if that's the case.
I know this: Our faith has a tradition of martyrdom. We shouldn't be surprised by persecution – our faith was born in the midst of it and it continues to thrive under the penalty of death in many countries. When Paul talks about the old order of things passing away, I don't think he was talking about how Christ would enable us to reverse the tide of depravity in society – no matter how many times we pray the prayer of Jabez.
So, as Christians with maybe conservative ideas, what is our goal? To create a better life for our children? We know this: Sin dominated the landscape from Adam to Christ and that depravity rules today in humanity. It doesn't matter if Rush Limbaugh is so optimistic about America; his optimism is unfounded. At the founding of America, men were depraved. Today, men are depraved. The way out is not in cultural preservation, because all such efforts eventually fail.
Christianity in America has come to be valued by many solely for its pragmatic morality. Unfortunately, we don't seem to be bothered with that because our hopes for our communities and our nation have become ruled by nothing more than some sort of ambiguous nostalgia over a utopian America than never even existed.