Why do nations rise and fall? Why do people yearn for a "strongman" leader who will "save" them? What does it mean to follow Jesus in an age of Trump, Bolsonaro, Putin, Brexit, Duterte, Xi, Modi, Rajapaksa, ...?
This month for the theology reading group we discussed Here are your gods! : Faithful discipleship in idolatrous times by Chris Wright.
I really liked the book. I found it quite refreshing as Wright expressed concerns that I have felt about Christians and politics for decades. These concerns have increased in past five years. The book gives a solid biblical basis for these concerns.
The book is passionate and Wright speaks forthrightly and honestly about politics in the UK and USA, with Trump and Brexit, and particularly how Christians uncritically support of certain political figures and causes. This is noteworthy because Wright is a quiet reserved diplomatic "Englishman" (he is Irish but has mostly lived in England) who normally writes measured and scholarly tomes and biblical commentaries. [You can get a sense of his personality in his excellent podcast, On Mission where he interviews Christian leaders from the Majority World]. This book is theology from the heart. It is contextual theology. It provides a beautiful example of how the Bible, particularly the Old Testament, speaks so clearly to the current context in the West.
Some of the main ideas that stood out to me are the following.
Human relationships, from the local to the global, are designed to function in certain ways, i.e. according to certain moral principles, centred around justice, mercy, faithfulness, and truth. When organisations, societies and nations organise themselves around these principles they flourish; and when they do not, they decline (eventually). This is how God "causes" nations to rise and fall. In Wright's words (page 73),
"There are moral principles built into our world, since creation, and they apply to all nations, even though they are explicitly revealed in the most articulated form in Israel. This is an important hermeneutical assumption that undergirds the second half of this book."
This important assumption is further discussed on pages 76 and 106. It is good, but too rare, that authors clearly state their assumptions.
Part one is adapted from material about idolatry in Wright's acclaimed book, The Mission of God: Unlocking the Bible's Grand Narrative.
Idols present a paradox. In one sense, they are nothing and with no real power, particularly compared to the living God, YHWH, the Creator of the universe. A wooden idol is just wood. On the other hand, idols do exert power because people believe they do have power.
Idols and gods are largely human constructs, produced by our fallen and rebellious imaginations. Idols are not just statues; they can be ideologies or aspirations. They can be nationalism, prosperity, self, or a "strongman", and of course, money, sex, and power.
The central problem with idolatry is that it blurs the distinction between the Creator and the Creation.
Political leaders use religion to consolidate their power. Consider the case of Jeroboam the first King of Israel. He constructed idols at the north and south of his kingdom so that people might not go to Jerusalem, lest they defect to his rival in Judah (1 Kings 11).
The signs and symptoms of the Western world being in decline include a legacy of historic and systemic violence (colonialism), increasing poverty and inequality, the rise of extreme forms of populism and nationalism, ecological devastation, and the war on truth (chapter 5). The latter is particularly noteworthy.
What does it say about the state of our culture and politics that two men have risen to top political leadership in the United Kingdom and the United States who are both notoriously and demonstrably addicted to fabrication, exaggeration, false claims, self-contradiction, and downright mendacity? (p. 92)
Furthermore, the attack on truth seems to have become acceptable, even in the church. "It is just the way things are... let's be realistic... if politicians don't stretch the truth they will never get elected..."
Unfortunately, much of this critique is also true of universities today. Whether it marketing to potential students, research grant applications, or reporting research findings in academic journals it has become expected that members of the university community will put the most positive "spin" on things. Critical, honest, balanced, and realistic assessments are not what is desired.
So justice is driven back,
and righteousness stands at a distance;
truth has stumbled in the streets,
honesty cannot enter.
15 Truth is nowhere to be found,
and whoever shuns evil becomes a prey.
Isaiah 59:15-16
How will political leaders be judged? The mother of King Lemeul taught him
Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves,
for the rights of all who are destitute.
9 Speak up and judge fairly;
defend the rights of the poor and needy.
Proverbs 31:8-9
Hopefully, this excellent book will be widely read and discussed.
There are several things I would like to see expanded by Wright or others.
One is to include some mention and engagement of other authors on political theology such as Stanley Hauerwas, Richard Bauckham, and Oliver O'Donovan.
Here politics is largely defined in terms of elections and government policies. Christians need to compromise and vote for candidates who align best with their values and priorities. However, there is much more to democracy. It is multi-faceted and complex. Other dimensions include the role of the judiciary, civil society, the press, law enforcement, and particularly debate in the public square. The tone, content, diversity, breadth of participation, and the freedom of public debate can have a significant effect not just on who wins elections but on whether human flourishing occurs in society or it self-destructs. Public debate should aim to bring people together for the common good. It should empower not disenfranchise or disillusion.
The Bible offers hope for a better world, both now and in eternity. It is now but not yet. But, given the mess the world is in right now, can Christians actually have hope that things may get better in the next few years, or at least in our lifetime? Living by faith means sowing mustard seeds. Who knows what these seeds might grow to? Small acts of kindness and resistance may multiply in ways not imagined. Kingdoms rise and fall. And sometimes very quickly and in unanticipated ways. I find it helpful to think of things that have happened in my adult lifetime, but which most of us found hard to imagine would ever happen: the fall of the Berlin Wall, end of apartheid, smoking almost banished, environmental concerns become mainstream, the end of military dictatorships in Latin America, the fall of Marcos, ... These changes do not mean that everything is better or that some of these changes have not brought new problems. But, remembering this history is a challenge to hopelessness and a view that "nothing will change".
An extract from the book (pages 42-48) is available here. There are helpful reviews of the book at the Jubilee Centre, the William Temple Foundation, and the Englewood Review of Books.
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