In C. S. Lewis’s Screwtape Letters, the demon Screwtape advises his protege and nephew Wormwood to convince his human target that politics are a key part of his faith. “Then let him, under the influence of partisan spirit, come to regard it as the most important part,” Screwtape said. That way, faith would become a mere pretext for politics. Such is the atmosphere we live in right now...faith has become a pretext for politics, regardless of your faith of choice. Institutional evangelicalism has spread like wildfire all the way to the White House, accomplishing, in my humble opinion, the exact opposite of the desired effect. One has to look no farther than the President's newly appointed personal pastor, Paula White, a populist televangelist from Florida, to see that. And she is not the only evangelical preacher who has diluted (polluted?) the gospel message; nor is the Republican party the only one to marry faith to politics when courting voters. Both Sen Cory Booker and Mayor Pete Buttigieg have hired "faith advisors" for their campaigns. In 2016, I was frustrated by the dichotomy of the two candidates and their respective parties, and how little either of them espoused my values. (see Election Year Dilemma)
So there is little wonder that I am confused and disillusioned in regards to my role as a Christian in the political process and my role as an American citizen. And have been getting progressively more so over the past five years. Evangelical leaders, political action groups thinly veiled as spiritual advisors, televangelists, and the like have succeeded in thrusting Christ to the forefront of the political melee, while simultaneously reflecting an image so unlike Christ it astounds me. Moral majority, conservatives, the religious right, and ultra-conservative groups have somehow convinced media and the voting public that they speak for all of Christendom, that a vote for their candidates is a vote for God. Democrat=Bad; Republican=Good. Liberals are equated with the anti-fa movement, atheists and communists, and pictured as wild-eyed, nation-hating, illogical and over-emotional fanatics, while conservatives are promoted as Godly believers in all things good and true, as patriots, and as all-around great folks of strong moral fiber. Racial profiling, gender profiling, age profiling—all of that has taken a back seat to political profiling. Are you right or are you left? Red or blue? Pro-Trump or Never-Trumper? We check out the FaceBook profiles of our friends and would-be friends and distant family to take an unofficial census of who is on our side, who is of the same political bent. Age, race, faith, marital status—none of that matters as much as whether or not they will agree with, like, and support our political rants on social media.
And I am as guilty of this prejudging as anyone else. This truly pains me because I know I am missing out on meeting and getting to know many wonderful people, and vice versa. I have been pigeonholed, stereotyped, sorted, filed and assigned roles, personality, characteristics, beliefs and values that do not even remotely resemble who I am. If I comment on something a friend or a group posts, people who have never met me either applaud my sentiment and then send me a friend request, or they call me names, attack my character, and hurl keyboard obscenity after obscenity. Even folks I have known for years, worked with, laughed with, and cried with, seem to want to assign me to a specific group. And not just on FaceBook either! I could be at the brewery, or a restaurant, or at a social gathering, and if I mention God, or Christ, the person I am talking to will either slap my shoulder and say, “Amen Sister!” or look uncomfortable and change the subject. I am either in or I am out. Our country has fractured into tribes, where groupthink is the overarching and overriding method for solving (avoiding) conflict, making (avoiding) decisions, and facilitating (avoiding) discussion of controversial issues. Groupthink is NOT a good thing, folks. It is lazy, and dangerous, and downright stupid, really. Creativity and rational decision making and logic are thrown out the window all for the sake of cohesiveness and getting along. And it is not only rampant on social media—actually, on media in general and in particular. So what has happened to us as a society—the United States, that is--that has caused such a splinter in our national identity? And don’t blame it on this President or past Presidents, or any elected official, although it sure is convenient and easy to absolve ourselves of all wrongdoing and make a scapegoat of one or two people. The rapid expansion of technology into every facet of life, coupled with the ever-increasing popularity of social media, has contributed to making us a society of faceless critics, where we hide behind the security of our keyboards and screens and profile images to say things we would almost certainly NEVER say on the phone, in a letter, or at a public setting, let alone face-to-face. The anonymity provided by our obsession with a screen, touchpad, and the ease of texting has lulled us into a false sense of self-importance, where we can say what we want when we want and to whomever we want, as long as we add a funny or cute little emoji to soften the blow.
But I digress. Back to the issue of what I like to call Ameri-Christianity, where Christian tenets have become so distorted and intertwined with politics that it no longer reflects Biblical principles. Pastors tell us how to vote, weaving current political issues and Supreme Court decisions into their weekly sermons; parking lots are filled with cars adorned with identical bumper stickers, making it easy to identify the political bent of the congregation. (Sadly, these also dissuade newcomers, and send a message of “conform to this or don’t come in.”) We have lived here for over 10 years, the last 5 of it full-time, and we have attended, joined, or contemplated joining seven different churches. Not because we are unsure of our beliefs, or we had some epiphany on a certain scriptural issue, but because we discovered, either in the first couple visits or a longer period, that we did not fit in. We are not cookie-cutter Christians. God does not only bless America. And He certainly does not interfere with our electoral process. Yes, our faith and our beliefs should guide how we live, how we act, the decisions we make, big and small…including how we vote. Just not the other way around.
See, Jesus is neither a Republican or a Democrat—he is not a patriot. He is not an American citizen, or one of the founding fathers of our great nation. And while I am a citizen of this country, and of the world, more importantly, I am first and foremost a citizen of the kingdom of God. And it is to that kingdom that I will always pledge my fealty.
But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body, by the power that enables him even to subject all things to himself. (Philippians 3:20-21)
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