In The Scandal of
Evangelical Politics: Why Are Christians Missing the Chance to Really Change
the World?, Ronald J. Sider suggests that evangelicals have not given
enough thought about how to approach politics as a biblical people. This is unfortunate, partly because evangelicals
are a political entity large enough to either hurt or help wider society. In light of this, Sider proposes a method for
Christians to use in approaching politics.
His method is to integrate social studies and a biblical base. Sider hopes that this will help Christians form
a wise political philosophy.
Sider divides Scandal
into four parts. In the first part, Sider
notes that evangelical political history is full of mistakes. If evangelicals want to be politically
effective, they must understand past mistakes.
The primary evangelical mistake is failing to formulate a widely accepted
political theology. This results in a
confused, contradictory, and unbiblical approach to politics. It is important that evangelicals address this
mistake. Practically speaking, politics
affect people’s lives. This influence
can be either good or bad, making it irresponsible to neglect politics. Theologically speaking, Christianity teaches
that Jesus is Lord of all, meaning evangelicals must give Jesus control over
their lives. Evangelicals are wrong to
neglect politics because Jesus forbids his followers from neglecting their
neighbours and politics are a tool for neighbour love.
In Part 2, Sider suggests a way for Christians to
approach politics. This approach requires
evangelicals to understand both politics and scripture. It acknowledges Jesus as Lord; it does not
compromise on biblical teaching; it is factual and honest in historical and
cultural studies; it helps Christians make consistent, effective, and faithful
choices about political issues; and, it is communicable to the wider culture. Further, a political decision has four aspects. The first part is a normative framework that shapes what a person believes about
morality. The second part is a broad study of society and the world,
which includes history, the economy, and political structures. The third part is political philosophy, which is necessary because people cannot
adequately research every political issue.
The fourth part is detailed social
analysis on specific issues. Because
politics are so broad, Christians must work together to analyse the issues
while being clear with each other about points of disagreement.
In Part 3, Sider acknowledges that human limitations make
it impossible for us to consider fully every political decision we make. To address these limitations, he proposes an
evangelical political philosophy. His
proposal includes biblical study, theology, and historical awareness. In essence, he applies the four pieces of
political decision-making to a variety of political issues. In the interest of space, I will focus on two
of Sider’s applications – the state and justice. These are necessary to understand his other
applications, which include human rights, the sanctity of human life, and the
environment, amongst others.
The state is an institution created by God. People are communal. We need some sort of organization for our
relationships. Given the reality of evil,
the state should promote communal good and restrain evil. The state has limits because other social
systems benefit society. It is also
important for the state not to legislate all aspects of morality. Despite these limitations, the state is an
opportunity for loving neighbour and endorsing good that Christians should
accept.
Regarding justice, biblical teaching and the world are both
complex making it difficult to apply biblical teachings about justice. To address this difficulty, Sider uses
scripture to propose a definition of justice that is broad enough to be
applicable in multiple contexts, while narrow enough to be a standard. Justice requires that we provide care for
people who cannot care for themselves. Justice
also requires that society allow people who are able to care for themselves to
have the opportunity to do so.
Sider concludes his book in Part 4. He suggests that the large financial and
population resources available to Western Christians can be a tool to form a
better world and change history. Sider
makes a few conclusions about how to do this.
First, Christians should apply the bible to all aspects of their
politics, rather than only a few issues.
Second, Christians should acknowledge that although the church and state
are different, Christians can still approach politics in a variety of ways valid
in different situations. Third,
Christians need to be humble and honest as they approach politics. Winning cannot come at all costs. Instead, justice is the focus of
politics. Further, pursuing justice for
others must be at least an equal priority for the church as seeking justice for
Christians. Fourth, despite the
importance of politics, it is not the church’s only responsibility. The church must also worship God and make disciples.
Scandal is a
helpful book when considering social justice.
Sider dedicates an entire chapter to justice. Primarily, he offers a thematic approach to a
biblical understanding of justice, necessary due to the differences in biblical
and modern economies. A thematic
approach means that justice isn’t simply about access to land or
education. Instead, it is about access
to whatever is necessary for a person
to flourish in society. Justice does not
stop there, however. It does not define a
person’s value by ability so therefore requires that society care for people
who are not able to care for themselves.
Sider also considers wealth alongside social justice to
present two ideas. It is not sinful to
gain wealth, but instead sinful to one, gain wealth by oppression, and two gain
wealth and not share it. These
conclusions are helpful, especially in a time when divisions between “the 1%”
and “the 99%” are acutely noted. I
sometimes see an irony in needing to demonize the 1% in the name of social
justice, while needing to honour folks like Buffett, Gates, and Bono in the
name of social justice. Having money
clearly isn’t what we see as the problem in the 1 vs. 99 debate. These men rightly use their money and
influence to serve the poorest of the poor.
It is striking that Scandal
in its entirety, and not just the chapter on justice, can be read as a (mostly)
strong argument for social justice*. Three ideas stand out for politically minded
Christians. First, Sider outlines how to
mediate a situation where groups’ human rights are seemingly at odds. His suggestion is to typically side with the
poor and marginalized. Second, he warns the
church to prioritize advocating for justice needs for others over advocating
for needs for self. Third, he argues
that immoral and criminal are not always synonymous.
Sider also makes a suggestion that surprises me. Sider notes that not all aspects of justice
and social service are the responsibility of the state. The state is only one social system that God
created. The church, family, and other
groups also have a role to play. I agree
with this and I constantly argue for the church to embrace its role as an
advocate for justice. I haven’t spent
much time thinking about where the government’s limits should be, though. What issues are not part of the state’s
concern? If I am going to be an
effective advocate for justice, I must think about this some more.
*The book is not perfect.
In a chapter about the sanctity of human life, it does significantly
more harm than good to bring Nazism into the debate. This rhetorical tool is going to persuade
very few and galvanize many others. I
appreciate the book, but not this line of arguing (pages 149-151) and will be careful
about who I recommend it to.
This post originally appeared on my former blog ajdickinson.blogspot.ca. The date stamp is for the date of the original posting.
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