Some Thoughts for Independence Day & an Election Year

Christians have always had an awkward relationship to the states they’ve lived in. The church was frequently persecuted for the first several centuries of its existence, until Charlemagne declared Christianity the official religion of the Holy Roman Empire. Christianity continued to be “default religion” of the western world, even as the Reformation called into question which denomination was the “true” or “accepted” version of Christianity. Many of the Europeans who settled America came here looking for religious freedom and tolerance, and now we have ideas like “religious liberty” and the separation of church and state. Now that we’re faced with a country with an increasing number of different religious traditions, we as Christians aren’t sure how to react; some, like the Mennonites or those who hope for an imminent rapture, separate from the world, while others seek to make Christianity central again and establish a theocracy. What’s the best way for people who follow Christ to live out their faith in a world in which that faith isn’t shared by everyone? With Memorial Day just passed and July 4 coming, it’s time to consider how we can be faithful disciples in a country that doesn’t define itself as Christian.
In Matthew 22, Jesus is asked a question about whether or not Jews should pay taxes to the Romans. He points out Caesar’s face on the Roman coins used at the time, and answers, “‘Give to the emperor the things that are the emperor’s, and to God the things that are God’s.’” Jesus lived in a country that was occupied by the Roman Empire; government was viewed suspiciously at best, and yet Jesus calls for neither antagonism towards the government nor the establishment of a new government that will enforce his views. Jesus knows that the world doesn’t operate under God’s rules, and he doesn’t expect the government to enforce them. When he tells his followers to be the salt of the earth and the light of the world, Jesus is suggesting that his followers’ example should demonstrate God’s love to the world; civil authorities can’t be expected to make people follow God. Christians are expected to live in the world rather than remove themselves from it, and to influence the world for God without expecting the government whose authority they live under to do God’s work for them.
How, then, do we as Christians relate to the civil authorities? In Romans 13, Paul says, “Let every person be subject to the governing authorities; for there is no authority except from God, and those authorities have been instituted by God. Therefore whoever resists authority resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment.” Respect for those in power is expected; this is important to understand, given the uncivil tone of so much of our current debate. We won’t agree with every decision made by our elected officials, but common curtesy is still called for. On the other hand, there are times when a government needs to be held accountable for its actions. The Old Testament prophets often criticized ancient Israel for corporate as well as personal sins. Moses established this in Exodus 23, telling Israel, “You shall not pervert the justice due to your poor in their lawsuits… You shall not oppress a resident alien; you know the heart of an alien, for you were aliens in the land of Egypt.” Our denomination’s Book of Confessions includes the Barmen Declaration, written by a group of German pastors in response to Hitler’s rise to power. A few decades later, Martin Luther King, Jr., led protests (and encouraged civil disobedience) to call attention to discrimination against black people. During such times, the church often needs to rally people to bring the government’s attention to injustice. These movements were intended not to ensure the church’s privileged place in society, but to correct a society’s injustices.
In closing, I want to suggest ways that we can be faithful disciples of Christ in a secular society. Christ calls us to work for a better world, and to honor God’s image in every person. This can mean holding public office, or it can mean expressing your viewpoint when you disagree with an action the government has taken. In everything we do, we should work for the greater good, and do our work without turning to personal attacks; as Paul says in 2 Corinthians, “For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does”. As another election approaches, we should all ask ourselves what our values are, and which candidates best represent those values. I suggest that all of us look closely at what values the Bible says are important for a society, like helping the poor and working for peace, and think prayerfully about which candidates share those values. Hopefully, our choices will show those who don’t believe in God that there is a greater power than the world’s at work.

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