Our Hope Is in the Gospel, Not Politics and Government

by Bill Barnwell
by Bill Barnwell

Five years ago I was convinced that Christians could change the world. I was convinced they could end the major social ills that plagued society. I was convinced they could make America a "Christian nation" that would be found honorable in God’s eyes. Not only that, but many more people would be brought to the faith as a result. Everything was going to be glorious and wonderful if Christians just got mobilized.

But mobilized to do what? Share our faith? Testify about the glory of God? No, instead I wrongly assumed that political activism and getting "our" guys in governmental positions of power were the best solutions to most problems facing America. Whether the problem was porn, alcoholism, drugs, abortion, gays, modernism, etc., government seemed the best and most viable solution.

While I did not believe that laws and legislation would "fix everything" I saw the political system – not Jesus or Scripture – as the most potent vehicle to reform America. My answer was government and politicians. How incredibly silly and naive. The goal of this essay is to persuade other Christians to realize, as I eventually did, that our hope for reforming society is not found in coercive government policies. Nor is it found with politicians. Our hope instead should be in Christ and spreading God’s Word and love to our fellow man.

That is what will reform society. Government cannot do it. Fruitful ministry should be our motivation and main focus. Not fruitless politicking.

Looking back, it is clear that I was incredibly ignorant. I held the position that many Christians continue to hold today. I wrongly believed (despite overwhelming evidence) that society could be strengthened and improved through political action and government control. Many Christians take offense at such a statement, still holding out much hope that America can be Christianized if only the right legislation is passed and if only the right people are elected. The last 25 years tell a much different story, however.

The so-called "Religious Right" first became a potent political force in the late 70’s. The most prominent of the religious political action groups was the Moral Majority, headed by Jerry Falwell and supported by other well-known evangelical figures. Over the next decade, the Moral Majority eventually disbanded. What exists today is a loose confederation of conservative Christian organizations such as the Christian Coalition, the Family Research Council, Concerned Women for America, and many others that push for pro-Christian legislation. The results have not exactly been promising.

Let me say that even as a Christian libertarian, I do not oppose all the policy initiatives of these groups. While I agree with most of these groups’ theology and moral values, I am split on their policy proposals. Some of their political objectives I support and some of them I do not. An example where I do not is federally funded programs to "strengthen marriage." Considering the government’s track record screwing things up, do we really want them playing marriage counselor? But rather than getting into specific policy debates, it is more appropriate at this point to point out the fact that the Christian Right has achieved very little.

Christians, I ask you to be honest with yourself right now instead of just resorting to righteous indignation. Realistically look at the fruits of all your efforts. Where have they gotten Christianity in America? How many successes can you point to? How many converts have you produced because of your political and governmental reform efforts? How many people have a more positive (instead of more negative) view of the faith?

The reality is nothing much has changed in society as a result of all your hard work. The Christian Right has wasted a colossal amount of time, money and energy in the 25 years since they became a potent political force and they've accomplished little of purpose. Think about it. Religious liberties continue to be lost; the huge issues we yell about are not getting any better (abortion, homosexuality, feminism, etc.) and are just continuing to be more and more accepted. If anything, things like homosexuality are more accepted now than they have ever been.

Millions and millions of dollars, and hours and hours of manpower have gone into dividing people through politicking when it could have done much better showing others the love of Christ and preaching the Kingdom of God. Not only that, but Christians are looked upon more negatively today by non-Christians than they were 25 years ago. Just ask yourself, zealous Christian, how much more could we have accomplished if all that money and time was pumped into church plants, missions work, evangelism, and meeting social needs instead of wasting it on failed political endeavors?

My guess is that there would be many more converts today if we followed the alternative route. I further presume that much of that money could have been better spent on less fortunate individuals rather than on rich and very fortunate politicians. If it’s a matter of priorities for the Christian, then things are clearly out of whack when more effort goes towards spreading the gospel of the Republican Party than spreading the gospel of Jesus.

I am not saying that Christians should not vote nor am I offering the "I’m personally opposed to (name the issue) but don’t think we should get involved" approach to public policy. If you think it is a high civic duty to vote, then vote. If you want to get involved in this or that political cause, then get involved. But don’t be ignorant to the clear limits of your activism. If the past 25 years are any indication, political activism is not the best way to serve the interests of Christianity.

Sadly, many Christians have a similar mentality to far-left liberals. They believe the government should be involved in just about every aspect of life. Many also make the mistake of believing everything immoral should be controlled and regulated by the government. They take offense to libertarian suggestions that government force will not make everything better. They think that if a law is not passed, then the government is sanctioning an immoral action or behavior, and hence is dishonoring God. Well, not quite.

From a public policy standpoint, there are many things that people can freely do in a civil society that I don’t like and arguably are not good. Yet that does not mean that there should be all sorts of laws to regulate such unwise behavior. I don't think it's smart to sit on the couch and eat potato chips all day and gain 300 pounds (I also believe it’s sinful, since such an individual would not be treating their body like a temple of God). But for the civil government to legislate against it is silly. Such laws do nothing to further Christianity and only further the State’s ability to harass individuals and increase in size and power.

The same logic can be applied to laws against smoking and alcohol. Prohibition laws on alcohol resulted in violence, an underground economy, and legal tyranny. Same goes for the modern day "Drug War," which also receives wide support from conservative Christians. The result has not been less drug abuse and more Christians, but more widespread government abuse of power.

I do not oppose these overreaching laws because I want to condone and sanction bad behavior. I oppose them simply because they are bad public policy and if anything they lead to more harm than good. There are certain initiatives that I as a Christian agree should be fought for. Yet even if they did pass, I recognize that the root problems will remain. We must understand, fellow Christians, that government simply cannot address these deeper, more complex problems which can only be dealt with in the spiritual realm.

I often hear from other pastors that they are distressed because not enough Christians are voting. I think it’s more distressing that not enough Christians are taking their faith seriously. I think it’s more distressing that not enough Christians are sharing the love and hope of Christ with their neighbors. I think it’s more distressing that too many Christians are pinning their hopes on political activism rather than on the Gospel and God’s sovereign power.

It would be very interesting to see what would happen if the millions of Christian activists put forth the same efforts for ministry that they put forth in political activism. I imagine that many more people would be reached in much more meaningful ways. How I wish conservative Christians possessed the same zeal for advancing the Church that they have for advancing the Republican Party and various politicians.

Notice that nowhere in this column did I tell Christians to neglect what they feel are their "civic duties." Nor did I totally discount the merits of engaging in the political process. Yet I have been freed from my former ignorance. I now realize that even the most simplest acts of Christian love and virtue can be used in a much more significant way to establishing my overall goals than trying to impose a Superstate for Jesus on the unwilling masses.

In my Wesleyan-holiness theology, salvation is a free gift of God that must be freely accepted by man. It is not forced upon him. My great Anabaptist heritage sought to largely sever itself from the State. We believed that spiritual revival was the hope for America, not judges, politicians, and elections. In all of this, there was no forced government coercion. There was no massive federal welfare state. These Christians actually took care of one another and took seriously the responsibility to provide for unmet needs, instead of handing that responsibility off to the government. War was denounced and peace was proclaimed. The ultimate hope was in Jesus.

Today that has all changed by and large. Deep down inside, Christians know their hope should be in Christ. Yet today many act and behave as if that hope belongs with the State. How many more millions need to be wasted, how many more politicians need to disappoint us, and how long do our wheels need to spin in the mud before we realize that we need to change course?

It is long past time for Christians to wake up and realize that their hope is not in State coercion and government programs. Nor is it in war. It is in the Prince of Peace. It’s time to give this Peace a chance and turn away from the fruitless solutions of the past.

July 9, 2004

Bill Barnwell [send him mail] is a pastor in Swartz Creek, Michigan and a Master’s of ministry student at Bethel College.

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